Monthly Archives: May 2015

Deborah Sampson: A Patriot By Any Other Name

Unsung Heroes, War Heroes

Sampson_2By Rick Hutchins

Freedom and independence were matters of conviction for the soldiers of the Continental Army who fought and won the American Revolution. For Deborah Sampson, that conviction ran deeper than most and her war was fought on two fronts. Her victories speak across the centuries and have no less meaning in the modern world.

Despite being descended from both William Bradford and Myles Standish, Deborah endured a childhood of poverty and deprivation. When her father vanished at sea, she was sold into indentured servitude, which remained her lot until she turned eighteen. Subsequently, her mother arranged for her marriage to a wealthy man, but Deborah had other ideas.

At this time, the War of Independence was in full swing and Deborah wanted to do her part for her country. Since women were not allowed to serve in the military, she disguised herself as a man and adopted the name of her dead brother to enlist. She was attached to the 4th Massachusetts Regiment as Robert Shurtleff.

As Robert, Deborah saw active combat on a number of occasions and suffered several injuries, including serious wounds to her head and leg. While her head injury was treated by medics, she was too fearful of having her identity as a woman exposed to allow them to Sampson_1tend to her leg. She saw to this herself, removing one musket ball; unfortunately, she was not able to remove a second musket ball, which remained embedded in her leg, causing her difficulties for the rest of her life. Following these injuries, Deborah was promoted and assigned as the aide de camp of General John Patterson.

Toward the end of the war, Deborah returned to combat duty for mop-up operations and was stricken with fever. Unconscious, she was treated by Doctor Barnabas Binney, who quickly discovered her true sex. However, he did not betray her; in fact, he took her to his home, where he cared for her with the help of his family.

When the time came for her to be discharged, Doctor Binney gave her a letter to be delivered to General Patterson, which disclosed her circumstances. The general accepted this revelation with composure and, based upon his testimonial, as well as the testimonials of the other officers under whom she served, Deborah was given an honorable discharge from the Continental Army by General Henry Knox and Commander-In-Chief George Washington.

Her life as a veteran of the Revolution was equally remarkable. In the years following the war, she supported her family by becoming the first female lecturer in American history, 9780396073437billing herself as The American Heroine. Like most other veterans, she had to petition the government for her back pay and pension. The Massachusetts legislature and Governor John Hancock approved her back pay, with interest. With the advocacy of her friend Paul Revere (who also supported her with loans in times of trouble), she was awarded a full military pension and land by the Congress of the United States. Upon her death, her husband was granted a widow’s pension.

Deborah Sampson is the official heroine of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. No truer patriot ever lived. She not only participated in the birth of her nation, on peril of her life, but she embodied principles of equality that modern patriots still strive to achieve.

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Rick Hutchins was born in Boston, MA, and has been an avid admirer of heroism since the groovy 60s. In his quest to live up to the heroic ideal of helping people, he has worked in the health care field for the past twenty-five years, in various capacities. He is also the author of Large In Time, a collection of poetry, The RH Factor, a collection of short stories, and is the creator of Trunkards. Links to galleries of his art, photography and animation can be found on http://www.RJDiogenes.com.

This is Hutchins’ tenth guest blog post here.  His first two, on astronaut and scientist Mae Jemison and the Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards, can be found in our book Heroic Leadership.

The Greatest Power

Commentary and Analysis, Superheroes

By Rick Hutchins

If you had the choice of any super power, which would you choose?

This question is asked frequently at dinner parties, in coffee houses, on Internet community forums and on personality tests. It’s always interesting and revealing to hear how each person would take advantage of one chance to make an exception to the laws of reality, to find out which power they think is the greatest. But it’s usually answered as a lark, with whimsy — time travel to go back and invest in Microsoft or invisibility to hang out in the high school locker room — or with a darker undercurrent of wish fullfilment — super strength or mind control to take revenge on those who have done us wrong. Only a small number seem to respond thoughtfully on what power would bring the greatest good to the greatest number.

Only a small number seem to fantasize about being a hero.

Because that’s the problem with super powers. Power corrupts. And absolute power corrupts absolutely.

The original super-hero was Superman; he provided the template for all who were to follow and he was gifted with multiple powers. He was super strong, he could fly and see through walls, and move faster than the speed of sound. He could melt lead just by looking at it and his very breath could surpass the strength of a hurricane. Bullets and lasers bounced harmlessly off his skin. He could pass through the heart of a star unharmed. If ever there was a man with absolute power, Superman was he.

But consider how this man lived. The most powerful man in the world worked as an anonymous reporter, disguised as a mild-mannered everyman, bullied by his boss and rebuffed by the women at the office. His downtime was spent in his Fortress of Solitude, in quiet contemplation among the souvenirs and mementos of his extraordinary life. He could have had any woman he wanted, by force or charisma; he could have had any riches that he desired; he could have ruled the world, for no one would have dared deny him anything. Instead, he used his power to protect the planet, to defend the defenseless and to help down cats who were stuck up in trees.

From the day we are born, we are told that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. But Superman, the iconic figure of our subconscious desire for greatness, puts the lie to that. He tells us that you can have all the power in the world and still live a life of humility and generosity. He shows us that the greatest power is incorruptibility.

None of us will ever leap a tall building in a single bound, change the course of a mighty river or bend steel in our bare hands. Seldom is any one person put in a position to save the world or to alter the destiny of Humanity. But we can always return that lost wallet with the contents intact, tell the truth when it matters, stand our ground when it’s easier to walk away or do unto others as we want them to do unto us.

Everyone has the potential to be a hero because everyone has the power to be incorruptible.

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Rick Hutchins was born in Boston, MA, and has been an avid admirer of heroism since the groovy 60s. In his quest to live up to the heroic ideal of helping people, he has worked in the health care field for the past twenty-five years, in various capacities. He is also the author of Large In Time, a collection of poetry, The RH Factor, a collection of short stories, and is the creator of Trunkards. Links to galleries of his art, photography and animation can be found on http://www.RJDiogenes.com.

This is Hutchins’ fourth guest blog post here.  His first two, on astronaut and scientist Mae Jemison and the Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards, can be found in our book Heroic Leadership.