Sampson, Deborah (1760–1827)

American Revolutionary War Soldier

Deborah Sampson (also spelled Samson) of Massachusetts was one of the first known American women to impersonate a man in order to serve in the Army. Under the name of Robert Shurtleff (also spelled Shurtliff), she enlisted in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, and served from May 20, 1782, until October 25, 1783. Other women who tried to join the Army disguised as men were quickly discovered and punished. Sampson, however, was able to conceal her gender for some time. When her secret was finally discovered, she received an honorable discharge and was acclaimed for her heroism and dedication to the Revolutionary cause.

Sampson's early life was difficult. Her father abandoned the family when she was five years old, and her mother, sick and impoverished, dispersed Sampson and her siblings to relatives. She lived first with a cousin, Ruth Fuller, who died three years later. Then Sampson spent two years with an elderly widow, who also died within a few years. After this, the 10-year-old Sampson was a servant in the household of Jeremiah Thomas and his family. At 18, she left the Thomas’ and for four years held a variety of jobs, including that of school teacher.

A number of factors probably contributed to Sampson's enlistment in the Army. Sampson would later say that she had been devoted to the Revolutionary cause. Certainly, her entire life was spent in Massachusetts surrounded by political upheaval, talk of war, and, sometimes, war itself. But since [Page 764]colonial women possessed few property rights and no political rights, Sampson's gender and poverty excluded her from any political stake in the outcome of a war fought over property rights and political representation. Perhaps, like many young men of the time, she was drawn by a desire for adventure, regular pay, and the bounty (a cash bonus for enlisting). She may also have been familiar with books and songs about women who served in British or European armies.

Sampson was not the first woman to conceal her gender to serve in the Revolutionary War. Earlier in the war, two other women had dressed as men, but they were quickly discovered. The first, whose name is not known, was discovered, suspected of sexual misconduct, publicly humiliated, and discharged from the 1st New Jersey Regiment. The other enlisted in Massachusetts as Samuel Gay but deserted three weeks later. When apprehended, she was identified as Nancy or Ann Bailey. She was charged with enlisting to receive the bounty payment and was fined, sentenced to two months in jail, and discharged from the Army. These female soldiers faced public condemnation as a result of their deceptions.

Sampson's experience in the Army was very different. She concealed her gender for a long time and, when injured in a battle at Tarrytown, New York, she treated her own wounds to avoid discovery. The military and social customs of the time also helped Sampson keep her secret. Soldiers rarely would have seen each other naked. Washing was usually cursory, and soldiers, living in rough conditions, had few clothes and slept in the same garments that they wore during the day. Sampson's physical attributes also helped her deception. At five feet seven inches, she was tall for a woman of the era and would have been the same height as many of the men with whom she served. Her lack of facial hair was also not extraordinary, since many boys who were too young to shave served in the Army. In an era when all women wore floor length skirts or dresses, someone wearing a hunting shirt and leggings—common garb for soldiers—would have been assumed to be a man.

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