Passage I

Deborah Sampson: A Revolutionary Hero

[1]

US history books have traditionally chronicled the actions of male Revolutionary War heroes such as George Washington, Paul Revere, and John Paul Jones. Increasingly, such books include accounts of the many brave women which also contributed—as spies and soldiers—to the effort to gain independence from British rule.

[2]

Deborah Sampson of Plympton, Massachusetts, was one of these women. In 1782, despite the fact that women weren't allowed to serve in the military, twenty-one-year-old Sampson joined the colonial army. She disguised herself as a man and enlisted under the name of Robert Shurtliff.

[3]

For fourteen months Sampson served in the army, she acted with exceptional bravery and fortitude. Her commanding officers quickly recognized these traits and sent her on several special missions. On one such mission near West Point, New York, Sampson was part of a scouting party whose assignment to track and capture a British convoy. While pursuing several British soldiers into a swamp, Sampson was shot in the leg. Fearing that her true identity would be discovered, she did not report to the hospital. Instead, Sampson removed the musket ball by herself.

[4]

On another scouting mission, Sampsons' party, was ambushed by British soldiers. To escape the scouts had to wade across a river. A fierce current swept Sampson into deep waters. It was the weight of her heavy backpack and musket, Sampson struggled. For instance, a colonial soldier standing on a sandbar threw her a rope. Summoning her strength, Sampson plucked from the air that which was to save her and made it to shore. [A]

[5]

Sampson survived the winter and spring with her secret undiscovered. [B] In July 1783, however, she was found out. [C] While this meant that she could no longer serve in the army, her exemplary record as a soldier was officially recognized. [D] Later, she was awarded a military pension as a sign of gratitude from the young nation she had helped found.