Deborah Samson Gannett (December 17, 1760 - April 29, 1827), better known as Deborah Sampson, was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 woman who impersonated a man in order to serve in the Continental Army

Continental Army

The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...

 during the American Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

. 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, as "Robert Shurtlieff", of Uxbridge, Massachusetts

Uxbridge, Massachusetts

Uxbridge is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It was first settled in 1662, incorporated in 1727 at Suffolk County, and named for the Earl of Uxbridge. Uxbridge is south-southeast of Worcester, north-northwest of Providence, and southwest of Boston. It is part of...

, was wounded in 1782 and honorably discharged at West Point in 1783.
Deborah Sampson was born in Plympton, Massachusetts

Plympton, Massachusetts

Plympton is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 2,820 at the 2010 census. The United States senator William Bradford was born here.- History :Plympton was first settled in 1662 as the western parish of Plymouth...

, a small village in New England, on December 17, 1760.