About Item:

When Deborah Ganett, born Deborah Sampson, was a young woman she disguised herself as a man to fight in the Revolutionary War. The doctor treating her for a bullet wound discovered that she was a woman and she was dismissed from the military. She married a farmer and had several children, but they were quite poor. Many years after the Revolution, Paul Revere wrote a letter arguing that Deborah should receive the same money that other veterans received after the war ended. He was successful and she did receive both back pay for her time in the military and a veteran pension moving forward.

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Glossary Terms:

• William Eustis—A Massachusetts-born doctor and politician
• Sharon—A town close to Boston
• Petition—A request
• Manufacturing—making
• Canton—A town 20 miles south of Boston where Paul Revere had his second home and copper rolling mill
• Enquire—Look into, explore, ask
• Quitted—To leave
• Habit—A way of behaving or acting
• Obliges—Requires, forces
• Handsome—Many, substantial, or a lot
• Force—Ability
• Cultivate—Farm or work the land
• Apparel—Clothing
• Conversable—Able to carry on a conversation
• Effeminate—Marked by qualities thought to be related more to women than to men
• Meanest—Lowest moral value, most humble origins
• Esteem—Admiration
• Servant—A way of saying that someone owes another a debt
• Honble—Honorable

Collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society