Dr. James Barry

I know what you're thinking....but that's a man's name! Why are you writing about a man on a woman's blog? Read on and you will find out why Dr. James Barry is no ordinary person.

James Barry's birth date, parentage and childhood are not known to us.  Barry was possibly born in Belfast, Ireland somewhere around 1795.

Barry enrolled as a medical student at Edinburgh University in 1810. After graduating, Barry entered the British army as a hospital assistant. In 1815 Barry was sent to Cape Town, South Africa to become physician to the governor of the colony. Dr. Barry became a very sought after physician in Cape Town; attending all the leading members of the colony. Barry was known to be a skilled doctor, a flirt with the ladies and hot tempered. The good doctor fought a duel against another officer and once stood trial for disobeying superiors. Barry proposed many reforms in Cape Town, including better sanitation and improved treatment of slaves.

Eventually Barry was sent to the British outpost of Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean. For the next thirty years Barry roamed the British empire attending to the sick and performing surgeries. Barry always traveled with a black male servant and a series of  poodles, all of whom where named Psyche.

In 1857, Barry was sent to Canada as Inspector General. The cold northern climate did not agree with the doctor and in 1859, Barry retired and moved to London. Barry died during the summer of 1865 from dysentery. An army doctor briefly inspected the aged body and signed the death certificate. It wasn't until a woman was cleaning Barry's body that the secret was revealed.

Dr. James Barry was a WOMAN!

How in the world could a woman reach the ranks of Inspector General in the British army?! Especially at a time when women weren't allowed to even attend medical school. How could a woman serve in this capacity in the army for forty-six years without having her gender revealed?!

Looking back after her death, many of her fellow officers recalled certain eccentricities about Barry. Whenever Barry had to change, she made anyone sharing her bunk leave until she was finished. Another officer stated that it was generally assumed Barry was a hermaphrodite. Her sleeping quarters were always dark when her attending physician came to call about her health. The servant that she kept with her even claimed to not know she was a woman. Later on, after her death, a doctor and nurse that treated her for yellow fever in 1845 admitted they knew her secret but had promised not to tell anyone.

The army was not very forthcoming with an official statement about Barry. Since her parents were not known to anyone, no one knows Barry's real name. Some sources now state that the woman who brought her to Edinburgh University was her mother, Mary Ann Bulkly. Bulkly supposedly had a son and two daughters, one of whom disappeared around the time Barry enrolled in medical school. Another source states that Mary Ann Bulkly IS James Barry.

                                                      Her tombstone simply reads:

                                  Dr. James Barry -  Inspector General of Army Hospitals.

                                                               Dr. Barry with his servant and dog Psyche




Women who Made a Difference - Malcolm Forbes

http://secrethistoriesproject.tumblr.com

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Hold on to your bloomers; it's Fashion Friday!

                      Today we will take a look at the article of clothing known as bloomers.

Bloomers are named for newspaper journalist and women's rights activist Amelia Jenks Bloomer.       Bloomer lived with her husband in Seneca Falls, New York. When her husband bought the local paper Amelia began to write articles for it. After the historic Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls in 1848, Bloomer began publishing her own newspaper the Lily, which was the first women's journal to be produced by a woman.   

Bloomer gave her name to this type of underwear but she did not invent them. Bloomers were actually designed by Elizabeth Miller, who was a friend of Amelia Bloomers. Miller was on a trip abroad and was uncomfortable traveling in her cumbersome and heavy attire. She designed a lighter outfit which consisted of a shorter skirt worn over a pair of pantalets that reached to the ankle. The idea for this fashion was taken from the style of pants worn by the Turks in Turkey; hence it was known as the "Turkish Dress", also sometimes known as the Rational Dress which started in France.

                                               
 One day Miller stopped by Bloomer's home for a visit, sporting her new wardrobe. Bloomer decided to make a similar outfit for herself and then wrote an article about it in the Lily. "Fit yourselves for a higher sphere, and cease groveling in the dirt. Let there be no stain of earth upon your soul or apparel."  Hundreds of Lily readers wrote in asking for the pattern for this new fashion. Men's journals of course mocked the new fashion, eventually giving rise to the term "Bloomers".

