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Primary sourcePainting1797

Deborah Sampson Engraving

1797

An engraved portrait of Deborah Sampson in women's dress, used as the frontispiece to The Female Review in 1797.

This frontispiece portrait of Sampson shows how she was publicly presented during her own lifetime.

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Black-and-white engraving titled Deborah Sampson, published by H. Mann, 1797. An oval portrait of a young woman with long curled hair and a high-collared dress sits within a decorative frame topped with flags, a wreath, and an eagle at the base.
Deborah Sampson, engraving, published by H. Mann, 1797.

About this source

What it is

This is a black-and-white engraving titled Deborah Sampson, published by H. Mann in 1797. It shows an oval portrait of a young woman within a decorative frame topped with flags, a wreath, and an eagle.

Why it matters

The print was made to accompany Herman Mann's biography of Sampson and shows how she was presented to the public during her own lifetime, dressed conventionally as a woman rather than in the soldier's uniform she wore during her service.

Look closer

  • Why do you think the publisher chose to show Sampson in women's dress rather than as a soldier?
  • What do the flags, wreath, and eagle around the portrait suggest about how she was meant to be seen?
  • How might this image shape a reader's expectations before they even open the book?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Deborah Sampson on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Scan of an open book showing a left page with an engraved oval portrait of a young woman with long wavy hair and a ruffled collar, framed by military trophies and an eagle, labeled Deborah Sampson, Published by H. Mann, 1797. Right page is the title page: The Female Review: Or, Memoirs of an American Young Lady, By a Citizen of Massachusetts, Dedham, Printed by Nathaniel and Benjamin Heaton, M,DCC,XCVII.Book

Primary source

The Female Review: Life of Deborah Sampson

Herman Mann · 1797

Oval engraved portrait of a young woman with long wavy hair, wearing a high-collared ruffled white neckerchief and a striped dress with a sash, set within a decorative oval border with foliage.Painting

Primary source

Portrait of Deborah Sampson

Joseph Stone · 1797

Cover of a dark marbled-paper bound booklet with a maroon spine and a small label reading E 275 G18. A cream octagonal label in handwriting reads: An Address delivered at Federal St. Theatre, Boston, By Mrs. Deborah Gannet, The American heroine. Publications of the Sharon historical Society.Speech

Primary source

An Address, Delivered with Applause, at the Federal-Street Theatre, Boston

Deborah Sampson Gannett · 1802

Plain dark red cloth book cover with a white Library of Congress barcode label near the lower right, reading LIBRARY OF CONGRESS and the number 00017379653 with a red dot.Book

Secondary source

The Female Review (Vinton edition)

Herman Mann; edited by John Adams Vinton · 1866

Black-and-white photograph of a granite monument with a bronze plaque showing a relief portrait bust of a woman with long wavy hair. The plaque reads Deborah Sampson Gannett, Woman Soldier in the War of the Revolution, and describes her service and pension, and that it was placed by her grandson George Washington Gay. Cemetery grass and trees are in the background.Photograph

Secondary source

Monument to Deborah Sampson Gannett, Rock Ridge Cemetery

Leon H. Abdalian

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