Deborah the Mostly True Tale of a Revolutionary Woman by Elizabeth A

Deborah The Mostly True Tale of A Revolutionary Woman by Elizabeth A. M. Keel

SYNOPSIS Deborah is a feisty reimagining of the life of Deborah Sampson, a real woman who dressed as a man and fought in the Revolutionary War. As a strong, unusually tall girl sent into servitude by her parents, she despairs of the avenues of life available to her. instead, she swaps her fate for a man's and enlists in the Continental Army, where she proves a fantastic soldier. After the war, Deborah marries and squeezes into the role of wife and mother. With the impending loss of the family farm, Deborah pens her autobiography with the inept help of writer Herman Mann, and sets off across America to give rousing speeches about her past. As she straddles the realms of both genders, Deborah embodies mother and warrior, loner and celebrity, wild rover and wife. This rebellious drama viviﬁes her astonishing journey through personhood, and her lifelong quest to discover how her restless heart might ever truly ﬁnd a place to belong.

CAST 3W / 3M

Deborah Sampson: (Ages from 16-60). Tall, sturdy, androgynous. A powerful speaker with a soft heart.

Hannah Snell: (20s-30s) Tiny, spry, and British. Also androgynous. A singer who knows how to work an audience.

The ensemble actors play a vast range of people, of all ages and social statuses. They need to be quick, ﬂexible, and physical. Their suggested breakdown is:

Male 1: Herman Mann, Traveler, Eliphalet Thorp, Doctor Binney, Paul Revere, Thief, William Dunlap

Male 2: James Summs (Hannah’s husband), Ebenezer Sproat, Calvin Munn, Jacob Towne, General Henry Knox, Uncle Zebulon, Ofﬁcer, Journalist, Heckler

Male 3: Benjamin Thomas, Male Student, Man O.S., Drunk Soldier, Roger Barrett, Benjamin Gannett, Gil Blass, Heckler 2

Female 1: Susannah Thomas, Female Student, Camp Follower, Widow Hunt, Nurse, Patience Payson, Female Audience Member, Heckler 3

PRODUCTION HISTORY Deborah was previously workshopped at 14 Pews in Houston, Texas, in September 2013 as part of an Artist-in-Residency program.

It also received a staged reading at the Playhouse Theatre in San Antonio, Texas in October 2016, and with the Shattered Globe Satellite Series in Chicago in July 2019.

Deborah’s descendent, a trans writer named Alex Myers who has written his own novel about his foremother’s exploits, was kind enough to read the play and approve of it in 2017. 3

ACT ONE

Projection: “If all our Men are drawn off and we should be attacked, you would ﬁnd a race of Amazons in America.” -Abigail Adams

Lights up on Deborah: a large, simple, unremarkable woman in a homespun gown. Yet something in her bearing that suggests one day she may be much more than this.

DEBORAH When this began, I was just a girl. Not pretty. Too tall and wide for ﬂirtation, far too poor for dowries. I was a servant. I did a woman’s chores. Milking, weeding, weaving, mending, cooking, cleaning, gathering, mothering, babying. But there was more to me than that. Why waste all this? (She gestures to her body.) Male chores fell to me as well. Chopping, hauling, carving, slaughtering, whittling, ploughing, haying, hauling, hunting. Fetching things off high shelves. (Beat.) It did make me strong. (Beat.) When this began, it was my choosing time. Had I been a boy, I would have selected my trade. But as a impoverished, landless girl? I was too innocent for whorehouses, and really... who would have me? I was too proud to beg a husband. I was sick to death of chores, and other people’s children. I could weave. That was the only career open to me in which I could earn the same pay as a man. But there is little in this world quite as dull as the back and forth of warp and weft. (Beat.) When this began, I was faced with terrible choices. Did I want a life as plain as my face? Predictable, tame? Or did I want more? And how could I go and get it? (Beat.) When this began, when I began: the world was ending.

Drums, ﬂutes.

MALE VOICES 1775. Don’t shoot until you see the whites of their eyes.

DEBORAH I was ﬁfteen.

MALE VOICES Give me liberty or give me death! The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. April.

An echoing gunshot. 4

MALE VOICES The shot heard round the world. June. George Washington, Commander in Chief. The Spirit of ’76! These are the times that try men’s souls. We hold these truths to be self-evident. That all men are created equal.

DEBORAH All men. I was sixteen.

MALE VOICES September. The British hold New York. ’77. Valley Forge. Bloody footprints on the snow. We’re losing. We’re saved! The French have come. Sons of Liberty! DON’T TREAD ON ME!

DEBORAH The world was watching us. Taking bets on how soon we’d fail.

MALE VOICES ’78. (Beat.) ’79.

