Historical Figure: Deborah Sampson

I, Deborah Sampson, am the first woman in the history of the U.S to disguise myself as a man and fight for our country’s freedom. I am the daughter Jonathan Sampson Jr. and Deborah Bradford Sampson. My mother was a direct descendant of the famous William Bradford, so we were all Puritans. I was the oldest of seven children and we were very poor. My grandfather died in 1758 and I think this contributed to my father leaving us. I became an indentured servant, as my mother couldn’t take care of my brothers, sisters, and me.  I was hired out by Jeremiah and Susannah Thomas as a governess. Mr. Thomas was always talking about how the King was treating us, and this topic interested me. Although I was released from servitude at 18, I never stopped thinking about it.

After I was released I was starting to feel restless. I wanted to do more for my country, and fight in the war, but the options for being a women were limited. It was winter, 1781, when I came up with my greatest idea. I visited a necromancer, to get some insight about my future. I decided to dress as a man like this appointment. The necromancer considered me an honest gentleman and told me that I had an inclination for uncommon adventures and, if undertaken, I could achieve great things. This left me in great confusion, and as I was starting my way home I came to resolution, to start my journey and achieve great things, as the necromancer had said. I decided that I was going to start my journey in Philadelphia. Although I had to wait till spring to travel toward Philadelphia, that didn’t dampen my spirit. The long winter had given me time to think about my decision and I came up with another idea, to enlist in the army as a man. I sewed myself a man’s doublet, breeches, and a waistcoat, using what Mrs. Thomas taught me, and set off toward town to buy myself a hat and shoes. I disguised myself in these clothes and changed my path to Worcester. I arrived there in April and enlisted under Captain Webb’s 4th Massachusetts Regiment, under the name Robert Shurtliff. I couldn’t believe I had actually joined the army, now all I had to hope for was that no one found out my real identity.

War was exhausting. I was sent to fight in the Hudson Valley, and it was the most terrifying experience of my life. It was hot, blistering hot, and I felt fatigue and dizzy. Everywhere around me, the terrible sound of gunshots and cries of agony. My left-handed man was shot dead as the second fire rang out and I watched as John Bebby, Noble Stern, and James Battles all fell to the ground. My head was spinning with fear, sadness, and other emotions I couldn’t identify. I knew I had to escape when a gunshot narrowly missed me and went through my cap. I got out of there, though narrowly. In July, 1781, I fought again, this time in Tarrytown. I got wounded across my forehead, and got shot in the thigh twice. The pain was unbearable, but I begged my fellow soldiers not to take me to a hospital, in fear my identity would be discovered. Luckily, I left the hospital before they could take the bullet out of my leg, and resorted to do it myself with a penknife and sewing needle. Although my leg never fully healed, I kept fighting. In 1783 , before I was dispatched to Pennsylvania, I went down with fever. I was still sent to Pennsylvania, and while I was standing guard, with the hot rays of the sun blistering down on me, everything went black.

I woke up in a house. A man was in the other side of the room in which I woke. He told me that he was Dr. Barnabas Binney, I was still in Pennsylvania, and he was treating my fever. He allowed me to stay at his house with his wife and family, until I fully recovered. When I had recovered in September, 1783, Dr. Binney asked me to deliver a personal letter to General John Paterson, a General which I had served under. Because Dr. Binney hadn’t said anything about my gender, even though he must have figured it out by now, I assumed the letter probably contained information about my true identity, but I still delivered it. I had assumed correctly, because upon reading the letter, General Paterson informed me that the letter said that I was a woman in disguise.  I knew my secret was out and I admitted that the letter was correct. I knew that I was to be dismissed from the army, and gave my extreme apologies. But to my disbelief, General Paterson gave me not only an honorable discharge, but enough money for me to travel back home. I was discharged in West Point, New York on October 25, 1783, for my one and a half years of service to our country. I returned home after that to start a family, and settle down.

Even though I fought for my country, the Massachusetts Legislature refused to grant me my army pension. But there is hope, my good friend Paul Revere says he plans to write a letter to the Legislature, so that I could receive my pension. In the meantime I plan to give speeches about my experience in the war to earn money. I don’t regret my decision to join the army and hope my efforts paid off, but now I have shown the colonies that women are strong enough to do anything.