Letter on the Discovery of a Female Soldier in Elizabeth, New Jersey

While Deborah Sampson ended her military service with an honorable discharge, one New Jersey woman with a similar story faced harsher punishment and ridicule.

This letter, written by Continental Army officer William Barton in November 1778, tells the story of an unidentified woman posing as a male soldier at a camp in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Once discovered, army officers walked her through town in a public display to the beat of the “Whore’s March.” The tune was typically played in an accompaniment to the removal of a prostitute from an army camp.

American Philosophical Society, Sol Feinstone Collection 

While Deborah Sampson ended her military service with an honorable discharge, one New Jersey woman with a similar story faced harsher punishment and ridicule.

This letter, written by Continental Army officer William Barton in November 1778, tells the story of an unidentified woman posing as a male soldier at a camp in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Once discovered, army officers walked her through town in a public display to the beat of the “Whore’s March.” The tune was typically played in an accompaniment to the removal of a prostitute from an army camp.

American Philosophical Society, Sol Feinstone Collection