Deborah Thomson's Accomplishments

Deborah Sampson was the first known American woman soldier who disguised herself under her deceased brother’s name in order to fight in the American Revolutionary War. During this time women were not given rights to infantry, but were often nurses in the military. Like many other people who contributed to the society, Deborah Sampson had many failures along the way of her accomplishments. Deborah Sampson came from “ancestors who led the Massachusetts colony” (Furbee 1999: 56). She grew up in a broken home where both her father and mother deserted her to be raised by other relatives. Deborah Sampson didn’t take traditional family roles, such as being a wife and a mother. According to Furbee, “Deborah stayed single and earned her own living for four years before enlisting” (1999:57). Deborah was well-educated for a woman. For example, she “had the ability to read and write” whereas many women during this time did not (Hutchinson 2007: 9). This benefited her chances of going in the military, as well as her body structure. Unlike many women, she was very independent during her time, which I believe made a strong influence for her to join the military. “Weatherford writes that, ‘Sampson joined the military for many reasons that men did, which included, opportunity to travel, earn a living and pension, and a new nation’” (Furbee 1999: 57-58). Although being the first American

According to Furbee, “Deborah’s first attempt to enlisting the army failed because the recruiting officer’s mother recognized her” (1999:58). I thought this was interesting, because I would think that the military would start checking their sex as a mandatory routine so that this case wouldn’t happen again. However, “next spring Deborah successfully enlisted in the Continental army” (Furbee 1999: 58). The second, challenged she faced was very mind-blowing to me and I could see how passionate she was about being a