Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
In the beginning of the America we know there was a Revolution. And although the call to arms was for men, several women donned the uniform of a Revolutionary soldier and fought against the British. One of these women was:
DEBORAH SAMSON**
In October of 1778 Deborah Samson of Plymouth Massachusetts disguised herself as a young man and presented herself to the American army as a willing volunter to oppose the common enemy. She enlisted for the whole term of the war as Robert Shirtliffe and served in the company of Captain Nathan Thayer of Medway, Massachusetts.
For three years she served in various duties and was wounded twice - the first time by a sword cut on the side of the head and four months later she was shot through the shoulder. Her sexual identity went undetected until she came down with a brain fever, then prevalent among the soldiers. The attending physician, Dr. Binney, of Philadelphia, discovered her charade, but said nothing. Instead he had her taken to his own home where she would receive better care. When her health was restored the doctor met with Robert's commanding officer and subsequently an order was issued for Robert Shirtliffe to carry a letter to General Washington. (This may also be "legend" as there is no record of her ever being in Philadelphia.)
When the order came for her to deliver a letter into the hands of the Commander-in-chief, she knew that her deception was over. She presented herself at the headquarters of Washington, trembling with dread and uncertainty. General Washington, to spare her embarrassment, said nothing. Instead he sent her with an aide to have some refreshments, then summoned her back. In silence Washington handed Deborah Samson a discharge from the service, a note with some words of advice, and a sum of money sufficient to bear her expenses home.
After the war Deborah Samson married Benjamin Gannett of Sharon and they had three children. During George Washington's presidency she received a letter inviting Robert Shirtliffe, or rather Mrs. Gannett, to visit Washington. During her stay at the capital a bill was passed granting her a pension, in addition to certain lands, which she was to receive as an acknowledgment for her services to the country in a military capacity as a Revolutionary Soldier, in part thanks to the efforts of Paul Revere.
**The correct spelling is Samson - inaccurate historians added the letter "P" in later years.
There are also several different versions of the story of Deborah Samson, alias Robert Shirtliffe. This one comes from The Women of the American Revolution by Elizabeth F. Ellet, NY, Baker and Scribner, 1848, that's right, eighteen forty eight. In this book Elizabeth Ellet prefaces the story of Deborah Samson with the following: I have been told that the Female Review about this heroine was not in any measure reliable and that Deborah Samson repeatedly expressed her displeasure at the representation of herself which she did not at all recognize. The following facts respecting her I received from a lady * who knew her personally and has often listened with thrilling interest to the animated description given by herself of her exploits and adventures.
* A niece of Captain Tisdale, upon whom Robert attended in the army for some months.
This same accounting appears in Daughters of America, by Phebe A. Hanaford, Boston, B.B. Russell, 1882, in which Miss Hanaford refers to Niles, Principles and Acts of the Revolution and to a book called Mrs. Hales Biography of Distinguished Women.
The first two books mentioned above are in the personal collection of this writer.
Regardless of which is the authentic version, the fact is that Deborah Samson served her country, in uniform, in the Revolutionary War.
More Women of the Revolution from
"Daughters of America",1849 and
"Women of the Revolution" 1882:
There is the little known story of Rachel and Grace Martin who disguised themselves as men and assailed a British courier and his guards. They took his important dispatches, which they speedily forwarded to General Greene. Then they released the two officers who didn't even know that they were women.
Then there is Anna Warner, wife of Captain Elijah Bailey, who earned the title of "The Heroine of Groton" because of her fearless efforts to aid the wounded on the occasion of the terrible massacre at Fort Griswald in Connecticut. Anna Bailey went from house to house collecting material for bandages for the soldiers. Incidentally she denied ever having used the coarse and profane expressions ever attributed to her.
Margaret Corbin stepped up to the artillery during the attack on Fort Washington when her husband fell by her side and unhesitatingly took his place and performed his duties. In July of 1779 the Congress awarded her a pension for her heroism - and a suit of clothes.
Angelica Vrooman, during the heat of battle, sat calmly in a tent with a bullet mould, some lead and an iron spoon, moulding bullets for the rangers.
Mary Hagidorn, upon hearing the order by a Captain Hager, for the women and children to retire to the long cellar, said: "Captain, I shall not go to that cellar should the enemy come. I will take a spear which I can use as well as any man and help defend the fort." The captain seeing her determination answered "then take a spear,Mary, and be ready at the pickets to repel an attack." She cheerfully obeyed and held the spear at the pickets till hurrahs for the American flag burst on her ear and told that all was safe.
You are certainly posting some interesting history today! Thanks again.
The real story of this country's founding is infinitely more interesting than what comes out of a screenwriter's imagination. You can't make this stuff up!
Ms Pitcher, how about the history of the REAL Molly Pitcher to add to these other women?
Oh boy, do I ever agree! History is the best! Have you read Angel in the Whirlwind? It's an excellent 1 vol history of the Rev. published in '97 I think. I can find the author if you need it! Also how about Paul Revere's Ride by David Hackett Fischer? That would make a terrific movie, and it's a 2 nd Amendment tour de force!
LOL, just call me Molly! Okay, I'll go find her bio.
