<P> Deborah Sampson Gannett ( December 17 , 1760 -- April 29 , 1827 ) , better known as Deborah Samson or Deborah Sampson , was a Massachusetts woman who disguised herself as a man in order to serve in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War . She is one of a small number of women with a documented record of military combat experience in that war . She served 17 months in the army under the name `` Robert Shirtliff '' ( also spelled Shirtliffe or Shurtleff ) of Uxbridge , Massachusetts , was wounded in 1782 , and was honorably discharged at West Point , New York in 1783 . </P>
<P> Deborah Sampson Gannett ( December 17 , 1760 -- April 29 , 1827 ) , better known as Deborah Samson or Deborah Sampson , was a Massachusetts woman who disguised herself as a man in order to serve in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War . She is one of a small number of women with a documented record of military combat experience in that war . She served 17 months in the army under the name `` Robert Shirtliff '' ( also spelled Shirtliffe or Shurtleff ) of Uxbridge , Massachusetts , was wounded in 1782 , and was honorably discharged at West Point , New York in 1783 . </P>
who disguised herself as a man to fight in the war
who disguised herself as a man to fight in the war
Deborah Sampson Gannett
Deborah Sampson Gannett