With men away at war, women tended to families, farms, and finances. Some traveled with their children alongside their husbands as camp followers. These women nursed the sick and wounded, sewed and laundered uniforms, and secured provisions. They were extraordinary. Then there was Deborah Sampson.
Every morning for 18 months, Deborah Sampson tied back her lengthy hair, bound her chest, and wore a loose-fitting uniform as her male alter ego, solider “Robert Shurtleff.” When Sampson enlisted in 1782, the Continental Army believed she was a man. Assigned to the light infantry, Sampson led raids, dug trenches, and scouted for intelligence. Once, she even self-extracted a bullet from her thigh just to avoid detection!
During the summer of 1783, a fever immobilized Sampson in Philadelphia. The doctor who treated her exposed her ruse. When she returned to service in October, “Robert Shurtleff’s” time in the army ended. General Henry Knox honorably discharged her, despite her deceit.
Years later, Sampson petitioned for a military pension. The General Court of Massachusetts verified her contributions. They agreed Sampson “exhibited extraordinary female heroism…[as] a faithful gallant soldier… preserving the virtue and chastity of her gender unsuspected and unblemished…”
Sampson continued to make history when she published a personal narrative and became the first American woman to lecture nationwide on a year-long tour. During these performances, she reprised the role of Robert Shurtleff.
