The beginning of America was marked by a revolution. During this period, only men were called to arms though a significant number of female Americans dressed in the attire of the then Revolutionary Army battled against the British Army. Deborah Sampson was one of those women. For Deborah Sampson, joining the army was not an easy task; she had to overcoming insurmountable challenges as a child, and though she was determined to join the coveted army, she was denied that chance at first, and had to disguise herself as a man to be allowed in the army to fight the Revolutionary War.
Young argues that by the time Deborah was turning eight, she served Jeremiah Thomas as an indentured servant in Middleborough, Massachusetts (153). She served for ten years and grew to be five feet seven inches tall (Young 153). Deborah was almost a foot taller that an average woman then, and taller that an average male American then (Young 153). Hard labour hardened her and developed Deborah’s physical strength (Young 153). Like any other farm girl of the time, she did not receive any formal education but she learned by engaging Thomas’s boys when reviewing their homework every evening after school and home errands were done at night. During the winters, when there were not much of farm works, she attended school (Froula 155). For this reason, Deborah Bradford, the mother of Deborah Sampson, was unable to feed her brood and decided to bound-out some of the children. Five-year-old Deborah was taken by a spinster and worked in the home of that reverend. After several months, Deborah was taken to a farmer by the name Deacon Thomas, who was a father to ten sons.
According to Young, when Deborah Sampson turned eighteen and was freed from her indentured servitude, she joined teaching, and rejected the suggestion to marry (153). Young further indicates that Deborah supplemented her income by weaving at various households and at Tavern – a meeting point where men discussed heroic exploits of the local young men, and battles of the revolutionary war (153). By this time, Deborah’s strength was evident; she had a strong and firm chin that is shown in her portraits. This explains how she passed for a smoke-faced boy who was too young to have beards. On November 12th 1780, she renounced the puritan religion and joined the first baptised apostolic (Neshaminy.org). The rumour spread at home and she was also excommunicated from her new church.at the time of renouncement her group had already left Massachusetts. In keeping with Neshaminy.org, Deborah’s adventures equalled fiction. The adventure led her to file a biography in 1797 by the name Herman. Deborah was the first known woman in America for the sole purpose of being recruited in the army and involved herself in the combat. The family came from the line of previous colonialists who have been moralized in the poem–long fellows.
Deborah in the Continental Army
Young notes that to lessen the chances of being caught, Deborah dressed in male clothing and travelled far away from Middleborough, eastern Massachusetts, to the centre of the state at Worcester (153). There she tried for another chance and was successfully admitted using the name Robert Shurtliff. After joining the Revolutionary War, Deborah was assigned to a scouting party. It was a dangerous squad was tasked to march through the neutral ground with the aim of assessing the British build up. General Washington was contemplating attacking the British in Manhattan. Neshaminy.org indicates that Deborah served for seventeen months in the army. Although there was no major battle for close to a year after General Cornwallis was forced to surrender at Yorktown, the British soldiers had continued to use guerrilla tactics to fight in the areas surrounding New York.
Young states that Deborah Sampson was chosen at the 4th Massachusetts Regiments for the Light Infantry Company (156). The company consisted of fifty to sixty army personnel. She marched with the unit to West Point, NY. At West Point was the no man’s land dividing Manhattan and Westchester. In keeping with Young, this unit was a dreaded band led by Colonel James DeLancy, and it was here where a few merciless one-on-one struggles took place (153). This is where Deborah demonstrated strength, courage, loyalty, and writing tactics.
For the three years she served as a revolutionary soldier, Deborah Samson was wounded twice (Young155). At first, she had been injured on the head using a machete and on the second occasion, she sustained a gun wound. Deborah’s sex identity went unknown until she contracted brain fever that was then prevalent among the army. When a letter came from the Commander in Chief, Deborah knew that issue of her sexuality was over and she presented herself at Washington, uncertain of the outcome of her case. General Washington chose to spare her embarrassment and refused to comment on her ordeal. The Washington handed her a letter of discharge from army and a letter of advice. The Washington also compensated her with sufficient money to cover her expenses at home.
According to Neshaminy.org, in her first battle, on 3rd July 1972, Deborah suffered a forehead wound and had two musket balls on her thigh. At that moment, she begged her associates to just let her die and not take her for treatment but they did not comply with her plea and rode her six miles for medical attention. The doctor treated the head wound but she refused to let him treat the thigh for the fear of unmasking her feminine identity. As the doctor examined a new patient, she removed one of the bullets and sewed up the wound. Unfortunately, Deborah did not heal since there was a remaining bullet deep in the thigh. The ball bothered her for the rest of her life though at the time when she recovered, she joined the rest of the unit in Revolutionary War.
