Not Your Father's Founders
Page 18
—JAMES MADISON
One Last Miracle
As the war drew to a close, Washington had a chance to chase the British out of Virginia. All he needed was $20,000 to finance his campaign. He might as well have asked for an army of aliens to arrive in spaceships to provide artillery. Robert Morris told Washington he had no money and no credit. The general gave him one order: Send for Haym Salomon. Morris did. Salomon raised the money, and Washington defeated the British at Yorktown in the final battle of the war.
Salomon came through once more for his country—but his country did not come through for him.
Dying Broke
Haym Salomon died on January 6, 1785, barely two years after the treaty between Britain and the United States was signed. The government owed him money, which it never paid him. The man who was perhaps the cleverest financial genius of the Revolutionary War era died in bankruptcy—just the way his adopted country began its existence.
DEBORAH SAMPSON
Plympton, Massachusetts
December 17, 1760–April 29, 1827
Deserved a Chestful of Purple Hearts
Deborah Sampson, serving under the name of Robert Shurtleff, was one of the few women to serve as a combat soldier in the Continental Army. She paid a major price for her participation. Deborah was wounded in her first battle and never recovered fully. Nor was she compensated for her service until later in life. But, she soldiered on, happy to do what she could for her country.
Living a Life of Servitude
Deborah Sampson’s early life was difficult. Her family was as poor as her opportunities for education, especially after her father drowned in a shipwreck in 1765. (Some accounts say he abandoned the family; either way, she and her five siblings were left without a father.) Deborah was indentured to a family named Thomas for eight years, starting at age ten.
When Deborah was released from her servitude in 1778, she had acquired enough education to become a schoolteacher, but she was too restless to follow that route. There was a war in progress and Deborah wanted to be a part of it. She did not see much future in rolling bandages for the army, the role commonly assigned to women. Deborah wanted to be a soldier. She had the physical and mental attributes—and the determination—required to enlist.
Revolutionary Revelations
Deborah Sampson was about 58 tall, heavy boned, and strong, with a light complexion. Even her mother had a hard time picking her out once she donned her soldier’s uniform.
Deborah Joins the Army
The Continental Army did not allow women to serve during the Revolutionary War. That did not stop Deborah. She tried to enlist as Robert Shurtleff of Carver, Massachusetts, early in 1782, selecting the name out of respect to her deceased brother. But she suspected that the recruiters recognized her as a woman because of the dainty way she held her quill pen. She failed to appear the next day for induction. Deborah tried again on May 20, 1782, in Uxbridge, where Noah Taft was forming a muster. This time she was successful. “Robert Shurtleff” was assigned to the Light Infantry Company of the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment, commanded by Captain George Webb. It was not long before her unit was in action.
Revolutionary Revelations
The First Baptist Church of Middleborough, Massachusetts, excommunicated Deborah after her unit left Massachusetts because of a strong suspicion that she was “dressing in man’s clothes and enlisting as a Soldier in the Army.”
Fighting the British—and Detection
The regiment marched off to West Point to protect the area from the British still occupying New York City, fifty-five miles south. Skirmishes between the two sides were common. Deborah’s first taste of combat came at Tappan Zee on July 3, 1782, where she reportedly fought well but sustained serious wounds. Two musket balls dug into her thigh and a British soldier scraped his saber across the left side of her head. She refused to go to a hospital, lest her gender be discovered. Good Samaritans transported her to one nonetheless.
Sampson had to be on guard constantly to protect her identity. Once, she was caught with a group of soldiers who grew suspicious of her behavior among them. Another time she was altering her uniform when comrades commented on her skill with a needle. She explained that there were no girls in her family, so “he” had to learn how to do his own sewing.
She used her ingenuity to escape detection. Deborah showed the surgeon her scalp wound, rather than the musket balls. He released her, and she tried to dig out the musket balls with her pen knife and a sewing needle. She could not extract both. She dug one out, but the other ball became embedded permanently.
Love Proves to Be Deborah’s Undoing
Life got a little easier for Deborah once the Fourth Massachusetts was transferred to Philadelphia after the Treaty of Paris was signed. She was assigned to be General John Patterson’s orderly. But health problems tripped her up. A fever rendered her unconscious and forced her into the hospital. Barnabas Binney, the doctor who treated her, discovered her secret.
Sampson pleaded with Dr. Binney not to tell anyone. He agreed, and moved her to his house for privacy and further treatment. Unfortunately, his niece fell in love with Robert Shurtleff. Sampson’s deception unraveled.
Dr. Binney told General Patterson about Deborah. Patterson told General Henry Knox, who advised General Washington. The general confusion resulted in Robert Shurtleff’s discharge from the Continental Army.
General Knox signed Shurtleff/Sampson’s honorable discharge on October 25, 1783. General William Shepard, Colonel Henry Jackson, and General Patterson presented letters of commendation regarding her bravery.
