Not Your Father's Founders (23 page)

Lissa, Poland
April 7,1740–January 6, 1785
Dear Haym: Army's Broke, Send Money-G.W.

Prior to immigrating to the United States, Haym Salomon gadded around Europe learning about finances and picking up languages. By the time he reached America in 1772, he spoke eight different languages fluently and knew enough about finance and business to open his own business and become a dealer in foreign securities.

He wasn't above bribing a British prison guard on occasion or possibly engaging in arson, which a true Founding Father would not do. Then again, Salomon was not a diplomat. He was a financier who was good at what he did. George Washington never asked Salomon where he got the money. He was just happy to get it.

One of the people who befriended Salomon was Alexander McDougall, a member of the Sons of Liberty. Salomon became an active member of the organization, which eventually landed him in jail—and almost in a noose.

A mysterious fire destroyed much of New York City in 1776. The fire began on September 20, 1776. The flames burned 493 houses—almost one quarter of the city. The British army had planned to house its troops in those houses.

Salomon was among the Sons arrested for allegedly setting the fire. He subtly let the British know that he spoke German fluently. They offered to upgrade his living conditions and improve the quality of his food if he would act as an interpreter for the Hessians (German soldiers contracted by King George III to supplement his regular army). He was happy to oblige.

Salomon was an opportunist. He seized the chance to be an interpreter to serve the patriots' cause.

Since the British did not speak German, and the Hessians did not speak English, Salomon “interpreted.” What he was really doing was trying to encourage the Hessians to desert—and approximately 500 of them did! But the British paroled him before they all disappeared, or before they caught on to what he was doing.

The British arrested Salomon again in 1778, this time for spying. They confiscated his property and sentenced him to hang, but he bribed a guard who helped him escape. He fled to Philadelphia, where his wife, Rachel, and their child joined him.

Salomon was penniless, but that had never stopped him before. He opened a brokerage business and accepted an offer from the French minister as paymaster general of the French forces fighting alongside the Americans.

Salomon led an active life in Philadelphia. He was a member of the governing council of the city's Congregation Mikveh Israel and served as the treasurer of its society for indigent travelers. He also took part in the country's first rabbinic court of arbitration. More importantly, he led the successful fight to repeal the test oath that prohibited Jews and other non-Christians from holding public office in Pennsylvania.

The nation was on the brink of financial ruin in 1781. Then Congress established the office of finance and appointed Robert Morris to run it. Morris and Salomon worked together to save the United States from fiscal ruin. Salomon became an effective broker of bills of exchange to help the federal government pay its expenses. And, he loaned his personal funds to several members of the government.

Salomon was not completely altruistic. He charged the people to whom he loaned money interest and commissions. He loaned money to folks ranging from Thomas Jefferson to General Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand von Steuben, the Prussian-born inspector general and major general of the Continental Army. In the long run, it did not matter what rates Salomon charged. Nobody paid him back.

As the war drew to a close, Washington had a chance to chase the British out of Virginia. All he needed was $20,000 to finance his campaign. He might as well have asked for an army of aliens to arrive in spaceships to provide artillery. Robert Morris told Washington he had no money and no credit. The general gave him one order: Send for Haym Salomon. Morris did. Salomon raised the money, and Washington defeated the British at Yorktown in the final battle of the war.

Salomon came through once more for his country—but his country did not come through for him.

Haym Salomon died on January 6, 1785, barely two years after the treaty between Britain and the United States was signed. The government owed him money, which it never paid him. The man who was perhaps the cleverest financial genius of the Revolutionary War era died in bankruptcy—just the way his adopted country began its existence.

Plympton, Massachusetts
December 17, 1760–April 29, 1827
Deserved a Chestful of Purple Hearts

Deborah Sampson's early life was difficult. Her family was as poor as her opportunities for education, especially after her father drowned in a shipwreck in 1765. (Some accounts say he abandoned the family; either way, she and her five siblings were left without a father.) Deborah was indentured to a family named Thomas for eight years, starting at age ten.

