Deborah Sampson
Did you know that a woman fought in the Revolutionary War too? Deborah Sampson was a woman who grew up as a servant, fought in the army undercover as a man, and was forced to unlist once her identity was found. Deborah wanted to protect her country, and she acted upon it. She played a major role in the revolution because she went into danger to protect her home. Deborah’s family broke apart when she was young. On December 17, 1760, Deborah was born in the small village of Plympton, Massachusetts. Her father was an alcoholic, and was on a ship when it sank at sea. Deborah was five at the time of her father’s death. Her mother could not care for them all, so Deborah and her six other siblings were sent off to various relatives to live with (Garvin). She was sent to the Thomas residence, a distant cousin. She was able to learn many skills in addition to her normal housework and farming duties (“Lesson Plan - DEBORAH SAMPSON”). “In the evenings, after the Thomas children were in bed, she would read all of their school books.” From a very young age, Deborah had …show more content…
One day, Deborah decided to dress as a man, and “venturing out undetected in her disguise,” nobody recognized her ("National Women's History Museum."). This led for her to enroll in the army under the name of “Robert Shurtleff” in May of 1782. Deborah was twenty one, but gave the fake age of seventeen. Very soon after being accepted, Sampson was assigned to march to New York (Garvin). Working nonstop, Sampson, or Shurtleff, earned a reputation as an outstanding soldier (“Deborah Samson”). By doing simple tasks at odd hours (bathing, for example) Deborah kept her identity a secret (“Lesson Plan - DEBORAH SAMPSON”). In the summer of 1782, she was patrolling New York. Others and herself were ambushed by loyalists and Deborah was left for dead. But she stayed alive and took out a bullet from her leg herself