Separation, Marriage, and Death
After a year and a half of service to her country, Robert Shurtleff was a free woman. For a while after her discharge, she traveled around New England and New York presenting lectures about her experiences in the military to raise some money. She wore the military uniform during her lectures, which always excited the audience. She returned to Massachusetts and married Benjamin Gannet on April 7, 1785. They had three children and adopted a fourth. She finally took up teaching to earn some money, which she needed badly.
Deborah was in debt for several years. That prompted her to exercise the same determination that had gotten her into the army in order to be paid in full for her service.
The army held back some of Sampson’s pay after her discharge. She petitioned the state of Massachusetts and the U.S. Congress for back pay and a pension, becoming the first woman to ever apply for a military pension. Eventually, she received compensation and a pension.
Quotations to Live (and Die) By!
“[DEBORAH SAMPSON] EXHIBITED AN EXTRAORDINARY INSTANCE OF FEMALE HEROISM BY DISCHARGING THE DUTIES OF A FAITHFUL GALLANT SOLDIER, AND AT THE SAME TIME PRESERVING THE VIRTUE AND CHASTITY OF HER SEX, UNSUSPECTED AND UNBLEMISHED.”
—THE GENERAL COURT OF MASSACHUSETTS
Finally, age and ill health caught up with Sampson. She died of yellow fever. Her legacy was commendable, though. She exemplified the ferocity and patriotism with which the colonists fought for their freedom, regardless of gender.
The country could never forget Deborah Sampson, and she never forgot the war. She had a constant reminder. When Deborah Sampson died, she still had that musket ball in her thigh—forty-five years later.
ROGER SHERMAN
Newton, Massachusetts
April 19, 1721–July 23, 1793
A Self-Made Man
Roger Sherman’s lack of a formal education did not inhibit his political prospects. He went from making shoes to surveying land to justice of the peace, the Continental Congress, delegate to the Constitutional Convention, and U.S. senator. One of his notable achievements was signing the Declaration of Independence. And he helped build the population of the United States. He and his two wives produced fifteen children, almost enough to fill a congress of their own.
No Books? Write Your Own
There were not many opportunities for Roger Sherman to acquire a formal e
ducation in his hometown of Stoughton, Massachusetts. Fortunately, his father, a farmer of modest means, possessed a well-stocked library, and a local Harvard-trained minister, Reverend Samuel Dunbar, tutored him in mathematics, science, literature, and philosophy. Sherman’s educational training was helpful, but he was not a “learned man” according to the standards of the time.
The town of Stoughton opened a public school when Roger was thirteen years old, which he attended for a while. He spent a good part of his youth apprenticed to a shoemaker. He was less than dedicated to the trade. He kept an open book in front of him most of the time. Reading became more of an occupation for him than making footwear.
After Sherman’s father died in 1741, Roger moved to the rural, reading material–deprived town of New Milford, Connecticut, where his brother lived.
That didn’t stop Sherman. The ever-resourceful young man wrote and published an almanac every year from 1750 to 1761 to alleviate the shortage of reading material in New Milford.
It did not take long before the people in the area recognized that he was a math and astronomy whiz and a budding political powerhouse.
For Land’s Sake
New Haven County, Connecticut, needed a surveyor. The local government appointed Sherman to the post. From there it was a simple step to earn entry to the state bar when one of Sherman’s neighbors asked him to assist a local lawyer working with a surveying-related petition at the county court. The lawyer reviewed Sherman’s notes, which he found so precise that he encouraged the young surveyor to start his own law practice.
FEDERAL FACTS
Even though he had an affinity for the military, Roger Sherman firmly opposed the 1775 appointment of George Washington as commander in chief of the Continental Army, as did many other New Englanders. They argued that the army at that time was from New England, had a satisfactory general of its own, and was doing a good job fighting the British.
Next, Roger and his brother opened a store. That was the perfect place for Roger to act as town clerk. And, the local folks said, if he was town clerk he might as well represent the town at the Connecticut Provincial Assembly.
The members of the Assembly were duly impressed with Sherman. They appointed him as the colony’s commissary for its troops.
As he took on more assignments, it was a safe prediction that his peers would look to him to serve as a representative at the Continental Congress, where he served from 1774–81 and 1783–84. His hard work and willingness to take on new tasks were legendary at the meetings, as was his religious fervor, which caught his peers by surprise on occasion.
FEDERAL FACTS
Roger Sherman was a member of the committee appointed to write a draft of the Declaration of Independence. Besides Sherman, the committee included Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Robert Livingston. Their first decision was to assign the job to. Jefferson, which he accepted. Even though Sherman signed the Declaration of Independence, he passed up a chance to help write it.
Sherman objected at times to meeting on the Sabbath, particularly when he thought the occasion did not require it. This is where he deviated slightly from the Founding Fathers. Sherman was willing to let the revolution wait while he prayed. His comrades wanted to declare independence first and thank God later. Fortunately, the delegates to Congress signed the Declaration of Independence on a Friday, so he was front and center to affix his name to the document.
