The Memoir of a Female Soldier: Deborah Sampson's American Revolution (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798218140120)

"A richly imaginative historical novel...a remarkable story...a unique addition to Revolutionary War literature." -- The Berkshire Eagle

"Meticulously researched" -- Chronogram Magazine

"Compelling...enjoyed this novel thoroughly"...a "gem." -- Historical Novels Review

During the Revolutionary War, a young man called Robert Shurtlieff enlisted in the Continental Army. Stationed at West Point, he was chosen for the elite Light Infantry to fight Tory loyalists terrorizing the Hudson Valley. He served for 17 months, was wounded in combat, got promoted as an aide to a general, and received an honorable discharge. This is a true story. But in fact, "Robert" secretly was a young woman named Deborah Sampson. Of Mayflower ancestry but born into poverty, she was sent from home at age five to earn her keep. Frustrated by the limitations she faced as a young woman, she donned men's clothing and went off to seek opportunity and freedom.

She won respect as the man she wasn't. But sought respect for the woman she was.

After the war she married and had children, while continuing to suffer from her old wound. Her petition for a veteran's pension, supported by Paul Revere, was ignored by Congress, and she was the victim of media misinformation. She went on the road to tell her story, the first American woman to do a lecture tour. In this fictionalized memoir told in the first person, Deborah seeks to set the record straight about her life and military service as America's first female veteran, and to overcome prejudice against her for transgressing societal norms.

The author Jan Lewis Nelson grew up in the same small Massachusetts town as Deborah. This historical novel is based on Jan's three years of research, which included living in the house where Deborah was born. It tells of the hardships she faced as a soldier and as a woman in the early days of the nation. Written nearly fifty years ago, her book is published now for the first time.