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Garden of Praise: Frederick Douglass Biography

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Biographies for children. Biography of Frederick Douglass for elementry and middle school students. Fun online educational games and worksheets are provided free for each biography.

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Deborah Sampson's family was very poor. She was the oldest of six children. Her father deserted his family and went to sea on a ship. When her mother could no longer feed her family, she sent them to live with friends and relatives.

Eventually, at the age of 8 to 10 years old, she became an indentured servant. She worked on a farm and worked very hard. She learned to sew and spin. She could hunt, ride a horse, and even do carpenter work. She loved to learn and would get the boys in the family to teach her the lessons they were learning in school. She learned so well that she later became a teacher.

During the Revolutionary War she wanted to help, but they did not allow girls to join the army. She decided she could join the army if she pretended to be a man. She practiced walking and talking like a man until she could even fool her mother. She was ready. She became an enlisted"man" using the name Robert Shurtleff.

She was tall for a woman; 5 foot and 7 inches, so her fellow soldiers thought she was a short man. They teased "Robert" because he didn't have to shave, but they just thought this "boy" was too young to grow a beard.

"Robert" was a good, brave soldier and volunteered for some dangerous jobs. The other soldiers were proud of him. Deborah became the aide, or personal helper of the general. She served him his meals and took care of his clothes for him.

Things were going well until she was wounded in battle. She let the doctor treat the wound on her head, but she removed the bullet from her leg by herself with a penknife and a needle. Her leg never did heal properly, but her secret was still safe. She was afraid if they found out she was a girl, they would shoot her.

Later she developed a fever and was put in the hospital. The doctor discovered that "Robert" was actually a woman. He took her to his family's home to get well. She was given an honorable dischargefrom the army.

After she left the army, she married a farmer named Benjamin Gannett and they had three children. She taught at a school and also would give talks or lectures about her experiences in the war. At the end of her lectures, she would leave the stage and then come back onstage dressed in her uniform and go through the soldier's routine with the gun.

Paul Revere wrote a letter to Congress asking for her to be given a pension. She began receiving four dollars a month.

She died at the age of sixty-six.

This biography by Patsy Stevens, a retired teacher, was written in 2001.

Play an Online Game at Quia

Biography Slideshows

From Word Central's Student Dictionary
by Merriam - Webster
(Pronunciation note: the schwa sound is shown by ə)

Pronunciation: in-'den-chər
Function: noun 1 : a written agreement :
2 : a contract by which one person is made to work for another for a stated period

Pronunciation: in-'lis-təd
Function: adjective
: of, relating to, or forming the part of a military or naval force in the ranks below commissioned or warrant officers

Function: verb
1 : to offer voluntarily as in "I volunteered my services"
2 : to offer oneself as a volunteer as "I volunteered to do the job."

Pronunciation: 'Ad
Function: noun
: a person who acts as an assistant

Pronunciation: 'pen-chən
Function: noun
: a sum paid regularly to a person especially following retirement or to surviving dependents

"Deborah Sampson"
listen to a song sung by the Texas Boys Choir
for the bicentennial celebration

Amazing Women in War and Peace

Deborah Sampson, Patriot

Deborah Sampson,
Soldier of the American Revolution

Deborah Sampson,
coloring page

Deborah Sampson
Canton, Mass. Historical Society

The Life of Deborah Sampson,
choose the media you wish to view

Press "Go" to search for books about Deborah Sampson.

A LIBRARY OF
ONLINE BOOKS and BOOK PREVIEWS

Order the following books from Amazon.

Life of Deborah Sampson
by John Adams Vinton (selected pages) Order here

Portrait of Deborah - A Drama in Three Acts
by Charles Emery (selected pages)
This book is currently unavailable at bookstores.

Women public speakers in the United States, 1800-1925 - Deborah Sampson
by Karlyn Kohrs Campbell (selected pages)

Voices of the American Revolution, Deborah Sampson
by Kendall F. Haven (selected pages)

Deborah Sampson
The American Monthly Magazine Volume 15 by Daughters of the American Revolution (selected pages)

Deborah Sampson
Graham's Magazine Volume 39 (selected pages)

Skill Sharpener's Reading, Grade 6 - Deborah Sampson
by Martha Cheney (selected pages)

Deborah Sampson
by Rick Burke (selected pages)

Soldier's Secret, The Story of Deborah Sampson
by Sheila Solomon Klass (selected pages)

Glory, Passion, and Principle, the Story of Eight Remarkable Women - Deborah Sampson
by Melissa Lukeman Bohrer (selected pages)

Revolutionary women in the War for American Independence - Deborah Sampson
by Elizabeth Fries Ellet, Lincoln Diamant (selected pages)

Picture courtesy of Corbis.com

Puzzles on these pages courtesy of
Songs of Praise and Armored Penguin

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Garden of Praise: Deborah Sampson Biography

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Deborah Sampson's family was very poor. She was the oldest of six children. Her father deserted his family and went to sea on a ship. When her mother could no longer feed her family, she sent them to live with friends and relatives.

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