                                                                                          Amelia Jenks Bloomer


  Bloomers fell out of fashion for a while, but like most fashion trends, they made a comeback. The invention of the bicycle brought the use of bloomers and the Turkish Dress back into vogue. Even Queen Victoria wore them so she could go bicycling! Eventually, as society progressed and clothing became less restrictive for women, bloomers once again fell out of fashion. Just think about how far women's underclothing have come in 164 years. First women didn't wear underclothes as we think of them today. All the skirts and undergowns made actual panties unneccessary. (Just imagine wearing about 15 pounds of clothing all day and see how much activity you do.) Then the bloomers were adopted to allow for more freedom of movement. Here we are in 2014, and with some of the skimpy underwear available out there we might as well be wearing no underwear at all again.

Ghi-ga-u: Beloved Mother

"You know that women are always looked upon as nothing, but we are your mothers; you are our sons. Our cry is all for peace; let it continue. This peace must last forever. Let your women's sons be ours. Let our sons be yours." - Nancy Ward; speech given to the United States treaty commissioners; 1781

                                       A Swan's Wing: Symbol of the Beloved Mother

Nancy Ward was a very influential Cherokee woman who lived during the forming of the United States  Because of her, many lives, both white and red, were spared from death. She believed that the white men were on the Cherokee land to stay and the best way to live was to live peacefully side by side. She pushed for integration and adoption of some of the white man's ways, and helped negotiate treaties between the Cherokee and the White man. In a time when European men denied women a say in the world, her wise motherly voice rose above them and was heard.

"She must have possessed remarkable traits of character to have retained almost autocratic control over the fierce and untamable Cherokee, when she was known to sympathize with their enemies, the white settler."     - James Adair

Nanye'hi, or Nancy, was born into the Wolf Clan in 1738 to Tame Doe; sister to the great Cherokee chief Attakullakulla. Her father is unknown, possibly from the Deleware tribe, but the Cherokee society is matrilineal, so her father really isn't important.

About 1751 Nanye'hi married Tsu-la, or Kingfisher. Kingfisher was a member of the Deer Clan and a fierce warrior. The Cherokee and the Creek Indians were ancient enemies and had always fought for possession of what is now northern Georgia. Some time during the year 1755 the Cherokee and Creek were involved in the bloody Battle of Taliwa which happened at Ball Ground, Georiga. Kingfisher was mortally wounded. Nancy was there at the battle with her warrior husband. She was hiding in the bushes when she saw Kingfisher fall. She ran to him and moved him into a hidden area and took his place in battle. The Creeks were winning the fight; the Cherokee had fallen back. She rallied the remaining Cherokee and led them to defeat the Creeks, who were twice their fighting force.




Once news of Nancy's bravery and inspiring leadership was made known to the rest of her tribe, Nancy was given the honored title of War Woman and later received the title of Ghigau, or Beloved Mother. Ghigau were allowed to become members of the tribal war counsel. They also had the final say on the fate of prisoners. Nancy also became head of the Women's Counsel which could override the authority of the chiefs when they felt it necessary. One prisoner that Nancy saved from death was a local settler by the name of Lydia Bean. Lydia showed Nancy how to keep cows and make butter and cheese.

A few years after the death of Kingfisher and her elevation to Beloved Mother, Nancy married a white trader named Bryant Ward. Her marriage to Ward helped cement her good relations with the white man and she came to speak fluent English and to understand more of the white man's ways and thoughts. This would help her to save many white settlers from the raids that took place under her cousin Dragging Canoe. Several times she sent word to the settlers of the Watauga that Dragging Canoe was planning a raid, thus saving many lives on both sides.

