Sampson, Deborah

Sampson, Deborah (1760–1827) Revolutionary soldier, lecturer; born in Plympton, Mass. After a youth as a domestic servant and a few months as a teacher, she left town in 1782 to enlist in the American Revolution by disguising herself as a man and adopting the name "Robert Shurtleff” (or Shirtliff). She concealed her identity while participating in several battles, including one near Tarrytown, N.Y., where she was wounded; only when hospitalized with fever did a doctor discover her sex, and she was discharged from the army. After marrying Benjamin Gannett and having three children, she inspired a romanticized biography in 1797, and this led to her making a lecture tour in 1802. Thanks in part to the intercession of Paul Revere, she was awarded a federal pension in 1805, and 11 years after her death Congress voted her husband and heirs special payments in recognition of her military service.