ViewsWatchers |
Deborah Sampson Gannett, also known as Deborah Samson or Deborah Sampson, was born on December 17, 1760 in Plympton, Massachusetts. She disguised herself as a man, and served in the Continental Army under the name Robert Shirtliff – sometimes spelled Shurtleff[1] or Shirtleff – and fought in the American Revolutionary War. She fought in the war for 17 months before her sex was revealed when she required medical treatment after contracting a fever in Philadelphia in 1783. After her real identity was made known to her commander, she was honorably discharged at West Point.[2] After her discharge, Sampson met and married Benjamin Gannett. In 1802, she went on a lecture tour to speak about her wartime experiences.[2] She died in Sharon, Massachusetts in 1827.[2] |