That way to Henry Knox

This way to Allan McLane

"Deborah Sampson"     LISTEN! (3.8MB) Source: Ray Dashner Archives 2007 All Rights Reserved

That way to Henry Knox

This way to Allan McLane

Deborah Sampson, Deborah Sampson, As a man she volunteered, As a man she persevered, Did everything but grow a beard To join the Continental Army The Continental Army. Let me tell you about the only woman Who enlisted as a man ... He name was Deborah Sampson A unique American. As a child she had an unhappy life. Her father was lost at sea, And because they were penniless, Her mother was forced to break up the family. But Deborah taught herself reading and writing. The girl was no one's fool; And by the time she was twenty She was teaching school. Deborah Sampson, Deborah Sampson, As a man she volunteered, As a man she persevered, Did everything but grow a beard To join The Continental Army, The Continental Army. Well, the first time she joined, The Army discovered her And sent her home to stay, But Deborah was determined, So she tried another way. In a uniform she'd made secretly She hiked to another town. Changed her first name to Bob And in this disguise She signed up to fight the Crown The fact that her face never need shaving, the men blamed on her youth. Can you imagine those soldiers If they had known the truth? Deborah Sampson, Deborah Sampson, As a man she volunteered, As a man she persevered, Did everything but grow a beard To join The Continental Army, The Continental Army. For a year and a half No one suspected her Tho' she'd been wounded twice; 'Til a doctor tending her fever Learned her secret in a trice. So goodbye to fighting, goodbye to war, Goodbye to the army life. Sweet romance came to Deborah the following spring And made her a happy wife. The Congress decreed a pension for veterans Should be awarded her. And her husband was granted a pension, The first to a widower. Deborah Sampson, Deborah Sampson, As a man she volunteered, As a man she persevered, Did everything but grow a beard To join The Continental Army, The Continental Army.