True Life Tuesday: Deborah Sampson

I know I saw this a lot but this story would make a great movie. Deborah Sampson was born on December 17, 1760 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. She was born in her grandparent's ancestorial home which still stands today. Her father was Jonathan Sampson and her mother was Deborah Bradford. Her mother's great-grandfather was William Bradford, the 2nd Governor of the Plymouth Colony. She was the 5th of 7 children - 3 boys and 4 girls. The family was told that Jonathan died in a shipwreck but it appears that he abandoned the family and moved to Maine. After her father left her mother placed the children in the care of other relatives and friends. Deborah was sent to live with Mary Prince Thatcher, the elderly widow of Reverend Peter Thatcher. After Thatcher died she was sent to the home of Jeremiah Thomas in Middleborough, Massachusetts. Here she worked as an indentured servant from 1770-1778. It is reported that she was treated well in the home but was not allowed to go to school because Thomas did not believe in education for women. However, his sons would come home from school and teach Deborah everything they learned. When she turned 18 Deborah left the Thomas home and she worked as a teacher during summer sessions and a weaver. She also worked for many families and would board with them.

In 1782 she joined an Army unit in Middleborough under the name Timothy Thayer. She was given a bonus but failed to report to her company. She was recognized by a local resident when she signed her enlistment papers. She returned the part of the bonus that she had not spent and no further action was taken against her by the Army. The Baptist church she was a member of refused to allow her to attend unless she apologized and asked for forgiveness. She enlisted again in May 1782 in in Uxbridge, Massachusetts as Robert Shirtliff. She joined the Light Infantry Company - a group of elite troops picked because of their height and strength. Deborah was 5'8" tall while the average man was only 5'5". In June or July of 1782 she was part of a skirmish in Tarrytown, New York. She was shot in the thigh and also had a wound on her forehead. She begged her fellow soldiers not to take her to the hospital but they refused. She had her head wound treated but left before they could treat her leg. She removed the ball herself using a pen knife and sewing needle but she was unable to remove all of it. This cause her leg to never fully heal. After this incident she was assigned to be a waiter for General John Paterson on April 7, 1783, a position she held for 7 months.

After she healed she was part of a contingent sent by George Washington to Philadelphia. They were tasked with quelling a rebellion of soldiers protesting delays in their pay and discharges. While there Deborah was there she became ill and fell unconscious with a fever. Her doctor, Barnabas Binney, removed her clothes and learned that she was a woman. He did not tell the Army and took her to his home ehere his wife, daughters and a female nurse took care of her. In September 1783 Dr. Binney asked Deborah to deliver a letter to General Patterson. She correctly assumed this letter advised that she was actually a woman. The General gave her a discharge, a letter with some advice and enough money t return home. She was honorably discharged at West Point, New York on October 25, 1783.

After her discharge she married Benjamin Gannett, a farmer from Sharon Massachusetts, on April 7, 1787. They had four children - Earl, Mary, Patience and Susanna who they adopted when she was orphaned. In January 1792 she petitioned the Massachusetts State Legislature for pay that was withheld from her. The petition was granted and Governor John Hancock signed it giving her 34 pounds plus interest back to 1783. Although Deborah went on the lecture circuit in 1802 she had a hard time making enough money to support her family. She would often have to borrow money from family and her friend Paul Revere. In 1804 Revere wrote to the US Representative of Massachusetts William Eristie requesting a petition on her behalf. On March 11, 1805 Congress approved the request at $4 per month making her the first woman to receive a soldier's pension. In 1811 she was also awarded back pay to the date of her discharge in 1783.

Deborah died from yellow fever on April 29, 1827. She was buried at Rock Ridge Cemetery in Sharon, Massachusetts. Her widower Benjamin petitioned for a pension as the spouse of a veteran four years after her death. The pension was granted in 1837 but he died before he could collect it. Deborah has a statute in her memory in front of the public library in Sharon. Also, during World War II the Liberty Ship SS Deborah Sampson was named in her honor.