Because of her numerous interventions on behalf of the white people against her own people, she gained the respect of many important men in the newly forming United States and is considered a traitor to the Cherokee by many of her tribe. Some of the most respected military leaders looked to and listened to her wisdom. A Colonel Christian even wrote about her to President Jefferson and Jefferson in turn wrote back about her. Even President Teddy Roosevelt remembered her in his book Winning of the West. On one attack by the white man's army, most of the Cherokee towns were destroyed but her town of Chota was spared out of respect for her and her family. During the final attacks on the Cherokee and their towns, Nancy and her family were among the prisoners but were treated with freedom while among the miltias and were allowed to choose for themselves to stay with the white settlers or return to their home. They decided to return and rebuild Chota.

Eventually most of the Cherokee lands were ceded to the United States and even Nancy's beloved home town of Chota was sold. She moved her family to a place by the Ocoee River in present day Polk County, TN, where she spent the rest of her days running an inn. In 1822, Nancy died and was burried beside her brother and her son Fivekiller on a hill near her inn. Her great-grandson wrote this of her passing, "A light rose from her body, fluttered around the room like a bird, left through an open door and disappeared toward Chota."

   "The white men are our brothers; the same house holds us, the same sky covers us all."
Nancy Ward, the Beloved Mother of the Cherokee left behind a wonderful legacy and insight for anyone willing to heed her words of wisdom. We are all of one mother and should all live peacefully side by side as siblings.

There are some scholars who believe that the Battle of Taliwa never took place. These scholars site the fact that the Creek Nation never had a town by the name of Taliwa but research I have found suggests this is a Cherokee word meaning town. They also site maps that were drawn up by explorers during this time period as having no Cherokee settlements that far into Georgia or having them marked as abandoned. What this probably means is that these abandoned locations were either hunting camps that were not being used or were summer or winter villages and no one was there because it was the wrong season to be staying in those villages.

Many questions are always raised when we look at the history of a people who had no written language until the early 1800s. Most scholars also tend to look at history through the eyes of a modern thinker and this is always detrimental to history and the people of the past.

Did Nancy Ward exist? Yes. She was a Cherokee representative at many treaty negotiations and many colonists spoke of her in their letters and journals. Did she fight in a battle against the Creek Nation? Possibly. How she earned the honor of Beloved Mother may remain shrouded in mystery, but earn it she did.

Nancy Ward
Glory, Passion and Principle - Melissa Lukeman Bohrer
Cherokee Women - Theda Perdue
Nancy Ward/Dragging Canoe - Pat Alderman

There are several other really good historical bios about Nancy Ward but be careful because some are fictional novels and some just did no research at all.


Did you know: The title and honor of Beloved Mother is still in use by today's Eastern Band of the Cherokee.

Did you know: There is a Beloved Man title. Jerry Wolfe was the first man to be named Beloved Man since the 1800's. He was given the title/honor in April of 2013.

For more information of the EBCI in general and or for news you can check out:
Cherokee Museum or
http://theonefeather.com/

The First First Lady

I finally managed to tear myself away from level 70 of Candy Crush Saga in order to write a new blog.

Today we'll take a look at Martha Dandridge Custis Washington; wife of the first President of the United States of America.

Portrait of Martha Washington painted in 1878 by artist Eliphalet F. Andrews that now hangs in the East Room of the                                                                                                        White House

Born on June 2, 1731, Martha was the oldest daughter of John and Frances Dandridge. Her family resided on Chestnut Grove Plantation located in New Kent Co. Virginia on the Pamunkey River. Her education was the same as most girls born during her time and mainly revolved around domestic and social skills. She could read and write and was very adept at managing a household.

When Martha was 18 she married a wealthy man by the name of Daniel Parke Custis. Daniel Custis's father was against the marriage at first; feeling the Dandridge family didn't have the wealth and status to join into his family. Martha herself arranged a meeting with Daniel's father and did much good to promote her marriage to Daniel and consent to marry was granted. Martha and Daniel finally married on May 15, 1750. Daniel was almost 22 years older than his new bride. Together Martha and Daniel had four children; two of which died before they reached the age of five.

