Deborah Samson disguised herself as a man, and served in the Continental Army under the name Robert Shirtliff – sometimes spelled Shurtleff or Shirtleff – and fought in the American Revolutionary War.
| FactSnippet No. 2,223,771 |
15 Facts About Deborah Samson
2.
Deborah Samson had a common-law wife named Martha, with whom he had at least two children, and returned to Plympton in 1794 to attend to a property transaction.
| FactSnippet No. 2,223,772 |
3.
Deborah Samson worked as a weaver in the winter; Sampson was highly skilled and worked for the Sproat Tavern as well as the Bourne, Morton, and Leonard families.
| FactSnippet No. 2,223,773 |
4.
Deborah Samson's skills included basket weaving, and light carpentry such as producing milking stools and winter sleds.
| FactSnippet No. 2,223,774 |
5.
Deborah Samson was experienced with fashioning wooden tools and implements including weather vanes, spools for thread, and quills for weaving.
| FactSnippet No. 2,223,775 |
6.
Deborah Samson collected a bonus and then failed to meet up with her company as scheduled.
| FactSnippet No. 2,223,776 |
7.
Deborah Samson's deception uncovered, she repaid the portion of the bonus that she had not spent, but she was not subjected to further punishment by the Army.
| FactSnippet No. 2,223,777 |
8.
Deborah Samson joined the Light Infantry Company of the 4th Massachusetts Regiment, under the command of Captain George Webb.
| FactSnippet No. 2,223,778 |
9.
Deborah Samson removed one of the balls herself with a penknife and sewing needle, but the other was too deep for her to reach.
| FactSnippet No. 2,223,779 |
10.
Deborah Samson carried it in her leg for the rest of her life and her leg never fully healed.
| FactSnippet No. 2,223,780 |
11.
Deborah Samson removed her clothes to treat her and discovered the cloth she used to bind her breasts.
| FactSnippet No. 2,223,781 |
12.
Deborah Samson performed both to earn money and to justify her enlistment, but even with these speaking engagements, her husband and she were unable to pay all the family's expenses.
| FactSnippet No. 2,223,782 |
13.
Deborah Samson frequently had to borrow money from her family and from her friend Paul Revere.
| FactSnippet No. 2,223,783 |
14.
Deborah Samson's petition was initially denied, but when it came before Congress again in 1816 an award of $76.
| FactSnippet No. 2,223,784 |
15.
Deborah Samson was buried at Rock Ridge Cemetery in Sharon, Massachusetts.
| FactSnippet No. 2,223,785 |