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Deborah Sampson, The Woman Who Fought as a Man

She bound her chest, cut her hair, enlisted as “Robert Shurtliff,” and fought in one of the Continental Army’s toughest light infantry units — all while hiding her identity for 17 months. When shot in the thigh during battle, she dug the musket ball out herself with a knife rather than risk discovery. Only a severe fever in a Philadelphia hospital finally revealed the truth: this brave soldier was a woman. In the powerful finale of Unsung Patriots, we tell the extraordinary story of Deborah Sampson, the only woman to earn a full Revolutionary War pension. From indentured servant to frontline fighter, lecturer, and trailblazer, her journey challenged every notion of who could fight for American independence.

By Zach Martin