On July 8, 1757 Daniel Parke Custis died despite the attendance of the best physicians money could buy; without leaving a will. This put the now 26 year old widow into hard circumstances. Martha became the head of the household which included the business and financial aspect. According to English common law, Martha received a third of her husband's estate for use during her lifetime and the rest went to the children when they reached adulthood. Martha handled her new responsibilities with confidence and success. At the age of 26 Martha now owned nearly 300 slaves and more than 17,500 acres of land in six different counties.

Not long after her first husband died, Martha began to think about remarrying. A certain young military officer by the name of George Washington had heard about Martha's new situation and traveled from Williamsburg to her plantation home to visit her and make himself known. Within months of meeting both were planning a future together. :On January 6, 1759, less than ten months after first meeting and less than two years since her husband's death, Martha and George were wed. Martha must have cared for and trusted Washington a great deal because she married him without a premarital contract and so George was able to use Martha's one-third of her deceased husband's monies, lands and slaves. George also became the legal guardian of Martha's fatherless children. In Aprril of 1759 Martha  moved to George's plantation Mount Vernon to begin the next chapter of her life.

One of Martha's surviving children had lived until the age of seventeen when she passed away from a severe epileptic seizure. Martha's last surviving child, a son they called Jacky, married at the age of eighteen and he and his wife produced four children. Eager to join the war and fight for his country, Jacky begged to be allowed to join the army. He ended up becoming a civilian aide de camp for Washington. Shortly after gaining the position he contracted "camp fever" and soon died. The Washingtons took on and raised as their own two of their grandchildren. They would even travel to New York City (the first Capital) and then to Philadelphia with George and Martha during Washington's presidency.

During the War for Independence, Martha became a patriotic symbol. She was not comfortable with such a public life and role but she was determined to be happy in whatever situation she found herself. She would often visit her husband during the winter months of the war when fighting was typically at a standstill. Patriots and dignitaries all around the country would come out to meet her. She began to take part in fund raising efforts in order to support Washington's troops and the war effort in general. Washington felt Martha's presence was so essential to the war effort that he asked Congress for reimbursement for her travel expenses. Martha's presence, along with a few of the other Commanding Generals' wives became important for the morale of the army, and would often times hold social activities that helped make the long winter months more bearable. She also became hostess to innumerable guests including; generals and their wives, foreign dignitaries, other political leaders, and even Indian Chiefs.

When the War for Independence was over and Washington assumed the role of First President, Martha likewise took on the role of First Lady. There was no example already in place that the two could follow. Martha was aware that she just as much as her husband, would be the one to set the example of how the First Lady should act and what duties she must perform. She once wrote to her niece that she felt "more like a state prisoner than anything else."

In March of 1797, after having turned down a third term as President, the Washingtons returned to their beloved Mount Vernon; Martha was then sixty-five years old. She reveled in the daily routine of her home life and took great joy in her grand and great grand children. She had hoped to have many peaceful years at Mount Vernon with her family, but this was not to be. Only two and a half years after leaving the Presidency, George Washington died suddenly on December 14, 1799, after contracting a throat infection. Martha was grief stricken and closed up the bedroom she had shared with George and moved to a room on a different floor. Just two and a half years after her second husband's death, Martha Dandridge Custis Washington passed away on May 22, 1801.

                                      Mount Vernon; Plantation home of President George Washington


While Martha Washington was never involved in the Nation's politics she still served a very important role as the first First Lady. She set a precedent for every First Lady to come as a gracious hostess and someone that could/should be looked to as a symbol of the Nation.

Here's a little anecdote: Martha never lived in the White House that would become the home of every future President and First Lady, but her first husband's home was called White House.



For more information on The first First Lady check out these resources:

http://marthawashington.us/

Website about all the First Ladies

Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation - Cokie Roberts
(Don't be put off by the fact that Cokie Roberts wrote this book. It is very well researched and well written.)

