Deborah Sampson

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Born in Plympton, Massachusetts on December 17, 1760 was Deborah Sampson. She had six younger siblings; Jonathan, Elisha, Hannah, Ephraim, Nehemiah, and Sylvia. Growing up, Sampson's life was rather difficult. It was said that her father, Jonathan Sampson, abandoned her and her family and ended up marrying another woman (1). Due to her father abandoning them, her mother, Deborah Bradford, was not able to provide for her and her children. She moved from house to house as a young child and never had the opportunity to explore education.

After her mother's death, Sampson moved in to live with the Thomas family where she worked as a servant for eight years. It was during these eight years where she acquired skills such as woodworking and mechanical techniques. Even though she didn't attend school or have any background of a formal education, one of the Thomas son's shared their school work with her in which she learned some academic skills (1).

In the year of 1782, Deborah Sampson enlisted in the Continental Army to fight in the American Revolutionary War under the name of "Robert Shurtleff"(2). Her comrades in the army referred to her as "Molly" because she didn't grow any facial hair. While in the army she suffered from both riffle and musket wounds. These wounds didn't stop her from fighting; her perseverance and determination kept her going.

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The reasoning behind Sampson wanting to enlist in the army was because she started to feel restless and wanted to be able to travel the world. She knew that as a young girl she was extremely limited on what she could do with her life. Her parents were absent from her life, and she and her siblings were all split up from one another. Her idea of becoming a cross-dresser came from a fortune teller (3). She was able to make herself a uniform from her previous knowledge of sewing skills from when she was a servant.

Sampson or "Shurtleff" first battle was in Tarrytown, New York on July 3, 1782. During this time she was injured with two musket balls in her thigh and a cut in her forehead. As much as she didn't want to go to the hospital to get help, a soldier took her anyway. She was fearful that her true identity would be given away. While at the hospital she allowed the doctor to treat her forehead but managed to escape before he was able to attend to her leg. Sampson was able to take one of the two musket balls out her leg by using a penknife and sewing needle (1).

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In the summer of 1783, Sampson became ill and was looked after by Dr. Barnabas Binny while in Philadelphia. Her true identity was revealed when Dr. Binny was removing her clothes to treat her (1). He saw that a wrap was around her breasts to compress them to make her look more like a man. Instead of revealing her to true identity to the army, he took her home to his house to treat her privately. Once Sampson was healed, he asked her to deliver a letter to General Paterson (4). The note regarded her true identity. Rather than being reprimanded, which was supposed to happen to women who impersonated men in the army, she was given and Honorable Discharge on October 23, 1783 (3).

On April 7, 1785, Deborah Sampson married Benjamin Gannett. The two of them lived in Sharon, Massachusetts where they became farmers. Deborah and Benjamin had three children of their own; Earl, Mary and Patience and adopted an orphan named Susanna Baker Shepard (4).

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Due to Sampson being a woman, the government withheld the money they owed her from being in the army, but on January of 1792, she petitioned the Massachusetts State Legislature to give her the money they owed her (1). It was John Hancock that allowed her to receive the money that she earned while her time spent in the army. She was awarded with 34 pounds which converts to $43.62 in todays US dollar.

In the year of 1802, she began giving speeches all of the world telling her story of how she dressed up as a man to enlist in the army. She would even bring her uniform and weapons with her to show her audiences. Sampson wanted to make it aware that anyone can do anything if they out their mind to it. She didn't want the world to have specific standards where women can only do certain tasks, her goal was for everyone to have equal opportunity and rights.

At age of 66, Deborah Sampson died from yellow fever on April 29, 1827. She was buried at Rock Ridge Cemetery in Sharon, Massachusetts. Sampson left behind a legacy and a message that should never be forgotten. No matter if you are male or female, we are are all humans and should all be treated equal with the same rights.

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In my opinion, Deborah Sampson was certainly an incredible woman and can be recognized as a Warrior Woman. She shows feministic like qualities by stepping out of her comfort zone and going to fight in the army. I find her truly inspiring because I could never imagine being separated from my family, to then be a servant, and later enlist in the army all because she wanted to see the world. She enlists in to the army knowing the sacrifices and consequences that may come out of it. She knew that she was limited to what she could do in life which is why her being in the army is all the more inspiring. Deborah Sampson creates a life for herself and goes after what she wants-to see the world- despite possibly being reprimanded for impersonation. Her story should teach women of ages to go after what they want no matter how risky it may be. Although Sampson didn't come from much of anything and didn't end up with many materialistic things in the end, she proved to that she was capable of fighting in a war and fending for herself to see the world like she wished.



Works Cited:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deborah_Sampson   (picture 1)
“Deborah Sampson.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Oct. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deborah_Sampson.


https://gardenofpraise.com/ibdsamp.htm    (picture 2)
“Deborah Sampson.” Garden of Praise: Deborah Sampson Biography, 2001, gardenofpraise.com/ibdsamp.htm.


https://edu.glogster.com/glog/deborah-sampson/22fn53ovhte    (picture 3)
Team, Glogster. “Deborah Sampson.” Www.glogster.com, edu.glogster.com/glog/deborah-sampson/22fn53ovhte.


https://blog.richmond.edu/heroes/2015/05/17/deborah-sampson-a-patriot-by-any-other-name/  (picture 4)
“Deborah Sampson: A Patriot By Any Other Name.” Heroes: What They Do & Why We Need Them, 18 May 2015, blog.richmond.edu/heroes/2015/05/17/deborah-sampson-a-patriot-by-any-other-name/.


https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/377/deborah-gannett  (Picture 5)
“Deborah Sampson Gannett.” Findagrave.com, 2018, www.findagrave.com/memorial/377/deborah-gannett.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deborah_Sampson (1)
“Deborah Sampson.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Oct. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deborah_Sampson.


https://www.britannica.com/biography/Deborah-Sampson (2)
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Deborah Sampson.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 22 Apr. 2018, www.britannica.com/biography/Deborah-Sampson.


https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/deborah-sampson (3)
“Deborah Sampson.” National Women's History Museum, www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/deborah-sampson.

http://historyofmassachusetts.org/deborah-sampson-woman-warrior-of-the-american-revoultion/ (4)
“Deborah Sampson: Woman Warrior of the American Revolution.” History of Massachusetts, historyofmassachusetts.org/deborah-sampson-woman-warrior-of-the-american-revoultion/.