The Founding Fathers are featured prominently in most accounts of the American Revolution. The Revolution, on the other hand, began as a popular revolt in the 13 British colonies, affecting not only future historical events and international order but also the lives of a number of people, each with their own history, motivations for joining the conflict, and outcomes (Gerengi, 2022). Completely out of global history and especially politics, however still important, the individual’s revolution accounts are scarce and rare.
Many colonists were enraged by the British King George and the British Parliament’s robust control over their life by the mid-1700s. Many Americans chastised Britain for its lack of representation and decision-making when it levied a series of high levies on the colonies beginning in 1763 (Miller, 2019). Initially, they organized protest organizations and boycotted British goods to protest taxation. Tensions rose when Parliament ordered the colonists to house British troops in the hopes of preventing an uprising among the Americans (Gerengi, 2022). The British then attempted to quiet the demonstrations in Boston by sending soldiers to seize the city in 1768 (Gosse, 2020). Soldiers and enraged residents battled in the streets. To combat, ordinary Americans began to hide firearms and form militias.
Congress approved the establishment of the regular forces in June 1775, and Washington was chosen its commander. However, there were few skilled combatants who could stand up to the British forces’ expertise. Washington’s army consisted mostly of citizen farmers and merchants from all 13 colonies, including locals and immigrants (Gerengi, 2022). They left their homes to fight for the independence of the United States of America. Women were frequently obliged to protect their children, houses, and fields on their own while their husbands went to fight (Gosse, 2020). British soldiers stormed homes on a daily basis, grabbing what they could and destroying what they couldn’t. The women, on the other hand, fought back in their own particular manner. By customizing military clothing, many people contributed to the war effort (Gosse, 2020). Some wives, sons, and brothers accompanied their husbands, sons, or brothers to the battlefield, serving as chefs or nurses in the troops’ encampment.
Deborah Sampson, a Massachusetts woman, disguised herself as a male to fight alongside the rebels and was wounded in multiple fights. When Deborah Sampson disguised herself as a man and joined the Patriot soldiers during the American Revolution, she became a hero (Gosse, 2020). For her service in the Revolutionary Army, she was the only woman to obtain a full military pension (Gerengi, 2022). Sampson was one of seven children born in 1760 in Plympton, Massachusetts, near Plymouth (Gosse, 2020). The Sampsons were having financial difficulties, and when Jonathan did not return from a sea expedition, his poor wife was compelled to put her children in other homes. Deborah was enlisted in the service of Deacon Thomas, a Middleboro farmer when she was ten years old (Fussel, 2018). Sampson, who was self-taught, worked later as a weaver and instructor.
During the Revolutionary War, Sampson disguised herself as Robert Shurtleff and enlisted in the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment (Gerengi, 2022). She was given the perilous mission of scouting over no man’s land in order to evaluate the gathering of British troops and equipment in Manhattan, which General George Washington intended to assault (Fussel, 2018). She dug trenches, helped attack the British fortifications, and withstood the cannonade during the siege of Yorktown (Gosse, 2020). Despite close contacts, Sampson’s real gender remained disguised for more than two years. She withdrew the gun bullet after receiving a cut on her forehead from a sword and being wounded in her left thigh (Gosse, 2020). She was revealed in Philadelphia after being ill during a pandemic, being rushed to the hospital, and passing out (Fussel, 2018). Sampson returned to Massachusetts after earning an honorable discharge on October 23, 1783 (Fussel, 2018). After Sampson’s death at the age of 66, the military committee found that there was no other analogous example of female bravery, devotion, and fortitude in the Revolution’s history.
After recalling an individual story of Deborah Sampson, an example of outstanding bravery and patriotism, it is important to look closer to the situation in the region of Massachusetts and its low, middle class. Its examination can provide insight on why such individuals, since there were many more volunteers similar to Deborah Sampson’s situation, were eager to join the Revolution and fight for American independence.
Massachusetts was part of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, which was a royal colony. Massachusetts Bay Colony, Plymouth Colony, and the territories of Maine and Nova Scotia formed the province (Miller, 2019). Because the earliest demonstrations, riots, and other acts of revolt, as well as the first battles of the Revolutionary War, took place in Massachusetts, the state became synonymous with the American Revolution. During the Revolutionary War, Boston was considered the nucleus of the resistance, yet patriotism was felt across the province and not only in Boston (Gerengi, 2022). The anti-Massachusetts Government Act demonstrations spread well beyond the courts, affecting practically every aspect of society, including those that were previously aloof and apolitical (Miller, 2019). The British presumably intended for this measure to push the Massachusetts countryside against Boston, but it instead effectively compelled the Massachusetts countryside to cooperate with Boston.
In most sections of the province, lower-middle-class farmers persuaded local courts to close and local magistrates to pledge that they would not open courts, would not have any ordinances, would not fine anybody, and would not make any decisions based on new laws (Fussel, 2018). However, the actual mobilizations of the individuals like Deborah Sampson came with the British army. During the fighting, British forces committed several thefts and rapes. Arrests were made, citizens were imprisoned, and some espionage suspects were put to death. The British army’s plunderers were everywhere, seizing the crops and property of both rebels and loyalists recklessly (Fussel, 2018). The robbery was frequently accompanied by rape throughout the process. Some British commanders forbade their forces from taking captives, and as a result, injured and defeated American soldiers were slaughtered on the battlefield (Gerengi, 2022). When American soldiers were taken prisoners, they were held in such deplorable conditions that the fatality rate was relatively high. For the majority of the residents, incarceration was akin to a long and terrible death.
The Revolution began as a popular movement that impacted nearly every resident on modern-day American territory. While many colonists were incensed by strict British regulations and unfair legislation, the Revolution began for many ordinary people with the army’s actions. Every day, British forces raided the homes, seizing what they could and destroying what they couldn’t. Deborah Sampson, a Massachusetts citizen who disguised herself as a male to fight, was one of these persons. She was born amid the Revolution in the Massachusetts province, and she first supported it. The genuine mobilization of people like Deborah Sampson, on the other hand, took place with the British Army.
References
Fussel, M. (2018). Between Dissimulation and Sensation: Female Soldiers in Eighteenth-Century Warfare. Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies, 41(4), 527-542.
Gerengi, S. (2022). Heroes of the American Revolution. Journal of English Language and Literature Club, 4(1), 1-5.
Gosse, S. (2020). Female Patriotism. The General: Brock University. Undergraduate Journal of History, 5, 45-51.
Miller, M. (2019). Entangled Lives: Labor, Livelihood, and Landscapes of Change in Rural Massachusetts. JHU Press.