DEBORAH Revolution was everywhere, in every mob, every mob cap. Picture, if you will, the colonies. 13 young, supple bodies, in various states of ﬂeshiness, ripe and rich with promise. And behind them, pulling the strings of their bodices tighter and tighter, her knee upon their neck, was fat Mother England. Americans gasped from her taxation, swooned for lack of representation, saw stars bloom in their vision as each valiant protest was ignored. “Mother, enough! We cannot breathe.” And so these colonies, sequestered in their Western boudoir, began to whisper among themselves. There had to be another way to live. Sisters Massachusetts, Virginia, Georgia and New Hampshire, Jersey and York, Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Maryland and the Carolina twins, pooled their chicken money and bought a pair of shears.They took a long last look at the throne that kept them bound. No one wanted to become Mother. They were wary of the limitations of imitation. And thus, their corsets set, they sailed. The colonies sliced through muslin and whalebone, to shed their lunatic King. There was a glorious, scandalous, terrifying moment of naked breathing. And then they pulled on instead: farmer’s breeches, and ﬁsherman’s boots. They donned democracy, and it was outrageous. 5

(A private smile, like a girl in love.) I was uniquely sympathetic to the cause. (Beat.) Ladies and gentlemen, the one thing I ask you to recall, through the fantastic story that is to come: We had every reason to believe we would fail. We would be caught, hung, shot, gutted, beaten, imprisoned, disgraced and worse, for the crime of being rebels. Patriot rebels, and in my case, a female one. Despite that risk, looming every day, we pressed on. You repose here now in the tranquil shade of peace, and assuredness. But know that then, on the original side of peril, we had only just begun to walk in heat of the sun. (Beat.) It is time to begin.

A shift.

DEBORAH At one point, there was a writer. A printer, from Dedham. Some idiot, or rather, a young romantic, who thought I was worth the price of ink. I was never quite sure how much to tell him.

HERMAN MANN (Rising.) Herman Mann.

DEBORAH Herman Mann. Her man-man. (A pity laugh.) What was wrong with his parents.

HERMAN Tell me about your father.

DEBORAH (No longer to audience.) He hated being poor and having so many children. He left when I was ﬁve, and ran away to Sea.

HERMAN (Writing.) Hmm. Father... died.

DEBORAH He remarried.

HERMAN Tragically drowned. And your mother?

DEBORAH She hated being poor and having so many children. 6

HERMAN How many–

DEBORAH Jonathan, Elisha, Hannah, Ephraim, myself, Nehemiah and Sylvia. Seven, in all. We were farmed out. I was sent on to a Miss Fuller, who died when I was eight, and then the widow of Reverend Peter Thacher, who died when I was ten. The widow was fond of quoting Judges to me, at four in the morning:

Projection: “Wake up, wake up, Deborah! Wake up, wake up, break out in song! Arise!” –Judges 5:12

DEBORAH “Wake up, wake up, Deborah! Wake up, wake up, break out in song! Arise!” She loved the mornings, and died at night. Between the two of them, I learned to read.

HERMAN An orphan, raised by women of God... (She squints at him.) Maybe. I might have to bring back your parents. For ﬂow. We shall see.

DEBORAH After that, the Thomases. Five boys, their mother, Susannah, and a father who hated to see me near a book.

BENJAMIN THOMAS “You are always hammering upon some book. I wish you wouldn’t spend so much time in scrabbling over paper.”

HERMAN Oh, wonderful! ...Academic... tendencies... Female education is all the rage these days. I don’t suppose he beat you?

DEBORAH (Ignoring both men.) The Thomas boys went to school in the warm season of the year, but I could not be spared.

BENJAMIN THOMAS She’s got her Scripture, what more does she need? ’Tis vanity! She’s too proud of her reading. Child, I forbid it!

DEBORAH I read every book I touched. 7

She seizes a book and drops down into the reading of it.

HERMAN She shows a real thirst for information. She is able to read almost any book in her language! Ms. Sampson is versed in nature, astronomy, and geography, the Almanacks, Pamela, Shakespeare, Robinson Crusoe. She can recite the Catechism verbatim, years after she last studied it. Her extreme memory is noteworthy. It is as if her weaker woman’s mind was ravenous for any such stuff it might grasp. Deborah also has maintained a pronounced fondness for the cheap chapbooks she was able to purchase as a child. The books, which I am sure my enlightened readers eschew, are peddled door to door. They are crude copies of copies, full of ﬂuff: soldiers and pirates, questionable virtues, ludicrous female protagonists. Perhaps it is from such scandalous tales of adventure that our heroine ﬁrst found the inspiration for her masquerade.

Deborah is deep in Hannah’s biography.

Hannah appears, vaulting, swinging, cartwheeling, or similarly swaggering onto the stage. She is in full Lady Tar regalia, has a pronounced accent. Hannah may be pint-sized but she is notably whole-hearted.

