WASHINGTON, Dec. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:
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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17: DEBORAH SAMPSON
Profile America - Saturday, December 17th. Today marks the birthday in 1760 of a remarkable woman, Deborah Sampson, born in Plympton, Massachusetts as an indentured servant. Wishing to take part in the Revolutionary War, she disguised herself as a man and enlisted in the Continental Army's 4th Massachusetts Regiment under the name Robert Shurtleff. Her identity was discovered and she was dismissed from the army in 1783. She became one of the first women in the U.S. to lecture professionally, telling audiences of her experiences as the only woman in the army. After her death, her heirs were given a full military pension by an Act of Congress. Today, in an army of well over a half million, there are 15,000 female officers and over 60,000 female enlisted members. Profile America is in its 15th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.
Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2011, p. 603
National Women's History Museum
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 510
Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).
SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau
