THE FORGOTTEN: BY TAKING ON THE MASK AND POSING AS GENTLEMEN, HOWTWO LADIES CONTRIBUTED TO THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

American history is filled with people who broke through

barriers to make the statement for a new generation to have a

better life than the one that they lived. The American Revolution

is the prime example of people banding together for a hope of a

better life for themselves and for the future. Upon reflection,

we think of the founding fathers; the men who brought forth a new

nation. So many times, the women are the forgotten heroes and

without the role they played, things may have turned out

differently in the American Revolution. For many of these heroes

(or heroines), history may leave out their story and the answer

to that age-old question, why? Stuck in the pages of American

history are the stories of Sybil Ludington and Deborah Sampson.

Both Ludington and Sampson changed history, but behind a mask.

This mask was one that concealed each of their genders. Behind

these masks are heroines of history, using the guise as heroes of

history. Ludington and Sampson had to make their contribution to

history by disguising themselves as men due to the social mores

and the beliefs of women’s roles in the 18th century. Behind the

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masks are women who helped the United States of America succeed

in a battle of independence with a colonial power. In the

process, they broke the barriers for both sexes in the course of

American liberty; liberty and justice for all.

Life for Women in Colonial America.

“To know where you are going, you must know where you’ve

been.” This is a quote I have heard my entire life and one that I

use often when asked “why do you study history?” In order to

fully understand why Ludington and Sampson took on the disguise

as a man, it is important to understand life for women during

their time frame. It’s very easy to say that women were not

included as part of the society as the men were. During the

colonial days, the emphasis for liberty was focused upon the

“rights of a man”. This notion led some women to question this

position as well as their position within society.1 They wanted

a change. Sometimes, change just seemed to be around the corner.

In New Jersey, unmarried women cast ballots for a very brief

period of time (along with freed blacks). This changed when those

in power hated how politicians appealed to women voters. Thus, 1Alan Brinkley. American History: A Survey. 11th ed. Vol. 1 to 1877.( New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003), 145.

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they passed a law revoking the suffrage of women in the state.

When they did go to vote, many women were ridiculed for taking on

a “man’s role”.2 This pathway would again gain ground over a

century later, as women broke barriers to gain voting privileges

for all states. As harsh as it was for women of this land, it was

almost degrading for immigrants and the women who were used to

different traditions. Dutch women could maintain a separate civil

identity after marriage. These included to buy and sell goods and

property, contract debts, and even determined who would be the

inheritor of their properties in the future. After the English

took over in 1664, it was not only the name that changed. New

Amsterdam did become New York, but women’s rights began to fade.

Dutch farmers stopped leaving their property to all of his

children, but equally to his sons. By 1700, there wasn’t a single

women trader left in Albany, New York. The number of women

traders in New York City dropped drastically from 134 in 1653 to

only 43 by 1774,3 the year before the battles began in the

American Revolutionary War.2 Kay Bailey Hutchinson. Leading Ladies: American Trailblazers. (New York:HarperCollins, 2007), 38.3 Gail Collins. America's Women: Four Hundred Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines. (New York: William Morrow, 2003), 68-69.

3

America’s second first lady, Abigail Adams, was a staunch

supporter of women’s rights. In a letter dated 1776, she wrote to

her husband John about the new declaration and government he

would be helping to set forth. She said, “In the new codes of

laws which I suppose it will be necessary to make, I desire you

would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to

them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into

the Hands of Husbands.”4 In modern times, feminism demands

equality in every aspect. Abigail Adams did not necessarily mean

that women and men should be equal in every aspect. She was

thinking about property rights and, in particular, the rights

from husbands. The rights from husbands fit the core for those

women who were being abused. This too was a very important

suggestion to Mr. Adams since women of the colonies could not

obtain a divorce from her husband.5

Beginning of the Revolutionary War

It was a time when people desired better. Neither side

wanted to go to combat war, but there wasn’t a way around it.

According to John C. Miller, George Greenville had brought into 4 Alan Brinkley. American History, 145.5 Ibid, 145.

4

open conflict two opposing ideologies and thereafter the empire

knew no peace. George Greenville stated in Miller’s book, “It

seems that Great Britain and America are so widely different in

their notions of their relation to one another that their

connection must be destroyed, if this question is not determined

soon.” In England, liberty has ceased to be an ideal to be

fought for: leadership in the struggle for popular rights had

fallen to the likes of John Wilkes and the prevailing ideal was

not freedom but the maintenance of the established order. In the

American colonies, liberty was regarded as the highest goal of

human effort and the emergence of the oldest men were trusted in

its behalf. Two spiritual worlds existed within the British

Empire; from their collision sprang the American Revolution and

the triumph of the forces that ultimately created American

democracy.6 The American Revolution in the eyes of American

people was a necessity. Being a subject to a nation or even a

single person was no longer an option. Britain loved traditions

and as any nation would, loved having colonies in other parts of

the world. Americans idealized a life of freedom and liberty. 6 John C. Miller. Origins of the American Revolution. (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1943), 167.

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Traditions were a thing of the past; freedom was the only thing

that mattered now. From this “rebellion” came forth a strong

nation and the beacon to the world. Democracy took on new

meanings when America put on the finishing touches. Despite the

good things that came from the victory over the British Empire,

there were still those who freedom and liberty were yet dreams.

The main groups were African-Americans and women.

Expectations and Roles of Women during the Revolutionary War

As the battles began, roles of every member of a family

changed. Men were expected to take up arms and join in the forces

fighting for freedom. Women’s roles changed, but expectations did

not. Women had to take on new roles, such as the provider of the

family while her husband or father was away. They also were

expected to take on nursing roles, and sadly, there were those

women who were expected to keep soldiers “happy” in a way that

only women could provide.7 Despite the role changes, women were

also expected to keep “feminine and womanly” behaviors. Women may

have been suddenly placed at the head of the family while a

husband or father was away, yet, she had to be feminine and if a 7 Mike Wright. What They Didn't Teach You about the American Revolution. (Novato, CA: Presidio, 1999), 184.

6

the patriarch of the family was killed or severely wounded, women

still couldn’t claim the property. If a husband came home and was

abusive, a wife still did not have legal rights to get a divorce

from him.

Throughout the revolution, hundreds of women followed their

loved ones to war. In their endeavors, they became known as “camp

followers.” Eventually, this became a derogatory phrase. Women

would look after the men to which they came for, shared their

lives and their dangers. During this time, if a woman was not a

caregiver or nurse, her job was to cook, wash, or sew.8

While some of these women traveled, many stayed behind to

work the farms and other businesses that their man had left

behind. Some of these women ran the farms and such with a great

success, while others failed due to inexperience, inflation of

the market and prices, a lack of male labor or after the passing

of the Intolerable Acts, enemy troops. Many cities and towns

developed significant populations of improvised women. Yet, many

women responded in acts of rebellion to the position that she had

been placed. Hungry women began to riot because of the lack of

8 Ibid, 1847

food and in desperation, some women had to loot the meals she

ate. In New Jersey and Staten Island, women launched attacks on

occupying British troops there because of the Intolerable Acts.9

It was such that helped women to realize their importance in the

world. They realized that they needed to take a stand against

tyrannical acts. Women became politicized in this matter. It is

then that they realized that enough was enough.

Not only were women being held to servant statures, young

girls were also discriminated against because of their gender

during colonial America. It was also during this time period that

women began to take notice, and then take action to the unequal

opportunities. In the March and April 1790 issues of Massachusetts

Magazine, Judith Sargent said, “If women were in anyway inferior

to men, it was because they weren’t afforded the same

opportunities.” 10 Sargent realized that the reason women was

looked upon so inferiorly wasn’t due to a biological process, but

to the fact that boys were expected to be educated while females

were expected to take on women’s roles, such as domesticity, 9 Alan Brinkley. American History, 144.10 Sargent, Judith. Massachusetts Magazine. March and April, 1790. As cited in Cokie Roberts. Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation. (New York: William Morrow, 2004), 252.

8

motherhood, and caregiving. Abigail Adams enrolled her

granddaughter in school at age ten in the year 1790. She attended

school in New York and took courses in arithmetic, geography,

English, and French, just as her male classmates. Yet, she also

was required to take “womanly arts” courses, which included

embroidery, dancing, and drawing. 11 Women were expected at all

times to exhibit virtues of domesticity. In the days of the

Revolutionary War, few Americans noted the contrasting

assumptions about public and private behaviors. In a 1787

pamphlet, Hannah Adams states that “the enemy is a spiritual one

and the goal was to create a wholesome, virtuous home.”12

The roles and expectations of women for the majority was met

and mastered during the days of the American Revolution. Records

only show a small amount of women who went against the traditions

of the expectations of a virtuous, pious, domestically-minded

woman. Abigail Adams realized the need for protection of women

from abusive husbands and also realized their importance for

inheriting property from their deceased loved ones. Judith 11 Cokie Roberts. Founding Mothers 252.12 Adams, Hannah. A pamphlet quoted in Joan R. Gundersen. To Be Useful to the World: Women in Revolutionary America, 1740-1790. (New York: Twyane Publishers, 1996), 173.

9

Sargent realized that it was a lack of opportunity and not lack

of intelligence that placed males in a higher range of expected

performance in academics than females. The heroines of the

American Revolution realized that in order to beat the system,

they would have to play the game in disguise.

Sybil Ludington: The Harbinger of Heroism

Sybil Ludington was an ordinary girl, but took on an

extraordinary voyage. Because of her daring ride to muster her

father’s troops, the American Revolution were able to stop the

British advancement in burning further towns after the burning of

Danbury Connecticut. Her story is nothing less than heroic.

In a memoir written about Sybil’s father, Colonel Henry

Ludington, the memoir’s author, Willis Fletcher Johnson spoke

with and maintained his records from Col. Ludington’s

grandchildren Lavinia Ludington and Charles Henry Ludington. The

words of the memoir and of her historic ride came from the family

records of her own niece and nephew. Colonel Ludington’s

handwritten records of his family births were in his Family

Register. Sybil was born on April 5, 1761. She was also the

oldest of twelve children that would grace the home of the

10

Ludington family. Sybil’s four youngest siblings were born after

the event that placed her name in the annals of history.13

The Great Protector

Sybil had strong feminine instincts, such as being a

caregiver, domesticity, and a nurturing demeanor. She also had a

strong masculine tendencies, such as being outdoors and

especially horse riding. No more is this present than the

relationship she maintained with her father. Colonel Ludington

had been a hero during the French and Indian War serving in the

Second Regiment of Connecticut14, and he was now a protector of

crucial supplies for the American troops and he was key in

conquering the Hudson Highlands. Even with all of this impressive

military record and responsibility, the most intriguing thing

about Col. Ludington to the British forces was that he was a

former loyalist. In 1775, Colonel Ludington officially resigned

his position in the Royal Army. This action led to recognition

and high acclaim from General George Washington, who said “we

13 Willis Fletcher Johnson. Colonel Henry Ludington a Memoir. (Lavinia Elizabeth Ludington and Charles Henry Ludington, 1907), 45.14 Melissa Lukeman Bohrer. Glory, Passion, and Principle : The Story of Eight Remarkable Women at the Core of the American Revolution. (New York: Atria Books, 2003), 4

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need more men exactly like him.”15 British Army leader Colonel

Howe placed a bounty on Col. Ludington’s head for 300 guineas.

This was a massive amount of money. This sum could have purchased

the entire town.16 One more than one occasion, her father was

shot by a hidden marksman by the wayside. He also barely escaped

death during these attempts. Sybil’s protective and nurturing

instincts were always with her father, especially after the

bounty was placed on his head. More than one of his dissatisfied

neighbors sought to win the prize that the bounty offered.17

Now that Colonel Ludington had a price for his death, Sybil

wanted to take action. Much of Col. Ludington’s time, he was

guarded by a detachment of his regiment, but often, these

“guards” would disappear for weeks at a time. When he was at

home, his main watchmen were his two oldest daughters, Sybil and

Rebecca.18

Sybil Ludington displayed all the virtues of a young woman.

As with many roles, she provided protection and care to her

family. She would cook for them, care for them while they were 15 Ibid, 5.16 Ibid 2.17 Willis Fletcher Johnson. Colonel Henry Ludington a Memoir, 157.18 Ibid, 157.

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ill, and did as she taught was best for all involved. She was

caring and true to the man in her life. She loved her father and

would do anything to help him. The ultimate act of protecting and

helping out the man in her life would come later. Yet with all of

the features of a caring daughter, she attributed a “man’s role”

as a grand protector. The instance of the mask of a man’s role

was sharply coming into play.

General Howe and his troops landed on Staten Island with

9,000 men under his command. With this arrival, he was not far

away from the Ludington’s home in Putnam County New York. By the

middle of 1776, 32,000 fully equipped and highly trained British

and German soldier had taken Staten Island and proceeded to

invade Long Island. General Washington immediately saw the danger

and realized that the supplies, which were in great demand,

needed the highest amount of protection in the area of White

Plains. In this time of need, General Washington called upon

Colonel Henry Ludington to defend this very critical amount of

supplies. Even though the Americans suffered a great and bloody

defeat at White Plain, the only good news was that the supplies

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for the Army had remained untouched. The property of Col.

Ludington was in a much wooded area, all 230 acres of it.19

With their property being in a wooded area, Sybil

immediately realized the danger that could be lurking within the

property. Many nights, Sybil and her siblings shoved weapons and

candles into their hands, and would run to their posts to help

keep their father safe from the bounty that had been placed upon

his head. Her father had taught her how to fire the most popular

weapon of the day, a musket. Many times, to give a warning or a

perception that her father had the utmost protection, she would

fire the musket into the air.20

On one such incident, Sybil proved that she had the makings

of a true, intelligent soldier who could think quickly on her

feet. Records indicated that Sybil had in fact spotted a

notorious Tory named Ichobod Prosser. It is unknown if Prosser

was in the British military, but Prosser was one of the many men

who tried to receive the bounty placed on her father. His band of

nearly 50 armed Tories had planned to abduct Colonel Ludington

only to take him back to Colonel Howe, collect the bounty and 19 Melissa Lukeman Bohrer. Glory, Passion, and Principle, 2. 20 Ibid, 3.

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then top it off by watching Ludington’s execution. Sybil put a

near perfect plan into play. She placed candles in the windows of

her home and proceeded to gather her siblings, arm them, and told

them to march around with their muskets and swords in a military

march. After seeing this act, the Tories had second thoughts.

Prosser and his men admitted years later that they’d been

“ignorant to be fooled by little girls.”21 The “weaker sex” had

proven at this point that they could and did outsmart the wisest

and best army of the world. This is proving that Judith Sargent

theory was all too correct. Sybil was never given an opportunity

for a formal education. Her brothers did. She learned to read and

write, however, it wasn’t exceptional. The boys of the Ludington

household were measured by education. The girls were not. The

Ludington boys were expected to receive a formal education. The

girls were expected to stay home and be reared for future roles

as wives and mothers. 22

When her father was given his own regiment in the American

Revolution, Sybil would spend hours upon hours watching him

training his militia. In doing this, she gained a greater 21 Ibid, 4.22 Ibid, 6.

