A Girl Called Samson

Published in 2023, Amy Harmon’s A Girl Called Samson is a young-adult historical fiction and romance novel that follows the life of Deborah Samson, a young woman who disguises herself as a man in order to fight in the American Revolutionary War. Inspired by true events, the story portrays Deborah’s struggle for personal and political freedom. As she navigates the challenges of military life and the dangers of discovery, Deborah proves herself in battle and falls in love with her general. The novel explores themes of identity, courage, and the fight for equality, and the narrative is set against the backdrop of a pivotal moment in American history. Harmon is also known for the novels From Sand and Ash (2016) and What the Wind Knows (2019), among many others.

This guide refers to the eBook edition released by Lake Union Publishing in 2023.

Content Warning: Both the source text and this guide contain depictions of wartime violence, child abuse, enslavement, and the deaths of family members.

Plot Summary

As a child, Deborah Samson becomes an indentured servant because her mother cannot provide for her. She begins working for the abusive Widow Thatcher when she is five years old. In March 1770, Reverend Sylvanus Conant brings the 10-year-old Samson to Middleborough, Massachusetts, where she works for the kind Thomas family. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas have 10 sons, and the young Samson loves to race and compete with the brothers, especially the swift and mischievous Phineas. Samson is 15 when the Battles of Lexington and Concord are fought. Phineas and three other Thomas brothers enlist in the Continental Army. Although Samson shares their longing for adventure, she stays behind and looks after the Thomas family’s farm because women are not allowed to serve in the military. As the years pass, more of the Thomas brothers enlist, and several perish in battle.

When Samson is 20 years old, she becomes Middleborough’s first female schoolteacher. Her mother, whom she has not seen in a decade, tries to arrange a match between Samson and one of her neighbors, but Samson has no interest in marriage. She decides to seize control of her life by disguising herself as a man and enlisting in the army. However, one of the townspeople recognizes her, and she is escorted back to the Thomas family’s farm in disgrace. Refusing to abandon her dream, Samson walks for days until she reaches a town where no one recognizes her. She enlists under the alias of Robert Shurtliff, claiming to be a 16-year-old orphan.

On April 20, 1781, Samson becomes a light infantryman in the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment under Captain George Webb. Her regiment marches to Fort Clinton on the Hudson River, which is under the command of General John Paterson. The general is grieving for his late wife, Elizabeth, and has little hope left after years of fighting. The general’s nightly walks take him past Samson’s post, and her company helps to ease his troubled soul. Samson begins to develop romantic feelings for the general. Her regiment is sent to the no-man’s-land between West Point and New York City, a region beset by loyalist scavengers and profiteers led by James DeLancey. One night, Samson sees some of DeLancey’s men behind her company’s lines and raises the alarm. In the ensuing battle, three of her closest comrades die, and Samson takes human lives for the first time. General Paterson tends to her injuries, and she offers to help him write to the families of her departed friends.

In September 1781, Samson fights in the Battle of Yorktown and is present when Lord Cornwallis surrenders to George Washington. She and her fellow soldiers pray that this victory means the war will end before they are forced to endure the hardships of winter. Impressed by Samson’s work ethic and intelligence, General Paterson makes her his personal aide. Samson loves this job because of the privacy it affords her and because she adores the general. In March, General Paterson learns the location of some supplies that DeLancey has stolen. During a mission to retrieve the goods, his scouting party is ambushed. A bullet grazes the general’s head, and Samson is shot in the leg when she rushes to his aid. She finds sanctuary for Paterson and tends to their wounds. The next day, they rejoin their forces, who succeed in reclaiming the stolen supplies.

A month after the ambush, General Paterson realizes that his aide is a woman named Deborah Samson. She reminds him of her valiant deeds and pleads to be allowed to remain in the army. Paterson permits her to stay, but he worries for her safety. The discovery of Samson’s identity as a woman strains their relationship at first, but they gradually regain their previous trust and closeness. In May 1781, George Washington decides to hold a celebration in honor of the French dauphin’s birth. Samson helps General Paterson ensure the celebration’s success, and they dance together in his office afterward.

In July, Phineas Thomas is among a group of soldiers in General Paterson’s brigade who decide to mutiny. Samson pleads on his behalf, and the general shows him mercy. However, Phineas does not want to be saved, and he charges at the general with a knife, forcing Samson to shoot him. Phineas’s death brings Paterson and Samson closer, and eventually, they confess their love for one another. However, the widower feels guilty about his romantic feelings and plans to give Samson an honorable discharge before anyone can discover them.

General Washington sends Paterson to Philadelphia to quell an uprising of soldiers threatening to destroy the state house. The night before they reach Philadelphia, Paterson proposes to Samson. He asks her to marry him in secret and to remain at his sister’s house until after the war. Samson agrees, and they are married in a small ceremony officiated by Paterson’s brother-in-law. The next morning, Samson decides to explore the city in her uniform. Philadelphia is plagued by yellow fever, and Samson sickens and collapses in the street. She is taken to a hospital, and the doctors discover that she is a woman and inform the general. Paterson shields Samson from any charges, brings her to his sister’s home, and tends her until she recovers. Paterson offers to resign, but Samson insists that he fight until the end of the war as he promised himself and his soldiers. She agrees to wait for him at his home in Lenox.

Paterson’s mother, sisters, and three daughters welcome Samson to Paterson House. The general resigns his commission at the end of the war and returns home in December 1783. Years pass, and Samson and Paterson have a son named John and a daughter named Elizabeth. When Samson’s mother dies, she is struck by the realization that her mother will never know her story. She creates a replica of her colonial uniform, and with her husband’s encouragement, she goes on a speaking tour about her time in the military. In a final diary entry dated April 29, 1827, Samson reflects on her multifaceted identity as a woman and a veteran and observes that the fight for freedom and gender equality continues.