Martha Washington: An American Life - Patricia Brady

Christmas Edition: The Blessed Virgin Mary

I have been lazy as of late and I have not posted anything. Since it is Christmas I thought I would shake off my laziness for a post on Mary, Mother of Jesus. This post is difficult to write because we really don't know that much about Mary and it is hard to separate fact from theology; especially concerning someone so mystical as Mary.


                                                

Mary was the daughter of Joachim (or Heli) and Anna; both of whom were canonized as saints. Mary's father descended from the royal house of David and it is supposed that Anna descended from the priestly house of Aaron. Joachim and Anna lived for a time in Sepphoris, a large city in Lower Galilee and archaeological evidence suggests it was a city of wealth. Mary, however, was most likely born in Jerusalem in a house called Probatica. Other traditions believe she was born in Bethlehem which is less likely.

According to Jewish law, the first born male was "presented" in Temple. This would also take place for favored or special children. It is believed that Mary was presented in Temple and took a vow of virginity. Some early Christian writings state that this took place when Mary was only three. The Catholic Church does not specify a particular age during their Celebration of the Presentation. Mary remained at the Temple, or at least visited it every day to be educated and there she is reported to have received daily visits from holy angels.

Jewish law considered girls marriageable at the age of 12 1/2. Marriage was preceded by the betrothal, which meant the girl belonged to her husband but did not live with him for another year when the marriage was finally celebrated. When Mary was fourteen, the High Priest wished her to be married, but Mary reminded him of her vow of virginity. The High Priest consulted with God and then called all the young men from the house (family) of David to the Temple. The High Priest promised Mary in marriage to the man whose rod (a shoot or stem from a woody plant) should sprout and become the resting place for the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. And as we all know, it was Joseph who won the privilege of becoming the human father to Christ.

The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is related in the Bible in Luke 1:26-38. Mary was living in her parent's house, now believed to be in Nazareth, during her betrothal year when the Angel Gabriel appeared to her. Gabriel told her that she would soon be with child, like her cousin Elizabeth who carried in her womb the future John the Baptist. Mary did not want to doubt the word of God but she did question Gabriel as to how this should come to pass since she "knew not man", meaning she was still a virgin. The Angel Gabriel assured her that her vow of virginity would remain intact.

Mary then went to visit her cousin Elizabeth and stayed in her home for some time. When she returned to her own home she was with child. Joseph knew nothing of the conception and was at first deeply hurt and perplexed. Eventually God visited Joseph and told him the truth of the child in Mary's womb. Not long after this visit from God, Joseph concluded his marriage rites with Mary.

Shortly after the conclusion of their marriage ritual the Emperor Augustus decreed a census to be taken throughout the Roman Empire. Joseph and Mary,who was nine months pregnant, had to travel to Bethlehem, the city of Joseph's lineage to enroll in the census and pay their tax. Thousands of people were traveling to the cities of their families origins. SO.....when Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem there was of course "no room at the inn"....any of them. Historians and Religious Scholars believe this census took place in 8 B.C. Some time after arriving in Bethlehem, Mary gave birth to Jesus. Theological dogma states that she felt no birth pains because the Mother of Christ was exalted from the punishment pronounced against Eve. Mary presented herself and her new born son to the Temple as decreed by Jewish law. This is supposedly when St. Simeon warned Mary of the troubles that would befall her son. The mystified and proud parents then returned to their home of Nazareth in Galilee.

Some time after returning home Joseph was warned to flee by a holy messenger, and so Joseph and Mary took flight to Egypt to escape the wrath of King Herod. Not much is known about their time in Egypt. We do not have any accounts of where they lived or how they lived. They remained in Egypt until word of King Herod's death reached Joseph and they journeyed back to Nazareth.

Mary was considered a virgin both during her pregnancy and for some time after the birth of Christ. Eventually she and Joseph did unite in the marriage bed and there are references to brothers of Jesus. However, the Blessed Mother was and is still maintained as being without sin.

