Happy Friday!
The weeks seem to go by so quickly – I hope that yours was good! Well, that nice "winter" weather we have had in Dallas is about to end. A big ole arctic winter storm is coming our way starting late tonight so it looks like I will have a weekend holed up at home. The whole city is shutting down.
My neighborhood book club met on Wednesday to discuss a book that I recommended, so I led the discussion. (Unlike some book clubs, most of us actually read the book.) A Girl Called Samson is historical fiction based on the story of Deborah Samson who fought in the Revolutionary Army in U.S. War of Independence...disguised as a man. She was born in 1760 in Massachusetts, one of 7 children to parents who struggled financially. When her father went off on a sea voyage and failed to return, Deborah's mother (also named Deborah - good name!) was forced to place her children in different households. Deborah was bound as an indentured servant to a Deacon with a large family. Once she reached adulthood at age 18, she worked as a weaver and a teacher. But what she really wanted to do was fight for American independence.
She was tall, smart, athletic and determined to serve. She took on the name of her deceased brother (Robert Shurtleff) and joined the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment. At West Point, New York, she was assigned to Captain George Webb's Company of Light Infantry. She was given the dangerous task of scouting neutral territory to assess British buildup of men and materiel in Manhattan, which General George Washington was considering attacking. In June of 1782, Sampson and two sergeants led about 30 infantrymen on an expedition that ended with a confrontation-often one-on-one-with Tories. She led a raid on a Tory home that resulted in the capture of 15 men.
For over two years, Sampson's true sex had escaped detection despite close calls. You may be wondering how she ever pulled this off. She bound her breasts, waited until the men were asleep to deal with personal hygiene (it's a long time to hold one's bladder), and even had to hide her menstrual periods. She had thought the whole plan through before enlisting and was prepared. And she excelled as a soldier. When she received a gash in her forehead from a sword and was shot in her left thigh, she extracted the pistol ball herself using a penknife and a sewing needle to avoid seeking medica care. However, the other bullet was lodged too deep and her leg never fully recovered. She was ultimately discovered-a year and a half into her service-in Philadelphia, when she became ill during a Yellow Fever epidemic, was taken to a hospital, and lost consciousness.
Receiving an honorable discharge on October 23, 1783, Sampson returned to Massachusetts. On April 7, 1785, she married Benjamin Gannet and they had three children. She received a military pension from the state of Massachusetts. In 1802 she began a year-long lecture tour about her experiences-the first woman in America to do so-sometimes dressing in full military regalia.
She died at age 66, and her headstone reads "Female Soldier". Although she and Gannet were not married at the time of her service, in 1837 Congress concluded that the history of the Revolution "furnished no other similar example of female heroism, fidelity and courage" and awarded Gannet pay as the spouse of a soldier, though he died before receiving it.
We discussed many themes of the book including determination, rebellion, motivation, female roles back then, and courage. The 20+ attendees unanimously agreed that we could not have done what she did. At the end, one member asked the group whether anyone had accomplished something that they never thought that they would be able to do. She volunteered that she was never particularly athletic in her youth but completed several triathlons as an adult. I related that I had single handedly stopped a car that was driving down the street in front of the hospital (this was early in my career in Syracuse). I happened to be walking down the street in the opposite direction, schlepping a tote bag full of paper charts to go see patients in an office nearby. The car was drifting from the left lane into the right lane (it was a 2-lane, one-way street), heading my way, because the driver was having a seizure! I ran into the street, opened the driver's side door, turned off the ignition and pushed the car so it wouldn't roll back down into the street. There's a little more detail to the story but, to this day, I have no idea how I did it. (Strangely, no other members chimed in after that; I admit that my story was dramatic.)
I pose the same question to you. We are all capable of doing amazing things that we think are beyond our abilities. What have you done? I bet that there are many good stories to be shared.
Have a great weekend! For those who are also about to get hammered by cold weather, stay safe and warm – you may want to read a good book.
Deb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ce-pUKsJM6w