The Story of Molly Pitcher
An Artillery wife, Mary Hays McCauly (better known as Molly Pitcher) shared the rigors of Valley Forge with her husband, William Hays. Her actions during the battle of Monmouth on June 28, 1778 became legendary. That day at Monmouth was as hot as Valley Forge was cold. Someone had to cool the hot guns and bathe parched throats with water.
Across that bullet-swept ground, a striped skirt fluttered. Mary Hays McCauly was earning her nickname "Molly Pitcher" by bringing pitcher after pitcher of cool spring water to the exhausted and thirsty men. She also tended to the wounded and once, heaving a crippled Continental soldier up on her strong young back, carried him out of reach of hard-charging Britishers. On her next trip with water, she found her artilleryman husband back with the guns again, replacing a casualty. While she watched, Hays fell wounded.
The piece, its crew too depleted to serve it, was about to be withdrawn. Without hesitation, Molly stepped forward and took the rammer staff from her fallen husband’s hands. For the second time on an American battlefield, a woman manned a gun. (The first was Margaret Corbin during the defense of Fort Washington in 1776.) Resolutely, she stayed at her post in the face of heavy enemy fire, ably acting as a matross (gunner).
For her heroic role, General Washington himself issued her a warrant as a noncommissioned officer. Thereafter, she was widely hailed as "Sergeant Molly." A flagstaff and cannon stand at her gravesite at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. A sculpture on the battle monument commemorates her courageous deed.
For more information concerning Molly Pitcher or the Molly Pitcher Award, contact the United States Field Artillery Association, P.O. Box 33027, Fort Sill Oklahoma 73503, or telephone (580) 355-4677 or email: usfaa@sirinet.net
Angel in the Whirlwind by Benson Bobrick, and right you are, 1997 pub date. Loved it--this is the book that started my fascination with the RevWar and General Washington. I recommend it to all Freepers. Thanks for remnding us about it.
Great job, my friend!
Not my creation. Found it at Women Soldiers in the American Revolutionary War.
Another interesting post. There also was a Quake lady named Lydia who acted as a spy. The British took over her home as a command post and held meetings in her kitchen after the family had retired. Unbeknownst to them, she listened at a crack in the floor to all of their plans and alerted Washington by sewing the plans into her small son's clothes.
Because they were Quakers, the boy was allowed passage through the lines on errands for the family. He met his older brother who was a recruit to the Revolutionary Army, and he passed on the intelligence to Washington. This saved Washington's army in the next battle, and the British never suspected who the spy was. When the angry General lined up all the people in the house and demanded to know if anyone had listened to his plans, everybody denied it. Lydia was excused from the interrogation because the General vouched for her as being a good and honest woman. Years later she laughed about how she had fooled them.
I read this story in American Heritege this past year the same month my youngest grandchild was born. Her parents named her Lydia, so I remember the story, but not the lady's last name.
Never heard that one. Great story--thanks.
If I can find the magazine, I'll try to post the particulars tomorrow. The magazine is at home, and I'm goofing around the office today.
A Patriot's Weekend bump for the ladies.
I have always said:
"I'd rather have one good woman at my side...
...than ten sorry men."
As promised:
Excerpt from American Heritage, February, March 2000. Article title: George Washington, Spymaster, by Thomas Fleming. Page 48.
...The most effective American spy in Philadelphia was Lydia Darragh, an Irish-born Quaker midwife and undertaker. The British requisitioned a room in her house to serve as a "council chamber" and discussed their war plans there. By lying with her ear to a crack in the floor in the room above, Mrs. Darragh could hear much of what they said. Her husband wrote the information in minute shorthand on scraps of paper that she hid in large cloth-covered buttons. Wearing these, her fourteen-year old son would walk into the countryside to meet his brother, a lieutenant in the American army. He snipped off the buttons, and the intelligence was soon in Washington's hands.
Mrs. Darragh's biggest coup was getting word to Washington that the British were about to make a surprise attack on his ragged army as it marched to Valley Forge in early December 1777. When the attack came, the Continentals were waiting with loaded muskets and cannon, and the king's forces withdrew.
The British returned to Philadelphia, determined to find whoever had leaked their plan. Staff officers went to Mrs. Darragh's house and demanded to know exactly when every person had gone to bed the previous night -- except one person. "I won't ask you, Mrs. Darragh, because I know you retire each night exactly at nine," the chief interrogator said. Mrs. Darragh smiled and said nothing. After the war she remarked that she was pleased that as a spy she had never had to tell a lie.
Added thought:
I also heard Paul Harvey tell this story on the Rest of the Story near Mothers' Day. He used the twist that since the family were Quakers, the British did not expect that one of thier sons would be a member of the Continental Army. But that was the case, and the British underestimated a mother's love for her son.
There were some women on both sides involved with the Benedict Arnold case.
I've always been amazed at the role that women played in the American Revolution. We studied their role in high school history classes. (Back when people could read.)
Great Story. Thanks for taking the key-in time.
The Quakers were in an intersting spot during the RevWar. Some broke from their families and fought.. If I'm not mitaken, General Nathaniel Greene came from an Rhode Island family of Quakers--he became an outcast.
"I'd rather have one good woman at my side... ...than ten sorry men."
I'll second that!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
[
Top
|
Latest Posts
|
Latest Articles
|
Self Search
|
Add Bookmark
|
Post
|
Abuse
|
Help!
]
FreeRepublic , LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794 Forum Version 2.0a Copyright © 1999 Free Republic, LLC |