Deborah Sampson wanted to fight — so she did the boldest thing a woman of her time could do: she took the name Robert Shirtliffe and enlisted in the Continental Army disguised as a man.

This lesson tells Deborah’s remarkable true story: serving in real battles, hiding her own wounds so no doctor would discover her secret, and finally receiving an honorable discharge when the truth came out. She is one of the best-documented heroines of the Revolution — proof that Molly’s generation of women was braver than the history books once said.

Lesson 1R of the Molly Pitcher Life Story series from Capite Universe — history brought to life for kids ages 6–14, and for families and classrooms who love learning through story.