Deborah Sampson (1760-1827)

Deborah Sampson Deborah Sampson of Massachusetts was a servant, a farmer, and a Patriot. When General Washington called for men to volunteer for the Continental army, she felt the need to serve. Sampson dressed as a man and walked more than fifty miles to Worcester, Massachusetts, where she coul enlist without having a physical examination. She gave her name as Robert Shurtleff and in May 1782 was made a solider in the 4th Massachusetts Regiement. In one battle Sampson was shot in the leg. Though she was in pain, she continued to fight. When she was alone, using just a penknife and needle, she removed the bullet. She became unconscious with a high fever. A doctor examined her and discovered she was a woman. Deborah Sampson was soon discharged from the army with honor. When she died in 1827, both her name and the name she took, Robert Shurtleff, were put on her tombstone followed by the epitaph "The female soldier." What was the name Deborah Sampson went by when she was a soldier? Ben Franklin Robert Shurtleff George Washington Nathan Hale Who discovered that Deborah was a woman? her friend another solider her doctor General Washington You can infer that if Deborah Sampson had not been shot and passed out removing the bullet she probably would have.... stayed in the army. been discharged anyway ran away from the army lived her entire life as Robert Shurtleff What is an epitaph?