15

understanding of what was at stake. She realized that it was a

fight for freedom. It was through watching her father and the men

of his regiment that she learned of patriotism, developed it, and

wanted to do whatever she could to help the American cause.23

The Night a Young Girl Made a Man’s Ride

The midnight ride of Paul Revere is a well-known fact of the

American Revolution and may even be able to quote his cry as he

rode through the streets of Concord and Lexington. Indeed, the

ride that Revere took was an act of heroism. His selfless act

helped our troops to prepare for battle by a warning. Still, his

role as a male may cause the role of Sybil Ludington to be

overshadowed because of gender roles of the days of revolution.

Sybil’s ride was too a selfless, heroic act. Her ride, had to be

done with the most extreme of caution, and under the guise of a

man.

On April 26, 1777, Colonel Ludington who had just returned

home from a three day trip with his militia when a man came to

his home to warn him that Danbury, Connecticut was burning. The

23 Ibid, 6.

16

British had not just set a small fire, but the entire town was on

fire. Other than a city being under siege and under fire, the

American Army had recently transferred a massive amount of

supplies from Peekskill to Danbury. Some of these supplies

included food items, such as flour, rice, meat, molasses, and

sugar, as well as military supplies such as clothing, shoes,

uniforms, and power. These were very crucial supplies to help the

soldiers of the American Army. On top of all the other bad news

around, since the British were in Danbury, they were only mere

hours away from a British overtake of the Highlands.24

The only hopes of protecting would be a secret mission by

Colonel Ludington’s militia. They would have to be warned before

the morning if they would be successful. It was imperious that

Colonel Ludington stay home. Firstly, he had to plan the attack

if the British would move upon them. Secondly and most

importantly, the woods were full of “cowboys” and “skinners”

(named after General Courtland Skinner) that roamed the area and

preyed upon everyone without consideration to age, gender, skin

color, etc. These groups attacked women, robbed houses and

24 Ibid, 7. 17

travelers and stole supplies and even horses to sell at

auction.25 These groups would have made a nightly voyage

extremely dangerous for anyone, but even more so for a man with a

high priced bounty upon his head and one that would have been

seen as a traitor to any Tory.

Sybil Ludington knew beyond a doubt that she would have to

be the one to make the right to muster the militia for her

father. In order to make herself less conspicuous, he dressed in

clothing that was made for men. She wore her father’s pants and a

man’s coat as she made her ride. The night was dark and rain had

been pouring down.26 The ride that she would have to make on

horseback had been a ride that brought men in the prime of life

to their knees. On top of the long ride to muster the troops and

the weather, Sybil had to worry and contend with the possibility

of who could be in the wooded area surrounding her home and

community. Her possibilities for capture, enslavement, and even

death were very high. 27Sybil knew this, but the patriotism and

purpose for the American Revolution were things she knew would be25 Antonia Petrash. More than Petticoats: Remarkable New York Women. (Guilford, CT: TwoDot, 2002), 26.26 Melissa Lukeman Bohrer. Glory, Passion, and Principle, 10.27 Ibid, 7.

18

a greater loss if this war was unsuccessful. For greater

protection, Sybil brought a rifle with her.28

One of the leading historians and professors of women during

colonial America, Carol Berkin, explains Ludington’s ride like

this; “In April 1777, Ludington sped along rough roads of Putnam

County, New York, stopping at farmhouse doors only long enough to

rouse the men sleeping inside. Because of her, the Putnam militia

played a critical role in the Danbury battle. Although Governor

William Tyron and his redcoats managed to destroy the arms depot

at Danbury, the Ludington troops helped General Benedict Arnold

and David Wooster drive the British from the town”. 29 Sybil’s

ride not only helped to rally her father’s troops, but it raised

the morale of this critical militia, which affected the halt of

the British troops. Without her ride, the outcome of the war may

have been different. Records indicate that she yelled “meet at

Colonel Ludington’s home by daybreak. Bring your arms! Danbury

has been sacked! It’s burning! Spread the word!”30 Sybil, dressed

28 Ibid 13.29 Carol Berkin. America's Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for Independence. (New York: Knopf : Distributed by Random House, 2005), 139.30 Melissa Lukeman Bohrer. Glory, Passion, and Principle, 14.

19

as a man, did the work that succeed a man, on a horse named

Star,31 single handedly broke gender barriers. Her actions helped

to stop the advancement of British troops. The troops met at

Colonel Ludington’s at daybreak. From there, they advanced to

Ridgefield in time to help drive the British troops back to their

ships in Long Island Sound.32

In her niece and nephew’s words, “In the emergency of the

burning of Danbury, Col. Ludington called on Sybil who just

turned 16 to bode her horse and ride for the men and tell them to

be at his house by daybreak. One who even now rides from Carmel

to Cold Spring will find rugged and dangerous roads, with lonely

stretches. The night was dark and reckless bands of “cowboys” and

“skinners” abroad in the land. But the child performed her task,

clinging to a man’s saddle, and guiding her steed with only a

hempen halter, as she rode through the night, bearing the news of

the sack of Danbury. There is no extravagance in comparing her

ride with that of Paul Revere and its midnight message. Nor was

her errand less efficient than his. By daybreak, thanks to her 31 Antonia Petrash. More than Petticoats, 30.32 Mollie Somerville. Women and the American Revolution. (Washington:National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, 1974), 25.