Mary chose to stay in the background during Jesus' apostolic years. She was considered a normal Jewish mother. Not much is known about her life during her son's life. Mary was probably there at Jesus' Crucifixion and at his Resurrection and Ascension. Joseph was much older than Mary and died well before the trials of Jesus.

Even less is known about Mary after Jesus' death. There is evidence that she lived for a time in Ephesus but her permanent home remained in Jerusalem. It is believed that she died in Jerusalem and that is where her tomb is located. Early Religious Scholars date Mary's death to A.D. 48. According to Catholic beliefs Mary did not die an earthly death but ascended into Heaven body and soul. The Feast of the Assension of the Blessed Virgin is celebrated on August 15th and is the oldest known feast dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Most of Mary's story can not be corroborated by hard facts. As with all mystical religious stories we must decide on our own to have faith. In this case we have to have faith in Mary; to have faith in the Immaculate Conception and to have faith that she was the Mother of Christ, the Savior.



There are quite a few biographies about the Blessed Virgin out there but like I said before, it is hard to separate hard facts and solid proof about Mary from the theological beliefs.

The Catholic Encyclopedia

Mary: A Flesh and Blood Biography of the Virgin Mother - Lesley Hazelton

The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Anne Catherine Emmerich

Veteran's Day

"To us in America, the reflections of Armistice [Veteran's] Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…" - President Woodrow Wilson


At 11am of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918 an armistice, or cessation of hostilities, was signed by the Allied Nations and Germany. In 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11th as the first commemoration of Armistice Day. Armistice Day was signed into law as an official holiday on May 13, 1938, to be celebrated annually on November 11th. The Armistice day bill was amended in 1958 to honor veterans of all American wars since we had just been through WWII and Korea. The title Armistice was removed and Veteran was used in it's place. The Uniform Holiday Bill, passed June 1968, which was designed to give federal workers a three day weekend by celebrating four national holidays on a Monday, moved the date of Veteran's Day. The first celebration on October 25 1971 after the change caused much confusion. Many people felt that the date of November 11th had historical significance for the holiday. In 1975, President Gerald Ford signed a new law reinstating November 11th as the official day to observe Veteran's Day.

Now, I would like to honor a veteran of the American Revolution. A veteran who felt so strongly in the rights and freedoms of her fellow countrymen that she defied convention, society, and even law in order to fight for what she believed was right. Deborah Sampson is a true American Patriot and she deserves to be remembered and honored as such.

"...I burst the tyrant bonds, which held my sex in awe, and clandestinely, or by stealth, grasped an opportunity, which custom and the world seemed to deny, as a natural privilege. And whilst poverty, hunger, nakedness, cold and disease had dwindled the American Armies to a handful....did I throw off the soft baliments of my sex, and assume those of the warrior...."                                                                                           Deborah Sampson

Deborah, the fifth of eight children, was born on December 17, 1760 in Plympton, Massachusetts. Her family were poor farmers and her father left on a business trip when she was five, never to be seen or heard from again. Unable to care for all her children, Deborah's mother sent her oldest five, including Deborah, to live with various relatives. Deborah lived with a cousin of her mother's for three years until the woman's sudden death. Deborah finally found a place as an indentured servant until she turned eighteen; she was ten at the time. The ten years she spent with the Thomas family were happy times. She worked for the family but they also taught her to hunt and shoot and she was allowed to listen in to the school lessons her adopted brothers were given. She learned to read and write. She was disturbed by all the troubling news from around the country such as the Boston Tea Party and Massacre, and the Battle of Lexington and Concord. She developed a fierce patriotism and was very envious when her adopted brothers became militiamen. Deborah felt keenly the limitations of her sex. She wanted to do more for her country than just sew clothes for the soldiers. She wanted TO BE a soldier. But how could she fight along side of men when to do so would be seen as the downfall of her womanhood? Deborah was smart; she had a plan.

