There’s a woman in every army: Deborah Samson and Massachusetts light infantry

There were probably a number of women who fought in the Continental Armies for American independence. They had to disguise themselves as men of course. This did not mean they were trans-sexual or cross-dressing, they were merely in disguise. Some were caught, some even jailed. Some undoubtedly went undetected, and some were honored, after discovery, because of their exemplary conduct. But many published accounts and stories are wrapped in romantic fiction. Women have fought in many wars, as many old songs attest.

Deborah Samson is perhaps the best known female veteran of the Revolutionary War. Alfred F. Young's Masquerade: The Life and Times of Deborah Sampson, Continental Soldier sorts fact from fiction in some detail. She enlisted 20 May 1782, and was discharged 26 October 1783. Literate and thoroughly familiar with the Bible, she undoubtedly knew about the woman of the same name who led an Israelite army against the Canaanites.

At a time when servants and wage laborers addressed their employer as "master" and husbands took seriously being "lord and master" of their house, Deborah was known before enlisting as "a masterless woman."

Her father was gone, her mother on the way to the poorhouse. She supported herself by weaving, spinning, and teaching, all employment where she could function with some independence.

She had been an indentured servant or "bound girl" in the family of Jeremiah and Susannah Thompson from the age of ten until 18. At five feet seven inches, she was taller than most men, as well as most women, of that period.

Deborah enlisted as Robert Shurtliff, 4th Massachusetts Regiment, Light Infanty Rangers, commanded by Captain Webb. Although Lord Cornwallis had already surrendered the British Army at Yorktown in 1781, the war remained unsettled for another two years. Light infantry recruited tall, young, athletic young men for scounting missions. Endurance, intelligence, speed and mobility were required.

Skirmishes with British soldiers still happened as late as June 1783 when Deborah (Robert) with two sergeants led an expedition of thirty or so infantry into a clash, where she was wounded in the head by a sword cut, and a musketball in the upper thigh. Ordered to march to Philadelphia later that summer, she caught a fever and was taken to a military hospital, where a doctor discovered she was a woman. She was honorably discharged, in uniform with her regiment, rather than court-martialed. General John Paterson may have respected her 17 months of service, or may not have much cared since the war was over.

About a year later, having walked home from Philadelphia to Sharon, Massachusetts, Deborah married Benjamin Gannett, Jr., and they tried to support their family on a small farm.

She petitioned the legislature for a pension, which was granted -- signed by Governor John Hancock. She was later awarded a federal pension of $4 per month with the support of General Paterson, and Paul Revere. She died in 1827, aged 67.