Deborah Sampson

In January 1792, the lawmakers of Massachusetts voted to pay a soldier. His pay was nine years late. The record called him Robert Shurtliff. But the money went to a woman named Deborah Gannett. She had been Robert Shurtliff. Before she married, her name was Deborah Sampson.

A Poor Girl

Deborah Sampson was born in 1760 in Plympton, Massachusetts. Her family was poor. Her father left. Her mother could not feed all the children. So she became an indentured servant. An indentured servant has to work for a family for a set number of years. She worked on a farm until she was eighteen. The farm work made her tall and strong. She taught herself to read.

Joining the Army

The army did not take women. In 1782 Sampson cut her hair. She put on men's clothes. She tried to join the army, but it did not work. In May 1782 she tried again. This time she signed up as Robert Shurtliff. The army put her in the 4th Massachusetts Regiment. Her company was light infantry. Light infantry soldiers moved fast and scouted ahead of the army.

Sampson served in New York for about a year and a half. She was wounded in a fight near Tarrytown. A later book said she took the bullet out of her own leg. That book added many things that were not true. So no one knows if that part happened.

Found Out

In 1783 Sampson got very sick in Philadelphia. A doctor took care of her. He found out she was a woman. The army did not punish her, and in October 1783 General Henry Knox gave her an honorable discharge. A discharge is a paper that lets a soldier leave the army.

Pay and a Pension

Sampson went home. She married Benjamin Gannett and had three children. The army had never paid her. In 1792 she asked Massachusetts for her pay. The state paid her 34 pounds. In 1802 she gave talks about her time in the army. She wore her uniform and showed the musket drill.

In 1804 Paul Revere wrote a letter to help her. He asked Congress to give her a pension. A pension is money paid every year to an old soldier. In 1805 she got it. She was one of the first women to get a soldier's pension. Deborah Sampson Gannett died in 1827. She was 66.

In January 1792, the lawmakers of Massachusetts voted to pay a soldier's wages that were nine years late. The record said that the soldier had enlisted in May 1782 under the name Robert Shurtliff. But the money went to a farm wife from Sharon named Deborah Gannett. She had been Robert Shurtliff. Before her marriage, her name was Deborah Sampson.

A Bound-Out Girl

Deborah Sampson was born on December 17, 1760, in Plympton, Massachusetts. Her family was poor, and her father left when she was small. Her mother could not feed all the children, so she was bound out as an indentured servant, a worker who must serve a family for a set number of years. She worked on a farm until she was eighteen. The farm work made her tall and strong, and she taught herself to read and later worked for a short time as a teacher.

Enlisting as Robert Shurtliff

The Continental Army did not take women. In 1782 Sampson cut her hair, put on men's clothes and tried to enlist. Her first try failed. On May 20, 1782, she tried again and signed up as Robert Shurtliff. The army placed her in Captain George Webb's company of the 4th Massachusetts Regiment. It was a light infantry company, a unit of soldiers who moved fast and scouted ahead of the army. The company served in the Hudson Valley of New York.

Sampson served about seventeen months. She was wounded in a fight near Tarrytown, New York. A book printed in 1797 said she dug the musket ball out of her own leg so that no doctor would find her secret. That book added many details that no record supports, so historians are not sure that part happened.

Discovered in Philadelphia

In 1783 Sampson fell ill with a fever in Philadelphia. The doctor who treated her learned she was a woman. The army did not punish her, and in October 1783 General Henry Knox gave her an honorable discharge, the paper that releases a soldier from the army.

Pay and a Pension

Sampson went home to Massachusetts. She married Benjamin Gannett, a farmer in Sharon, and they had three children. The army had never paid her. In 1792 she asked Massachusetts for her wages, and the state paid her 34 pounds. The state's record called her service "an extraordinary instance of female heroism." In 1802 she gave public talks about her service in several towns. She wore her uniform and performed the musket drill.

In 1804 Paul Revere wrote to a congressman to support her request for a pension, money paid every year to a former soldier. In 1805 the United States put her on its pension list. She was one of the first women to receive a soldier's pension. Deborah Sampson Gannett died in Sharon on April 29, 1827, at the age of 66. Her husband then asked Congress for a pension based on her service. He died in 1837, and in 1838 Congress paid it to their children.

In January 1792, the lawmakers of Massachusetts voted to pay a soldier's wages that were nine years late. The record said that the soldier had enlisted in May 1782 under the name Robert Shurtliff and "did actually perform the duty of a soldier" until October 1783. The money went to a farm wife from Sharon named Deborah Gannett. She had been Robert Shurtliff. Before her marriage, her name was Deborah Sampson.

A Bound-Out Girl

Deborah Sampson was born on December 17, 1760, in Plympton, Massachusetts. Her family was poor, and her father left when she was small. Her mother could not feed all the children, so she was bound out as an indentured servant, a worker who must serve a family for a set number of years in return for food and a home. She worked on a farm until she was eighteen. The farm work made her tall and strong, and she taught herself to read and later worked for a short time as a teacher.

Enlisting as Robert Shurtliff

The Continental Army did not take women. In 1782 Sampson cut her hair, put on men's clothes and tried to enlist. Her first try failed, but on May 20, 1782, she tried again and signed up under the name Robert Shurtliff. The army placed her in Captain George Webb's company of the 4th Massachusetts Regiment. It was a light infantry company, a unit of fast-moving soldiers who scouted ahead of the army and made raids. The company served in the Hudson Valley of New York, where small fights with Loyalist raiders went on after the big battles had ended.

