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Martha Washington And Deborah Sampson: Two Paths Of Courage

Martha Washington And Deborah Sampson: Two Paths Of Courage

Update: 2025-11-14
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We explore how Martha Washington and Deborah Sampson advanced the Revolution through very different forms of leadership. One shaped morale and public life; the other broke barriers to fight and spy under a borrowed name.

• Pairing Martha Washington and Deborah Sampson through military connection
• Deborah Sampson’s enlistment as Robert Shirtliff and covert missions
• Self-treatment of wounds to protect her identity
• Discovery, honorable discharge, and veteran legacy
• Martha Washington’s destroyed correspondence and historical traces
• Presence at Valley Forge and role in sustaining morale
• Defining the social tone for the early capital and first ladies
• Multiple models of women’s leadership including Abigail Adams
• Service, virtue, and contributing to ends larger than self


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School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership

Center for American Civics



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Martha Washington And Deborah Sampson: Two Paths Of Courage

Martha Washington And Deborah Sampson: Two Paths Of Courage

The Center for American Civics