20

daring, nearly the whole regiment was mustered before her

father’s house, and an hour or two later was on the march for

vengeance on the raiders. They were a motley company, some

without arms, some half-dressed, but all filled with a certain

berserk rage. The next morning, they encountered the British at

Ridgefield”.33

The comparison of Paul Revere’s ride and Sybil Ludington’s

ride may have had the same ending result, a warning of British

invasions and American victories, but when looking at a map and

at the statistics, there is plenty of evidence to show that

Ludington’s ride was the more daring and the more tedious between

the two. On the map, Revere’s ride shows a short, straight line

through safe cities and towns.34 The map of Ludington’s ride

circles an entire county, and the map shows the curves, hills,

and sharp turns that Ludington made.35 Statistically, Revere’s

33 Willis Fletcher Johnson. Colonel Henry Ludington a Memoir, 90. 34 "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere." Tripline. Accessed April 22, 2015. http://www.tripline.net/trip/The_Midnight_Ride_of_Paul_Revere- 0000000000001000A10AB692ABDA1FB935 "Sybil Ludington's Map." Smithsonian Source. Accessed April 9, 2015. http://www.smithsoniansource.org/display/primarysource/viewdetails.aspx?TopicId=&PrimarySourceId=1253.

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ride measured between 15 to 20 miles; Ludington’s measured 40

miles.36

The Legacy of the Female Paul Revere

For the rest of her life, Ludington continued to break

gender barriers. Sybil married Edmund Ogden at age 23 and had a

son Henry. After Edmund’s passing in 17999, she moved to Catskill

and in 1803, became a licensed innkeeper. She was the only woman

out of 23 men with this official title and license.37

Sybil passed away on February 26, 1839 at the age of 77.38

Her legacy of heroism and barrier breaking still lives on. In

Washington D.C., a miniature replica of the statue of her in

Memorial Continental Hall, lies in the headquarters of the

National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution.39

In 1963, Congressman Robert R. Barry addressed the House of

Representatives. During this speech, he read a resolution penned

by the National Women’s Party. Barry entered this statement into

Congressional Record. “The best tribute we can bring to Sybil

Ludington is to go forward ourselves in the present day campaign 36 Antonia Petrash. More than Petticoats, 30.37 Melissa Lukeman Bohrer. Glory, Passion, and Principle, 15.38 Ibid, 15.39 Mollie Somerville. Women and the American Revolution, 26.

22

for the complete freedom of women- with the same courage, the

same determination, the same industry, of conviction that the

heroic young Sybil Ludington displayed in her famous ride for the

freedom of American colonists from the control of the government

of England.”40

In her life, Sybil Ludington proved herself as a survivor

and a person of perseverance. She tried unsuccessfully to get a

pension from her late husband’s military service41, yet she still

kept on going. Through her life, she broke gender barriers,

without intending to do so. She had to disguise herself as a

male, but behind the mask was a female who did what most males

couldn’t do. She made a journey that was considered impossible.

The best summary of what she did can be found as a quote by

Marjorie Barstow Greenbie in Melissa Lukeman Bohrer’s book, “But

she was too tired when she got home to realize the worth of the

deed she had done.” 42

Fully, Intentionally, Capable of Playing the Man for Freedom’s Sake

40 Melissa Lukeman Bohrer. Glory, Passion, and Principle, 18. 41 V.T. Dacquino "Sybil Ludington's Denial for Widows Pension." InSybil Ludington: The Call to Arms, 76. (Fleischmanns, NY: Purple MountainPress, 2000)42 Melissa Lukeman Bohrer. Glory, Passion, and Principle, 2.

23

Deborah Sampson was a woman ahead of her time. Despite a

rough beginning when her father Henry Sampson abandoned the

family and she was sent to work as a servant for Jeremiah and

Susannah Thomas, Deborah learned to read and write and became a

schoolteacher at the age of 18. While teaching, she rejected the

idea that boys’ education was more important than the education

of girls.43 Also at the age of 18, Sampson found herself in a

position that was very rare for colonial America, she was an

adult that didn’t have a present father or a husband, she was

“masterless” and only had to answer to her own authority.44

Through her independence and her abilities academically, Deborah

found a passion for reading, learning, and patriotism. When the

Revolutionary War broke out, Deborah would find newspapers,

weekly news accounts of the political and military events, and

would even ask strangers for additional news from the war.45

Thomas Paine said in The American Crisis papers, “These are the times

that try men’s souls.” He called for “some Jersey maid to spirit

43 Cokie Roberts. Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation. (New York: William Morrow, 2004), 30444 Kay Bailey Hutchinson. Leading Ladies, 9.45 Cokie Roberts. Founding Mothers, 304.

24

up her countryman” as did “a woman, Joan of Arc,” who helped

drive back “the whole English Army.”46

Deborah’s patriotism inspired her to action. She knew that

she could be of more service than a cook, a wash lady, or even a

nurse. She realized that she would have to do what seemed

impossible; take on the full disguise as a male, and fight in

battle. Deborah enlisted in the Continental Army for the first

time in Middleborough in the spring of 1782 as Timothy Thayer.

She didn’t report for duty, but returned the money for

enlisting.47

On a receipt dated May 23, 1782, she was given a receipt for

the sum of sixty pounds to serve in the Continental Army for a

three-year term, and she signed it Robert Shurtliff.48 Deborah

Sampson, or Robert Shurtliff, was on the roll of Captain George

Webb’s Light Infantry, Company of the Fourth Massachusetts

Regiment that November.49 The “light corps” was dubbed as an 46 Alfred Fabian Young.. Masquerade: The Life and times of Deborah Sampson, Continental Soldier. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf :, 2004), 9.47 Kay Bailey Hutchinson. Leading Ladies, 10.48 Alfred Fabian Young. Masquerade, 87.49 Alfred F. Young. "The Roll of Captain George Webb's Light Infantry, Company of the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment Dated November 17, 1782." In Masquerade: The Life and Times of Deborah Sampson, Continental Soldier, 117. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004.)

25

innovation of European and English armies in the 18th century.

Adopted by the American Army in 1777, this group of men were

younger, more athletic, and even more intelligible soldiers. They

were suited for missions that required endurance, agility, and

initiative, says military historian John Shy.50 Through Shy’s

statement, we can determine that Sampson had the strength, the

intelligence, and the drive of a man who was considered tough and

one of the best. Other than the physical torture she endured, she

also endured taunting and teasing that often took place among

young soldiers who didn’t have facial hair. These soldiers were

often called “Molly”, which too was a widely accepted slang word

for a homosexual man during the 18th century.51 Indeed, as the

trooper she was, she didn’t let these things get to her. She

gladly accepted the challenge, and realized freedom was the

ultimate goal. Sampson was ready for the fight.

The Good Soldier

50 Alfred Fabian Young. Masquerade, 79. 51 Karen A. Weyler. Empowering Words: Outsiders and Authorship in Early America. (Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2013), 146-147.

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In the April 2001 article in Military History, Patrick J. Leonard

states that Deborah Sampson was one of at least three women known

to disguise themselves as men and enlisted in the Army during the

Revolutionary War. 52 Only one woman was successful in her

mission to serve her country. That person is Deborah Sampson, aka

Robert Shurtleff. Professor Carol Berkin says, “Unlike the

others, Deborah Sampson had better luck. She served undetected as

Private Robert Shurtleff and when her sex was discovered, the

army honorably discharged her and the state of Massachusetts gave

her veterans pension.”53

In June 1782, she and 20 other soldiers volunteered at the

Point to flush out Tories in East Chester.54 Sampson displayed

great courage, and through fears of dying and wounds, her biggest

fear was the discovery of what was behind the mask, a fully-

fledged female, but with a heart intent on securing American

liberty. At Tappan Zee, New York, she suffered her first wound. A

musket wound to the knee sent Deborah to the aid station. Instead

52 Patrick J. Leonard. "As Private Robert Shurtliff, Deborah Sampson Served 18 Months in the Continental Army." EBSCO. April 1, 2001. Accessed March 1, 2015.53 Carol Berkin. America's Revolutionary Mothers, 61.54 Cokie Roberts. Founding Mothers, 306.

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of getting the help she probably needed, she limped away from the

aid station to allow the wound to mend on its own. She did this

in fears of being unmasked as a female soldier.55

Deborah Sampson had escaped a “close call.” Despite being

injured, she chose the uncertainty of an untreated wound to a

small chance of being discovered. As Patrick J. Leonard best

describes it, “patriotism and the chance for adventure finally

got the best of the tall schoolmarm.”56 Sampson realized that

according to the social norms of the day, being recognized as a

woman would damn her reputation for life. She wanted to keep

fighting, so the pain endured from a wound would be less painful

than a wound to the pride.

Sampson escaped from enemy attack in the winter of 1782 by

making it across the very icy Croton River.57 She was wounded for

a second time and she wrote, “After being wounded in the head, I

considered this a death wound, or as being equivalent to it, as

it must, I though, bad to the discovery of my sex.”58 According 55 Mike Wright. What They Didn’t Teach You, 184.56 Patrick J. Leonard. "As Private Robert Shurtliff, Deborah Sampson Served 18 Months in the Continental Army." EBSCO. April 1, 2001. Accessed March 1, 2015.57 Alfred Fabian Young. Masquerade 132.58 Kay Bailey Hutchinson. Leading Ladies, 11.

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to author Elizabeth Evans, Sampson extended this statement by

saying, “Covered with blood from head to foot, I told my

companions I fear I had received a mortal wound; and I begged

them to leave me die on the spot: preferring to take the small

chance I should in this case have of surviving, rather than to be

carried to the hospital. To this my comrades would not consent;

but one of them took me before him on his horse, and in this

painful manner I was borne six miles to the hospital of the

French Army at a place called Crompond. On coming to the sigh of

the hospital, my heart failed me again. In a par of despair, I

actually drew a pistol from the holster, and was about to put an

end to my life. That I didn’t proceed to the fatal act, I can

only ascribe to the interposition of Divine Mercy.”59 Deborah

would have considered being discovered for her true gender as a

fate worse than death because it would have meant humiliation,

shame, disdain, and ridicule.60 As drastic as it seems, a woman

had to remain pure and hold fast to the roles of a woman. During

the time of the war, she was single and very young. She probably 59Elizabeth Evans. Weathering the Storm: Women of the American Revolution. (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1975), 308.60Jane Keiter. "Deborah Sampson, Continental Soldier." Best of theWestchester Historian. 2000. Accessed March 1, 2015

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realized that marriage to a woman playing a man would limit her

prospects. Deborah Sampson’s most heroic role was the

continuation with battle after being wounded.

