Deborah Sampson (1760-1827)

You are born poor in rural Massachusetts and forced to work as a servant from childhood. As you grow older you find work as a teacher and weaver of cloth. You successfully join the Continental Army by dressing as a man. While in the army, you sustain at least two injuries including a musketball to the leg. After the
war, you get married and raise a family. You become the first woman to successfully obtain a soldier’s pension, with help from powerful friends like Paul Revere.