Deborah Sampson was born to farmers in Plympton, MA, in 1760 but worked as an indentured servant until, like a handful of Colonial women, she disguised herself as a man and enlisted in the Continental Army in 1782. Using the name Timothy Thayer, Deborah was quickly exposed as a woman and forced to return the money she had been given as an enlistee. A few months later, on May 23, 1782, she enlisted once more, this time under the name Robert Shurtleff. As part of the Massachusetts Fourth Regiment, she traveled from Worcester, MA, to West Point. Shortly after the journey, she was wounded in a skirmish near Tarrytown, NY. Although her thigh was pierced by a musket ball, her female identity remained undiscovered. However, a little more than one year later, suffering from a fever contracted in Philadelphia, the army discovered her sex. She was honorably discharged by General Henry Knox at West Point in October 1783. Upon her discovery, she returned home to Massachusetts where she soon married Benjamin Gannett, a local farmer. It is believed that she wore this gown for her marriage in 1785. This gown was originally constructed in the 1770s and re-made to fit contemporary styles while also being enlarged and lengthened to fit Deborah’s relatively tall 5’7” body. Wearing a remade dress for her wedding suggests her state of poverty. Although her story quickly spread among period publications, her full story appeared in print in 1797 as The Female Review: Or, Memoirs of an American Young Lady and when she went on a speaking tour in 1802. Although she successfully fought for back pay for her service and was supported by Paul Revere in her quest for a military pension, Deborah Sampson Gannett continually battled financial hardship for the rest of her life.