The Highly Acclaimed Soldier

Even after a doctor discovered that Robert Shurtliff was

Deborah Sampson, still, Sampson was given an honorable discharge

at West Point on October 23, 1783.61 Her service has been highly

acclaimed near and far. The fact that a soldier that broke not

only military rules by lying about her identity and her sex, but

also broke the social mores of colonial American women, and was

still awarded an honorable discharge, this says a lot about the

qualities of that soldier! Deborah Sampson was one of the best.

The numerous amounts of testimonials from commanding officers

praising her virtue shows that Sampson successfully balanced the

chastity and modesty with physical courage.62 Her biographer

Herman Mann boldly presented her accomplishments as a pure

American story that had to be commemorated as a part of the

61 Patrick J. Leonard. "As Private Robert Shurtliff, Deborah Sampson Served 18 Months in the Continental Army." EBSCO. April 1, 2001. Accessed March 1, 2015.62 Karen A. Weyler. Empowering Words, 147.

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public record and national liberation.63 According to Alfred F.

Young, the officer who wrote about her service in 1784 that she

was what officers prized most in a light infantryman; alert,

chaste, and valor. This officer also commented that she was a

“remarkable, vigilant soldier at her post.”64 Sampson’s acclaim

was not just limited to her time. As time progressed, her fame

decreased. Maybe, it decreased because the roles of women hadn’t

risen to the plateau of celebration and recognition as they did

later on. Yet, Governor Michael Dukakis signed a proclamation on

May 23, 1983 declaring that Deborah Sampson the Official Heroine

of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Two news services declared

that this was the first time in United States history that any

state had proclaimed an individual as the official state hero or

heroine.65 The date that she was officially proclaimed

Massachusetts Official Heroine was exactly 201 years after she

signed the receipt of payment as Robert Shurtliff. Sampson broke

63 Sarah J. Purcell. Sealed with Blood: War, Sacrifice, and Memory in Revolutionary America. (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002), 117.64 Alfred Fabian Young. Masquerade 102.65 Patrick J. Leonard. "As Private Robert Shurtliff, Deborah Sampson Served 18 Months in the Continental Army." EBSCO. April 1, 2001. Accessed March 1, 2015.

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through the gender barriers while gaining all of her

accomplishments under the mask of a man during the American

Revolution. In more recent times, she broke them again by

becoming the first Official State Heroine. She also broke the

barriers for the midway point as well. Washington may have

realized that women were important and helpful to the army,

still, he called for officers to “permit no more women than

absolutely necessary,”66 before the passage of legislation that

allowed women to openly join the military, other women pulled a

“Deborah Sampson.” Coming to the awakening that being a woman was

only a biological factor for not being able to fight for a cause

instead of an intellectual factor, several women during the

American Civil War eighty years later served in the military,

while disguised as men.67 Deborah Sampson was truly a

trailblazer. She didn’t allow her sex to stand in her way. Other

women to see that they are more than their gender. Biological

factors shouldn’t limit levels of adventure or patriotism.

Financial Crisis and Pension Fights

66 Mike Wright. What They Didn’t Teach You, 185.67Gerda Lerner. The Female Experience: An American Documentary. (Indianapolis: Merrill Educational Publishing, 1977), 397.

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As quoted from Professor Carol Berkin earlier, Deborah

Sampson did receive a pension, but it was after a long, hard

fight. Sampson married Benjamin Gannett on April 7, 1783 and gave

birth to three children. Although Sampson Gannett tried to work,

her injuries from the war took their toll on her body. After her

death, the family servant for over 40 years said that she had

been wounded by two balls. One of those balls, she extracted

herself and unable to get the other out. The other remaining in

her was the cause of recurring ill health.68 The family was left

in a financial pickle. In February 1804, a hero of the

Revolutionary War, Paul Revere, wrote on behalf of the Gannetts’

to grant a pension to Deborah (she had trouble getting an invalid

soldier’s pension), “She told me, she had no doubt that her ill

health is in consequence of her being exposed when She did a

Soldiers duty; and that while in the Army, She was wounded.69 The

closeness of the Reveres and the Gannetts remained, as did the

money troubles. Two years later, Deborah wrote Paul in asking of

68 Alfred Fabian Young. Masquerade, 129.69 Paul Revere. "Letter on Behalf of Deborah Sampson Gannett." Paul Revere House. February 20, 1804. Accessed January 30, 2015. https://www.paulreverehouse.org/gift2/details/46 51.pdf.

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a small loan of ten dollars for a short time.70 Gannett also

petitioned Congress on her own behalf in 1809 stating that she

was award the status of an invalid soldier in 1803 commence to be

back paid from her discharge in 1783. Her petition was denied.71

Gannett was finally award a pension and upon her death, her

widower, Benjamin Gannett, was awarded her pension of eight

dollars a month.72

How was Sampson able to pull off a masquerade as a man in

the army for over a year? Deborah had some physical attributes,

such as a long face, that could contribute to looking as a man.