When Deborah was released from her servitude in 1778, she had acquired enough education to become a schoolteacher, but she was too restless to follow that route. There was a war in progress and Deborah wanted to be a part of it. She did not see much future in rolling bandages for the army, the role commonly assigned to women. Deborah wanted to be a soldier. She had the physical and mental attributes—and the determination—required to enlist.

The Continental Army did not allow women to serve during the Revolutionary War. That did not stop Deborah. She tried to enlist as Robert Shurtleff of Carver, Massachusetts, early in 1782, selecting the name out of respect to her deceased brother. But she suspected that the recruiters recognized her as a woman because of the dainty way she held her quill pen. She failed to appear the next day for induction. Deborah tried again on May 20, 1782, in Uxbridge, where Noah Taft was forming a muster. This time she was successful. “Robert Shurtleff” was assigned to the Light Infantry Company of the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment, commanded by Captain George Webb. It was not long before her unit was in action.

The regiment marched off to West Point to protect the area from the British still occupying New York City, fifty-five miles south. Skirmishes between the two sides were common. Deborah's first taste of combat came at Tappan Zee on July 3, 1782, where she reportedly fought well but sustained serious wounds. Two musket balls dug into her thigh and a British soldier scraped his saber across the left side of her head. She refused to go to a hospital, lest her gender be discovered. Good Samaritans transported her to one nonetheless.

Sampson had to be on guard constantly to protect her identity. Once, she was caught with a group of soldiers who grew suspicious of her behavior among them. Another time she was altering her uniform when comrades commented on her skill with a needle. She explained that there were no girls in her family, so “he” had to learn how to do his own sewing.

She used her ingenuity to escape detection. Deborah showed the surgeon her scalp wound, rather than the musket balls. He released her, and she tried to dig out the musket balls with her pen knife and a sewing needle. She could not extract both. She dug one out, but the other ball became embedded permanently.

Life got a little easier for Deborah once the Fourth Massachusetts was transferred to Philadelphia after the Treaty of Paris was signed. She was assigned to be General John Patterson's orderly. But health problems tripped her up. A fever rendered her unconscious and forced her into the hospital. Barnabas Binney, the doctor who treated her, discovered her secret.

Sampson pleaded with Dr. Binney not to tell anyone. He agreed, and moved her to his house for privacy and further treatment. Unfortunately, his niece fell in love with Robert Shurtleff. Sampson's deception unraveled.

Dr. Binney told General Patterson about Deborah. Patterson told General Henry Knox, who advised General Washington. The general confusion resulted in Robert Shurtleff's discharge from the Continental Army.

General Knox signed Shurtleff/Sampson's honorable discharge on October 25, 1783. General William Shepard, Colonel Henry Jackson, and General Patterson presented letters of commendation regarding her bravery.

After a year and a half of service to her country, Robert Shurtleff was a free woman. For a while after her discharge, she traveled around New England and New York presenting lectures about her experiences in the military to raise some money. She wore the military uniform during her lectures, which always excited the audience. She returned to Massachusetts and married Benjamin Gannet on April 7, 1785. They had three children and adopted a fourth. She finally took up teaching to earn some money, which she needed badly.

Deborah was in debt for several years. That prompted her to exercise the same determination that had gotten her into the army in order to be paid in full for her service.

The army held back some of Sampson's pay after her discharge. She petitioned the state of Massachusetts and the U.S. Congress for back pay and a pension, becoming the first woman to ever apply for a military pension. Eventually, she received compensation and a pension.

Finally, age and ill health caught up with Sampson. She died of yellow fever. Her legacy was commendable, though. She exemplified the ferocity and patriotism with which the colonists fought for their freedom, regardless of gender.

The country could never forget Deborah Sampson, and she never forgot the war. She had a constant reminder. When Deborah Sampson died, she still had that musket ball in her thigh—forty-five years later.