Deborah Sampson

Deborah was born on December 17,1760 and apart from war, she spent most of her life living in Massachusetts. She was one of the seven children from Jonathan and Deborah Bradford Sampson. Her parents were directly descendent from the Mayflower. Her father was thought to be lost at see but later on they discovered that he had abandon them. Her mom couldn't  provide everything they needed so she sent some of her children to live with family and friends. At the age of ten Deborah was sent as a servant.Deborah's conditions as servant were not as bad. She managed to go to school in winter and in summer she did hard farm work. 

Without knowing it, this work helped her build muscles for war later on. In 1779 Deborah ended her time as servant and became teacher. It is not known for how long but she later on decided she owed much to her country and she joined the fight for Independence. In order to disguise as a man she cut off her hair and made men's clothing. Some writers says that she signed up as Thimothy Thayer but did not present to work the next day. On May 29, 1782 she tried to sign up again this time with the name of Robert Shurtliff. Shurtliff's signatures still exist today in Massachusetts records. Her unit in battles fought several wars specially in upstate New York. 

During war she got hurt in her shoulder and upper thigh. She received medical attention in her shoulder but didn't tell about her thigh because she was afraid her identity would be discovered. After going to the hospital she took care of her thigh and continued fighting. Many soldiers teased her by calling her "Molly" since she didn't have facial hair. Soldiers thought it was because she was a young boy and never suspected anything.  While defending Congress she got really sick. When the doctor was taking care of her he discovered her identity and took her home for better care without revealing anything. Deborah started wearing woman clothes until several years later when she got married. Almost a decade after she got recognized by Congress for all she made.