Call for Roger Sherman
Sherman worked tirelessly in Congress during the Revolutionary War. He served on numerous committees, but devoted much of his attention to local matters in New Haven, Connecticut, where he had moved in 1761. He served as the mayor of the city from 1784 to 1793, the year he died, and as a judge on the Connecticut Superior Court. While serving on the court he helped rewrite the entire state legal code.
Naturally, when Connecticut was looking for someone to represent it at the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Sherman’s name came up.
A large number of the delegates to the convention were not happy with all the provisions the proposed document contained. They saw the need for a constitution, however.
Roger Sherman went to the convention with an open mind. He was among the delegates who held their noses and voted to ratify the Constitution, despite its shortcomings—many of which were rectified with the passage of the Bill of Rights. In fact, it was his proposal, known as the Connecticut Compromise, that was responsible for the creation of the current two-body federal legislature that is in place today.
Sherman’s hardest job was convincing his fellow delegates from Connecticut that the document should be ratified. He used his persuasive powers to make sure they supported it. The state delegates did, by a majority of eighty-eight votes (128–40). Sherman’s name was in the “yea” column.
There was one more office to come for Roger Sherman. He was named as a U.S. Senator in 1791. He was seventy years old at the time, and the constant wear and tear on his body was beginning to tell. He died of typhoid in 1793. The fever stilled one of the fledgling republic’s most supportive voices.
THOMAS SUMTER
Hanover, Virginia
August 14, 1734–June 1, 1832
Woe Betide Anyone Who Burns Sumter’s House
Sumter demonstrated to Americans that aggressive and innovative military leadership could win a war, even with occasional setbacks. He was well prepared for his military leadership role in South Carolina due to his experience fighting Indians in the mid-1700s. What he learned helped him prepare for leadership during the Revolutionary War and the multitude of political positions he held afterwards.
What Have You Done for Me Lately?
Sumter did not receive a formal education as a youth but his sense of adventure got him a long way. He began his military career in 1755, when he participated in the ill-fated Braddock Expedition.
In 1755, during the French and Indian War, the British initiated a campaign led by General Edward Braddock to capture a French stronghold, Fort Duquesne (modern Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). It was a disaster. Braddock was killed, the British retreated in disgrace—and Sumter got his first taste of war.
Six years later, then-sergeant Sumter was involved in another expedition that gave him a chance to travel. He accompanied Henry Timberlake on a foray to the Virginia backcountry (in present-day Tennessee) to make sure the Cherokees had stopped fighting the settlers.
Sumter borrowed the money to buy a canoe and supplies for what was expected to be a short trip. Their timing was off. They left on November 28, 1761, to explore an area that was prone to wintry weather. Rivers ran low and froze, their unattended canoe slipped away while Sumter and Timberlake explored an icy cave, supplies ran out, Timberlake’s luggage was looted—pretty much everything that could go wrong went wrong—but the men survived. A Cherokee chief, Ostenaco, expressed a desire to visit London and meet the king. Sumter and Timberlake accompanied him to England in May 1762. They met King George III and socialized with poets (Oliver Goldsmith), painters (Joshua Reynolds), and princes. Sumter, who was broke, asked the South Carolina government for a loan to repay the money he had laid out for his travel expenses. Officials denied it. Later, he entered debtors’ prison in Virginia for nonpayment of an old debt. Going to jail gave Sumter a chance to exhibit his honesty. Joseph Martin, a friend of his, visited Sumter in the prison and gave him ten guineas and a tomahawk. With that money, Sumter bought his way out of jail in 1766. He repaid Martin—thirty years later.
In 1767 Sumter married a widow, Mary Jameson. The two worked hard and amassed a small fortune. He became a Provincial congressman and used some of the money to form his own militia, which proved to be a wise investment when the Revolutionary War began.
War, Not Politics
Once the fighting began, Sumter was front and center. He preferred military activity to politics. The young warrior was elected lieutenant colonel of the Second Regiment of the South Carolina Line in February 1776. He worked his way up to colonel and then
brigadier general of the South Carolina militia, which was folded eventually into the Continental Army. Whatever his rank was, he engaged in numerous battles early in the war.
REVOLUTIONARY REVELATIONS
The British learned quickly who the feisty Thomas Sumter was. One British general noted that Sumter “fought like a gamecock.” “Gamecock” became his nickname from that point on. General Charles Cornwallis, who left the Carolinas for Virginia due in part to Sumter’s fighting prowess, described him as his greatest plague.
Sumter spread himself out across South Carolina. One of the first actions in which he participated was near Charleston, South Carolina, at the Battle of Sullivan’s Island on June 28, 1776. There, the Americans defeated the British and sent them back to New York.
The peripatetic Sumter fought against Cherokees in the fall of 1776, against the British as they attempted to conquer Georgia via St. Augustine, Florida, and at Rocky Mount, South Carolina.
REVOLUTIONARY REVELATIONS
Sumter’s military leadership reputation suffered a blow at Rocky Mount. The patriots attacked and defeated the enemy. Then Sumter’s soldiers ripped into the enemy’s stores, drank their liquor, and fell into drunken stupors. The British counterattacked and drove off the patriots.