With her hair being the length that it was, it would have been

easy to tie it in the back to resemble an order passed for hair

70 Alfred F. Young. "Letter to Paul Revere from Deborah Sampson Gannett." In Masquerade: The Life and Times of Deborah Sampson, Continental Soldier, 231. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004.71 Alfred F. Young. "Letter to Congress from Deborah Sampson Gannett." In Masquerade: The Life and Times of Deborah Sampson, Continental Soldier, 232. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004.72 "Final Pension Payment Voucher." Citizen Archivist Project: New Deborah Sampson Documents. March 13, 1827. Accessed January 31, 2015. http://citizenarchivistproject.blogspot.com/2013/03/new-deborah-sampsondocuments.html#!/2013/03/new-deborah-sampson-documents.html.

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maintenance.73 Sampson stood at 5 feet 8 inches tall, which was

taller than the average height of the revolutionary soldier.74 In

an effort to better hide her sex, she bound her breast to her

chest very tightly.75 Alfred F. Young mentions many traits that

she possibly was able to get around while disguised as a man.

Firstly, she was a successful seamstress, so she could make her

own male garments and perform her own alterations. The pants of

soldiers were very loose cut rather than form fitting. Because of

the loose fit, Sampson didn’t have to stuff her pants to give an

impression of male genitalia. She could have urinated through a

tube or by standing up thrusting her pelvis forward to direct the

stream of the urine. The processes of this would have been tough

since soldiers (and some laboring class men) didn’t wear

undergarments, but soldier’s shirt would have tails hanging down

to cover both the crotch and rear-end areas.76

73 "Deborah Sampson Gannett Portrait." Smithsonian Source. Accessed April 9, 2015. http://www.smithsoniansource.org/display/primarysource/viewdetails.aspx?TopicId=&PrimarySourceId=1255.74 Mike Wright. What They Didn’t Teach You, 184.75 Mollie Somerville. Women and the American Revolution, 29-30.76 Alfred Fabian Young. Masquerade, 104-105.

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A good thing for Sampson to help keep her sex a secret was

that there wasn’t a daily occasion for soldiers to undress; they

generally slept in their clothes. A daily inspection of soldiers

only had to give the outward appearance of cleanliness.77

She also had to be cleaver and avoid things such as staying

clear of close contact with her comrades. If she were to

accidentally have contacted with them, it would have been easy to

discover Shurtliff’s anatomy was indeed female. She also had to

avoid high contact activities, such as sports, wrestling and even

horsing around.

With the fear of being discovered as a woman, Deborah had to

practice extreme caution. However, there was one area where her

masquerade caused a fallout. Deborah had been a member of the

Third Baptist Church in Middleborough. Feeling that masquerading

as the opposite sex, despite the reason was unchristian like. In

the minutes of a Church meeting, The Third Baptist Church, as

stated in item #2 on their records, “considered it the church’s

duty to withdraw the membership of Deborah Sampson, who last

spring, dressed in men’s clothing to join the army, until she

77 Ibid, 106.36

makes Christian amends.” This was dated September 3, 1782.78 Even

though her masquerade cost her the membership of her Church,

Sampson still tried to exhibit herself as a man to continue in

the right for independence.

The history of Sybil Ludington and Deborah Sampson shows

that women were successful in roles that society deemed were

either only acceptable for accomplishment by men or should only

be completed by men due to the social mores of their day. When

compared, the ride of Sybil Ludington was far more dangerous,

longer, and less remembered than Paul Revere, her male

counterpart of the American Revolution. Paul Revere’s name is

widely known for the heroic details of the war. Deborah Sampson,

as mentioned by John Sly, was able to be a part of the light

infantry, which included the strength, agility, and intellectual

elite, as well as the youngest of age. In compliance with 18th

century ideals, these are the ideals of a perfect soldier and an

able bodied man. Even after being wounded and carrying around

those wounds to protect her sex and still be able to fight in the78 Young, Alfred F. "Minutes of the Third Baptist Church in Middleborough Dated September 3, 1782." A document cited in Masquerade: The Life and Times of Deborah Sampson, Continental Soldier, (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004.), 81.

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war, Deborah Sampson’s name faded as quickly as she did. Sampson

passed away at age 67 in 1827.79 It wasn’t until the Women’s

Movement” that their contributions to history had been

reassessed. The mask of masculinity was one that had to be put so

that Ludington and Sampson could make the contributions to the

American Revolution and to American history. The ladies who

craved adventure got them as a harbinger and a soldier of war. If

they had been men, would history remember them as they do Paul

Revere, Ethan Allen, and even George Washington? Behind the mask,

the women who played men helped to pave the way to the current

military. Once upon a time, as earlier mentioned, Washington

thought women in combat were unnecessary, the American military

saw as many as 400,000 women veterans in World War II and over

200,000 in the latest wars from 2003-present.80 Ludington and

Sampson may not have realized the impact they had on the American

Revolution or on history, but the masquerade as men will tell the

tale of how a woman could and did take on the duties of the 79 Alfred Fabian Young. Masquerade, 11.80 "America's Women Veterans." NATIONAL CENTER FOR VETERANS ANALYSIS AND STATISTICS. November 13, 2011. Accessed April 23, 2015. http://www.va.gov/vetdata/docs/specialreports/final_womens_report_3_2_12_v_7.pdf.

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opposite sex, but excel in their efforts. On gender role barrier

breaking, Ludington and Sampson are pioneers and it can be said,

mission accomplished.

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