Deborah Sampson: A woman of the American Revolution

Portrait of Deborah Sampson 

Early Life

Born in Massachusetts in 1760, Deborah Sampson is one of the few documented women that battled in the American Revolution. In her early life, Sampson's father abandoned her family and because her mother could not provide for the children, they were scattered to different homes. At age 10, Sampson was given as a servant to a farmer in Middleborough, Massachusetts (1). After serving as a servant for eight years, she entered the workforce as a self-educated teacher and weaver. However, Deborah Sampson's legacy was not born out of her childhood, but of her service in the American Revolution.

Battle Wounds

In the spring of 1782, Sampson donned a masculine disguise and enlisted in the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment under the alias "Robert Shurtleff" (1). During her first battle, Sampson sustained injuries to both her leg and her forehead. After she was treated for the gash in her forehead, Sampson quickly discharged herself from the hospital, knowing that if the doctors went to work on her leg, her true identity would be revealed (2). The wound to her leg, however, was the more serious of the two injuries: two bullets were lodged in her thigh. In effort to conceal her identity, Sampson performed her own surgery and removed one bullet using a knife and a sewing needle (2). The other bullet was never removed and her leg never fully healed. 

Later, in close proximity with George Washington, Sampson was stationed at a military camp in New York in the winter of 1782. During her time stationed there, she fought many small battles against the "Loyalists", or Americans siding with Britain (4). Here she fought in multiple "skirmishes", unplanned battles, receiving gunshot and sword wounds (3). During one particular skirmish, she was shot in the shoulder. Wanting to continue concealing her identity, she allegedly dressed the wound and left the bullet before continuing in battle (4). 

Depiction of Sampson in uniform during battle

Discovery

 For about half of her three-year enlistment, Sampson was able to remain undiscovered and fought valiantly alongside her companions and prominent male counterparts. Unfortunately, during her stay at a military camp in Philadelphia, Sampson suffered a high fever and upon fainting and remaining unconscious, she was transported to a local hospital (4). Unknowingly, she received treatment and her secret was discovered by her attending physician, who then notified her commanding officer, General Patterson (4). There was no clear reason why Sampson was discharged, but whether it was because of her illness or because of her gender, Sampson received an honorable discharge in late 1783 (4).

Life After War

After being discharged, Deborah Sampson returned to Massachusetts and eventually married a farmer named Benjamin Gannet (4). Sampson gave birth to three children before the couple adopted their fourth and final child (4). She also petitioned the Massachusetts state government for her military service pension to help provide for her family, which she was awarded. While her life became significantly less eventful, and violent, after the war, Sampson decided that she was not just a farmer's wife; in 1797 an article titled The Female Review was published documenting Deborah Sampson's life and experience as a female soldier (3). 

Statue of Deborah Sampson

After this account was published, Sampson decided to go on a year-long tour where she lectured about her experiences during her service and how her life experiences led her to become a soldier (1). To emphasize her role in battle, she often wore her military uniform. Deborah Sampson was the first woman in America to do a lecture tour (1). While having suffered many illnesses in her post-war life, Sampson eventually died in her sleep, from natural causes, at age 66. 

Because of her strength, both in womanhood and in battle, Deborah Sampson remains a model figure for women today. Being honored with a place in the National Women's History Museum and a statue in Massachusetts, Sampson is one of the earliest examples of women serving in the United States military. As a final resonating marker of her great display of strength in her lifetime, Sampson's headstone reads (4): 

"The Female Soldier"

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Citations:

(1) Michals, Debra. “Deborah Sampson.” National Women's History Museum, 2015, https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/deborah-sampson.

(2) “Deborah Sampson.” American Battlefield Trust, 26 Feb. 2019, https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/deborah-sampson.

(3) The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Deborah Sampson.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/biography/Deborah-Sampson.

(4) Serfilippi, Jessie. “Deborah Sampson.” George Washington's Mount Vernon, https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/deborah-sampson/.

Images retrieved from Google Images