One night she rose from bed, bound her chest, cut her hair short and donned a fake uniform which she had kept hidden for over a month. This was the culmination of her great plan. She had tested her disguise out on the townspeople before and was discovered. She walked through town in an old soldier's uniform and to the recruiting office. She signed her name as Timothy Thayer and collected her sign on bounty. When Timothy Thayer did not report for duty, Deborah was found out. She was ridiculed, forced to give back the bounty and even expelled from her church for "....dressing in men's clothes, and inlisting as a soldier in the army and altho she was not convicted, yet was strongly suspected of being guilty and for sometime before behaved very loose and unchristian like..." This time it had to work.

Deborah traveled on foot to Boston. After staying there a few days she kept traveling disguised as a man until she reached the town of Bellingham. While there she was approached by a man hoping to enlist "a fine young man such as yourself" into the army.  At the unusual height of 5'9", and not overly feminine looking, with her chest bound and her hair cropped, her disguise had indeed worked. When the time came to put her name to the enlistment papers she signed Robert Shurtliff; the name of her older brother that had died in infancy. Deborah, A.K.A. Robert Shurtliff was officially a soldier in the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment of the Continental Army. She was 22 years old.

Soon after her enlistment, she and her regiment marched from western Massachusetts to West Point in New York. Thanks to her years romping with the boys of the Thomas family she was more than capable of using a musket and bayonet. She quickly received a promotion to a special group in the Light Infantry Division known as the Rangers, an elite section of the Continental Army that were sent on special missions apart from the main body of the army.

On their first mission "Robert" was wounded during a skirmish with a roving band of Tories (men loyal to the English Crown). She was shot in the leg and suffered a large knife wound on her forehead. She was carried to a French army hospital set up six miles away from where the skirmish took place. Deborah was terrified that her true identity would be discovered. Her forehead was treated and bandaged and her leg wound cleaned but she would let the doctor do no more. While his back was turned she quickly limped out into the night. Several tries later she successfully removed the musket ball from her leg by herself. She had only been a soldier for five short months.

A fellow soldier, Snow, became ill and "Robert" offered to stay behind with him. Seeking out help they came upon a house in which they asked to seek refuge. Unfortunately, the owner of the house was a Tory and he locked "Robert" and Snow in the attic and tried to starve them to death. After seven days Snow finally succumbed to his illness and lack of food. Deborah finally decided she had to get out of that attic. She grabbed both her gun and Snow's and all the ammunition and made her way through the attic door. The house was very still and quiet and somehow Deborah made it to the first floor, out the front door and into the night without being seen. Two days later she came upon an army barge and was given food and water and medical treatment. She returned to West Point and praised for her bravery and loyalty. She gave information about the Tory house to her superiors and the house was raided and several Tories taken prisoner.

In April 1783, "Robert" was appointed as aide-de-camp to General Patterson. A few weeks later she was given permission to join up with General Howe's forces in Philadelphia to put down an uprising by disgruntled Continental soldiers. Deborah arrived too late to be of any help and unfortunately caught a fever that was ravaging the town. She was taken to a local hospital where a doctor discovered her secret. This sympathetic doctor Binney removed her to his own home so that her identity would not be discovered by anyone else.

When the Treaty of Paris was signed in September 1783, "Robert" was ordered back to West Point where her regiment was to be disbanded. Dr. Binney gave her a note to give to General Patterson. She was terrified that Dr. Binney was going to reveal her secret to General Patterson. She could have read the letter to see what it said; she could have thrown it away so no one else would ever know that "Robert Shurtliff" was really Deborah Sampson, but she didn't. General Patterson read Dr. Binney's letter and asked Deborah if it was true that she was a woman, she admitted it was so. Deborah was shocked that she was not subjected to the punishment and humiliation which she had expected. Instead she was treated with respect by her fellow soldiers and her commanding officers. On October 25, 1783, Deborah received an honorable discharge from the army signed by General Henry Knox and traveled back home.