On 1st April 1783, Masshist.org indicates that Deborah rise up the ranks and started serving General John Patterson as personnel orderly for more than six months. The entitlement of the job was better quality of life, less danger, and better food. Neshaminy.org further states that during the 1783 summer, she developed a malignant fever and was taken care of by Dr. Barnabas Binney who discovered the long hidden secret about her gender. Dr. Barnabas did not disclose the information nor did he show any sign of knowledge. The doctor took the lady to his house and treated her further. His family thought she was a young man the entire treatment time. After her recovery, Sampson returned into the army for a short while and in 1783 peace was attained after a traeaty was signed in France that year. Deborah Sampson was then honourably discharged from the army by General Henry Knox later in 1783.
She went home to Plympton where her mother disapproved her dressing code (Neshaminy.org). She later decided to go to her aunt, who thought she was her nephew. When at her aunt’s place, she met Benjamin Gannett and later on they got engaged. Benjamin and Deborah got married on 7th April 1785 and had three children. Deborah’s marriage was for the longest of its time full of poverty. In 1792, Deborah petitioned the government for withholding her salary on the basis of her gender. The petition succeeded and was approved and appended by John Hanrock.
In 1792, Deborah was granted thirty-four pounds with interest that dated back from 23rd Oct 1783 (Neshaminy.org). The pension was enclosed in a document praising her service, recommending her for her brilliance in carrying out her duties as a female soldier. The document further praised her for her carrying out her duties with impartiality and determination. According to Neshaminy.org, the character of Deborah Sampson was elevated further when she later adopted a child in 1796. The name of the child was Susannah Baker, whose mother had passed on at childbirth and the father had disappeared soon after the tragedy. In keeping with Neshaminy.org, life was hard for Gannett’s and their farm was just forty nine acres – the smallest in the community.
As she struggled to better her financial situation, she began to perform the American heroine in Boston and the neighbouring towns like New York and Massachusetts. It is during this time that she came up with a patriotic oration about her experience as a Revolutionary War soldier (Masshist.org). Koeszegi, Zedlacher, and Hudribusch note that she could appear on stage fully dressed like a soldier and demonstrate how to clean musket, to load and to fire (228).
Deborah became acquainted with the renowned midnight rider, after he rolled up a copper-rolling business in a neighbouring town. Such move had never been done by a woman but since she was increasingly becoming unwell, a lot of money was needed. In Deborah’s latter dated 20th Feb 1804, she noted that her husband is a good man those he contributed very little in business. She further indicated they had a few acres of malnutrition land (Neshaminy.org).
In 1805, the congress placed Deborah on the Massachusetts annulled pension roll and started to pay her only four dollars every month (Hunt 187). Then, she received forty-eight dollars for the two preceding years; interestingly, the amount was much higher than what Deborah’s husband earned in the farm for an entire year. Deborah sent another appeal to the Congress, asking about why her pension had been stopped. However, the petition was rejected. Her petition was returned to the Congress and this time it passed and she was granted dollars 76.80 per annum or 6.40 on monthly basis (Neshaminy.org). The amount was satisfactory and she was in a position to repay loan. Deborah Sampson died of yellow fever on 26th April 1827 and the age of 66 in Sharon Massachusetts (Neshaminy.org). She was laid at Rock Ridge Cemetery. The town of Sharon has named a street by her name and her statue has been erected in front of the public library in Sharon Town. Until now, she is one of the respected figures of Massachusetts. However, it should not be assumed that the journey was easy. Deborah Simpson had to go through a lot in her childhood, and dream of joining the army was almost shattered because of her gender. The fact that she impersonate herself as a man in order to join the army shows determination that was unheard of in those days. She also went on to become one of the brilliant soldiers of the time. However, the delays in processing her back pay and pension indicates some of the challenges women of her generation had to go through in order to get their rights. Nonetheless, Deborah Simpson remains an important figure in history for her role in serving in the army and in fighting during the Revolutionary War.
Works Cited
Froula, Anna. "Free a man to fight: The figure of the female soldier in World War II popular culture." Journal of War & Culture Studies 2.2 (2009): 153-165. Print.
Hunt, Paula. "Sybil Ludington, the Female Paul Revere: The Making of a Revolutionary War Heroine." The New England Quarterly 88.2 (2015): 187-222. Print.
Koeszegi, Sabine, Eva Zedlacher, and Rene Hudribusch. "The War against the Female Soldier? The Effects of Masculine Culture on Workplace Aggression." Armed Forces & Society 40.2 (2013): 226-251. Print.
Masshist.org. "Massachusetts Historical Society: Deborah Sampson, Soldier In Disguise". N.p., 2016. Web. 17 Feb. 2016. Young, Alfred F. Masquerade: The life and times of Deborah Sampson, Continental soldier. New York: Vintage, 2005. Print.
Neshaminy.org. "Deborah Sampson Biography". Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
Revolutionarywararchives.org. "Revolutionary War - Soldier Deborah Sampson". N.p., 2016. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
Young, Alfred F. Masquerade: The life and times of Deborah Sampson, Continental soldier. New York: Vintage, 2005. Print.
