Deborah Sampson Role In The American Revolution: Military
Annabelle Brown
Crawford 5th
September 5, 2014
Questions
Name: Deborah Sampson
Date of Birth: December 17th, 1760
Birthplace: Plympton, Massachusetts
Patriot/Loyalist/Other: Patriot
Role in the American Revolution: Military
Deborah Sampson
On December 17th, 1760, Deborah Sampson was born into a very poor family in
Plympton, Massachusetts. Most of her childhood was spent in poverty. At a very young age, her father, Jonathan Sampson, left the Sampson family. Her mother, also Deborah Sampson, got sick soon after Jonathan left, so she sent her children away to live with close neighbors and extended family. At about age eight, she started working as an indentured servant.
As an indentured servant, Deborah worked for Jeremiah Thomas in Middleborough,
Massachusetts. She spent ten years as a servant working in the fields and doing hard physical labor for him. When she wasn’t busy working, in her spare time she would read books; in the winter, she would attend school. By the time she was 18, and had completed her servitude, she had educated herself well enough to become a public school teacher. When she was 21 years old, she decided that she wanted to contribute to the Revolutionary War efforts, so she enlisted in the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment of the Continental Army as a man under the name Robert Shurtleff on May 20, 1782.
At this time, women were not allowed to sign up for the military, so she had to disguise herself to look like a man. Being 5’7”, she was already tall for a woman, so it wasn’t too hard.
Although, Deborah was a woman and didn’t grow facial hair, so she got picked on a lot, but her excuse was always “I’m too young to grow a beard”. At her first battle, she slashed on the forehead with a sword, but refused to see a doctor in fear of getting caught. At the next battle, she ended up being shot in the leg, but yet again, refused to see a doctor, so she dug the bullet out of her leg herself. Later on, she went unconscious due to fever, so was unwillingly taken to the hospital. Her physician found out the secret she’d been hiding from everyone.
The man Robert Shurtleff was actually a woman named Deborah Sampson. Her physician arranged to have her honorably discharged from the military on October 25, 1783.
Deborah Sampson was important because she changed her name and faked her gender just so she could fight for her country. Bibliography
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Deborah Sampson (United States Soldier)."
Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 06 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/520705/DeborahSampson>.
Bois, Danuta. "Deborah Sampson." Deborah Sampson. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.distinguishedwomen.com/biographies/sampson.html>.
Pearson Education, Inc. "Deborah Samson." Deborah Samson.
Http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/.html., 2007. Web. 06 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0878894.html>.
Crawford 5th
September 5, 2014
Questions
Name: Deborah Sampson
Date of Birth: December 17th, 1760
Birthplace: Plympton, Massachusetts
Patriot/Loyalist/Other: Patriot
Role in the American Revolution: Military
Deborah Sampson
On December 17th, 1760, Deborah Sampson was born into a very poor family in
Plympton, Massachusetts. Most of her childhood was spent in poverty. At a very young age, her father, Jonathan Sampson, left the Sampson family. Her mother, also Deborah Sampson, got sick soon after Jonathan left, so she sent her children away to live with close neighbors and extended family. At about age eight, she started working as an indentured servant.
As an indentured servant, Deborah worked for Jeremiah Thomas in Middleborough,
Massachusetts. She spent ten years as a servant working in the fields and doing hard physical labor for him. When she wasn’t busy working, in her spare time she would read books; in the winter, she would attend school. By the time she was 18, and had completed her servitude, she had educated herself well enough to become a public school teacher. When she was 21 years old, she decided that she wanted to contribute to the Revolutionary War efforts, so she enlisted in the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment of the Continental Army as a man under the name Robert Shurtleff on May 20, 1782.
At this time, women were not allowed to sign up for the military, so she had to disguise herself to look like a man. Being 5’7”, she was already tall for a woman, so it wasn’t too hard.
Although, Deborah was a woman and didn’t grow facial hair, so she got picked on a lot, but her excuse was always “I’m too young to grow a beard”. At her first battle, she slashed on the forehead with a sword, but refused to see a doctor in fear of getting caught. At the next battle, she ended up being shot in the leg, but yet again, refused to see a doctor, so she dug the bullet out of her leg herself. Later on, she went unconscious due to fever, so was unwillingly taken to the hospital. Her physician found out the secret she’d been hiding from everyone.
The man Robert Shurtleff was actually a woman named Deborah Sampson. Her physician arranged to have her honorably discharged from the military on October 25, 1783.
Deborah Sampson was important because she changed her name and faked her gender just so she could fight for her country. Bibliography
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Deborah Sampson (United States Soldier)."
Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 06 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/520705/DeborahSampson>.
Bois, Danuta. "Deborah Sampson." Deborah Sampson. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.distinguishedwomen.com/biographies/sampson.html>.
Pearson Education, Inc. "Deborah Samson." Deborah Samson.
Http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/.html., 2007. Web. 06 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0878894.html>.