Two years later she met and married Benjamin Gannett and gave birth to three children and adopted a fourth. Deborah's story appeared in a few newspapers and a book was written about her. Later, at the age of 42, Deborah began a lecture tour. She became the first woman ever to go on a professional lecture circuit. Deborah would appear onstage in full military regalia and with a musket she would demonstrate the twenty-seven arms maneuvers at the command of an officer. When asked why she had decided to hide her sex and enlist as a solider she had this to say:

"....My mind became agitated with the inquiry - why a nation, separated from us by an ocean more than three thousand miles in extent, should endeavor to enforce on us plans of subjugation, the most unnatural in themselves, unjust, inhuman, in their operations, and  unpracticed even by the uncivilized savages of the wilderness?...I only seemed to want the license to become one of the severest avengers of the wrong."

Deborah kept a diary through-out her life as a soldier. Unfortunately one of her diaries was lost in a storm at sea, but she started another one as soon as she hit land. She kept up her diary the rest of her life.
She was awarded a pension from the United States of $4 a month for services rendered during the war. She was also awarded a pension from the state of Massachusetts for "extraordinary instance of female heroism by discharging the duties of a faithful, gallant soldier, and at the same time preserving the virtue and charity of her sex unsuspected and unblemished". In 1827, at the age of sixty-eight Deborah Sampson passed away in the home her son, a captain in the War of 1812, built for her in Sharon, Massachusetts. The house is still standing today.

Deborah Sampson was a remarkable woman and a true American Patriot. She is a part of the spirit that makes America what it is today and she deserves to be honored this and every Veteran's Day along with so many fallen and forgotten heroes and heroines of America's past.

Ingenious Inventors

"I'm not surprised at what I've done. I'm only sorry I couldn't have had as good a chance as a boy..." -Margaret Knight.

Until recently so few females were given credit for their innovation and ingenuity, so I thought I would highlight a few female inventors. It does make one wonder what could have been invented had these women been given the same opportunities that men were given.


Margaret Knight invented the square bottomed grocery bag, among other things. Margaret Knight was born in 1838. She is credited with her first invention, a device for textile machines that would stop the machines if anything got caught in them, when she was twelve years old. She received her first patent when she was thirty-two when she came up with an attachment for a bag folding machine that made square bottoms. Knight was awarded twenty-seven patents. Some inventions were household items; a window frame, a clasp for holding robes. Other inventions were completely out of the scope of most women. In 1902 she received a patent on a rotary engine and even invented several motor components. Margaret Knight died in 1914 at the age of seventy- six.

Mary the Jewess invited the first distillation device. Not much is known about Mary. We know she was an alchemist and she probably originated in Alexandria in northern Egypt some time in the first century A.D. Mary's discovery of distillation came about as a by-product of her experiments to turn base metal into gold. She built a device that would heat various materials, blend their vapors and then trap the cooled mixture in another tube or bottle. The Greeks called it a tribikos. So next time you are drinking your ice cold beer or your sour appletini give a little cheer for Mary the Jewess.

Mary Pennington developed refrigeration. Imagine where we would be today without our handy refrigerators keeping our food fresh for us. Pennington was the daughter of a Quaker and lived in Philadelphia. She attended the University of Pennsylvania in 1890 but was refused her bachelor of science degree on the grounds that she was a woman. She continued her graduate studies and the University finally granted her PhD in 1895. She became a bacteriologist and her studies on milk were the first studies done on preserving perishable foods in cold storage. In 1907 she passed her Civil Service exam and began working for the USDA. Her new methods for processing, shipping and storing food were revolutionary. She set the standards which governed the food industry for more than twenty five years. Pennington was the first woman in the American Society of Refrigeration Engineers and the first to be inducted into the Poultry Historical Society's Hall of Fame (yes, it is a real thing). She was eighty years old when she died.

So many remarkable women with so many life changing inventions. Oh where could society be now if our female ancestors had not been held back by "being a woman"?


http://www.women-inventors.com/