Soldier's Secret By Deborah Thomson

The theme of Soldier’s Secret is that people will go great lengths for their country. Deborah Sampson disguised herself as a man so she could fight for America’s freedom. Doing this not only held the normal risks of war, but if Deborah was found out she could be killed. This didn’t stop her. “A young woman disguised as a man. A young woman who had run away from home. A Christian female clad in a man’s clothing. A soldier in the Continental army who had lied at the swearing in. Who had slept in the barracks among men. Who had managed this deception for more than a year and a half.”(12) Deborah’s love for her country and a craving for freedom lead her to go against society’s beliefs and fight in the war. Going to war itself would be a very brave thing to do, but

“‘Robert Shurtliff, you are now a member of the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment of the Continental army…’”(93) Deborah goes through with her dreams of serving in the army. She signs up, and now has to live a man’s life. If she doesn’t get killed on the battlefield for her country, then she could get discovered and killed for being a woman wearing britches. She went farther than any other man in the army to serve her country. It can’t be forgotten that she is fighting in a war still, and the horrors of war still are present. “I had learned much; I now knew how thoroughly I despised war. The great adventure and glory of it were the corrupted visions of men. I had been mislead somehow and wandered willingly into the dreams of strangers. I could have deserted. But I had enlisted for the duration and accepted the sixty pounds’ bounty money. My love for my country and its dream of independence was not diminished.” (142) The fact that Deborah was a woman wasn’t the only thing that was a risk for her. Deborah did not like war, as a matter of fact, she hated it. But she was so devoted and loyal that she would continue fighting for her country’s