Sampson served about seventeen months. She was wounded, and in a sworn statement in 1818 she said the wound came near Tarrytown, New York. A book printed in 1797, Herman Mann's The Female Review, said she dug the musket ball out of her own leg so that no doctor would find her secret. Mann added many details that no record supports, so historians do not trust that part of the story.

Discovered in Philadelphia

In 1783 Sampson fell ill with a fever in Philadelphia. The doctor who treated her, Barnabas Binney, learned she was a woman. The army did not punish her, and in October 1783 General Henry Knox gave her an honorable discharge, the paper that releases a soldier from the army, and the state's record later dated the end of her service to October 23, 1783.

Sampson went home to Massachusetts. She married Benjamin Gannett, a farmer in Sharon, and they had three children.

Pay and a Pension

The army had never paid her. In 1792 she asked Massachusetts for her wages, and on January 20 the state voted her 34 pounds with interest. The resolve called her service "an extraordinary instance of female heroism." In 1802 she went on a lecture tour, one of the first American women to do so. She spoke about her service in several towns, and at the end of each talk she put on her uniform and performed the manual of arms, the musket drill soldiers learned in camp.

In 1804 Paul Revere wrote to Congressman William Eustis to support her request for a federal pension. Revere wrote that she was "much more deserving than hundreds to whom Congress have been generous." In 1805 the United States put her on its pension list. A pension is money paid every year to a former soldier, and she was one of the first women to receive one. Deborah Sampson Gannett died in Sharon on April 29, 1827, at the age of 66. Her husband then asked Congress for a pension based on her service. He died in 1837, and in 1838 Congress paid it to their children.

In January 1792, the General Court of Massachusetts took up a petition from a farm wife in Sharon named Deborah Gannett. The lawmakers found that she had enlisted under the name Robert Shurtliff in Captain Webb's company of the 4th Massachusetts Regiment on May 20, 1782, and "did actually perform the duty of a soldier" until October 23, 1783. They voted to pay her 34 pounds with interest from the day her service ended. Before her marriage, her name was Deborah Sampson.

A Bound-Out Girl

Deborah Sampson was born on December 17, 1760, in Plympton, Massachusetts, the daughter of a poor family. Her father left when she was small, and her mother could not support the children. Deborah was bound out as an indentured servant, a worker who must serve a family for a set number of years in return for food, clothing and a home. She worked on a farm until she turned eighteen, which was the usual end of a girl's term. The farm work made her tall and strong, and she taught herself to read and later worked for a short time as a teacher.

Enlisting as Robert Shurtliff

The Continental Army did not take women. In 1782 Sampson cut her hair, put on men's clothes and tried to enlist. Her first try failed. On May 20, 1782, she tried again and signed up under the name Robert Shurtliff, and she mustered at Worcester three days later. The army placed her in Captain George Webb's company of the 4th Massachusetts Regiment. It was a light infantry company, a unit of fast-moving soldiers who scouted ahead of the army and made raids. The regiment was a line regiment, and only its light company did that work. The company served in the Hudson Valley of New York, where fighting between Patriot and Loyalist raiders went on after Yorktown, even though the big battles had ended.

Sampson served about seventeen months. The Massachusetts Historical Society records that she was wounded twice, and in a sworn statement in 1818 she said she was wounded near Tarrytown, New York. The most famous part of her story comes from Herman Mann's The Female Review, a biography printed in 1797. Mann wrote that she dug the musket ball out of her own leg so that no doctor would discover her secret. Mann also added speeches and adventures that no record supports, so historians do not accept his details unless another source backs them.

Discovered in Philadelphia

In 1783 Sampson fell ill with a fever in Philadelphia. The doctor who treated her, Barnabas Binney, learned she was a woman. The army did not punish her, and in October 1783 General Henry Knox gave her an honorable discharge, the paper that releases a soldier from the army, and the state's resolve later dated the end of her service to October 23, 1783. She went home to Massachusetts, married Benjamin Gannett, a farmer in Sharon, and had three children.

Pay and a Pension

The resolve of January 20, 1792, praised two things. It said that she had discharged "the duties of a faithful, gallant soldier," and it said that she had done so while "preserving the virtue and chastity of her sex unsuspected and unblemished." The lawmakers of 1792 counted both as part of her service. In 1802 she went on a lecture tour, one of the first American women to do so. She told her story in several towns, and at the end of each talk she put on her uniform and performed the manual of arms, the musket drill soldiers learned in camp.

On February 20, 1804, Paul Revere wrote to Congressman William Eustis to support her request for a federal pension. Revere wrote that she was "much more deserving than hundreds to whom Congress have been generous." In 1805 the United States put her on its pension list. A pension is money paid every year to a former soldier. Margaret Corbin, who was wounded at Fort Washington in 1776, had received one earlier, so Sampson was one of the first women to receive a soldier's pension, not the first. In 1818, when a new law opened pensions to more veterans, she swore a statement about her service. That statement says she enlisted in 1781 and was at Yorktown, which does not match the state's record of May 1782. Historians rely on the 1792 resolve, which was based on army records. In 1821 she received a general service pension under the new law.

Deborah Sampson Gannett died in Sharon on April 29, 1827, at the age of 66. Her husband then asked Congress for a pension based on her service. He died in 1837, and in 1838 Congress paid it to their children.