HANNAH God’s thumb, look at her! You’re perfect! You’re huge. And that face. Oof. (She kicks her, in a friendly way.) Hello, mate! I’m Hannah Snell. Or as my friends call me, James Gray.

She sticks out a hand, waits until it is shaken.

HANNAH (With an air of trying it out.) Deb-bruh. Deb-bore-a. You’re perfect.

DEBORAH I beg your pardon?

Hannah only smiles, walking around Deborah in assessment.

HANNAH Finally, somebody interesting reads me. You would not believe the number of stupid girls who pick me up for sheer shock hunting.

DEBORAH You’re British.

HANNAH (With a smart salute/stiffening.) God save the King! 8

DEBORAH ...

HANNAH Oh no. Where are we?

DEBORAH Middleborough, Massachusetts.

HANNAH The colony? (A sigh.) Can’t be helped. You need a friend.

DEBORAH (Glancing at the book in her hands.) Do I?

SUSANNA THOMAS Deb-rah!

DEBORAH (Scrambling up.) Coming, Missus!

HANNAH What do you ﬁgure it is this time? The pigs, the kindling, or the laundry?

SUSANNA I need you to catch a chicken for supper! Maybe two, with the boys eating the way they are...

DEBORAH I haven’t the time for friends.

Hannah studies her as if she is the most adorable, silly creature on legs. She walks right up to Deborah, very close, suddenly strange.

HANNAH We–

Hannah kicks a leg up into Deborah’s arms.

HANNAH Are going to make the time– 9

Deborah reluctantly accepts the leg. Hannah hauls herself the rest of the way into her arms.

HANNAH To be lifelong friends. Deborah cradles Hannah, clearly feeling foolish. Hannah, delighted with the view, plants a wet kiss on Deborah’s cheek.

HANNAH Now set me up somewhere interesting, love. And I will tell you my thrilling tale! While you... set about the great siege of the Pondicherry chickens. Ba-kaw!

Without ceremony, Deborah dumps Hannah somewhere, possibly up high.

HANNAH A drumroll, please, boys! If you would be so kind!

The male actors provide a roll.

HANNAH There are facts, and there are stories, and I am the glory that lies in between. Hannah Snell. Such a sweetheart’s name. Pretty girl, slender frame. Came up to London to live with me sister. Met a man, and was he ever an evil mister. Sssssss! Go on, ssssss, you’ll feel better. Hiss and boo the weevily cad. (She grins at the audience.) We wed young. I worked me ﬁngers to the bone, cooking his meals, keeping a house on shillings. And even with so little, he stole everything I had, gave it all away to tarts. Around his many affairs, he still found the time to knock me up, before he ran away to Sea. What is it with men and the Sea? They get a woman with child, and then are magically commanded by the pull of the tides. Bloody mooncalves! (Beat.) I had a little girl, but she died. (Beat.) Did you catch them chickens yet?

DEBORAH (Wiping her brow.) Yeah.

HANNAH Good. Then cuddle up, love, this is the important part. 10

Deborah grabs the book up again, and sits back to back/close with Hannah.

HANNAH He was gone. She was gone. I had nothing, I was used up, broke. But my sister was married to a good man. The best I’ve ever met. He was small, like me. Had a spare suit of clothes. I took ’em. And I took his name, James Gray, and I struck off, to look for the lousy devil who had done me wrong. I was going to ﬁnd him, and murder him. I needed the freedom to move about, to carry a gun, to chase him onto boats, up masts, down galleys, wherever the rat ran. I went to Sea for vengeance, and so much more.

DEBORAH As a man?

HANNAH Aye.

Deborah begins to breathe fast at the hugeness of the idea.

DEBORAH ’Tis illegal here.

HANNAH ‘Tis illegal there.

DEBORAH And it worked?!

HANNAH Are you, or are you not, holding my book?

DEBORAH It is all in here. How you did it.

HANNAH This is why you’re perfect. You pay attention.

Projection: “She was a person with enough sense of herself to become someone else.” –Alfred Young, Historian

DEBORAH The day I turned 18, I quit the Thomas home, abandoning chickens and servitude alike as I hopped the fence at the end of the lane. From there, I followed the call of the schoolhouse. Teaching gave me the security of room and board, as well as unfettered access to books. Hannah insisted it would give me a feel for managing troops. I had cared for small children all my life, but 11 the classroom was different. There was a blend of boys and lucky girls, all ages. Few of them held any interest in actual study. In my ﬁrst weeks, it was like bunking with rabid bears.

The boys of her class act up.

FEMALE STUDENT (To audience.) I remember one time, when Miss Sampson was our teacher. She took a refractory scholar, tied his hands together by a line, threw one end over the timber, and raised him aloft. We all thought the fellow’s arms would be dislocated, if his life was not taken.

MALE STUDENT Sorry, Miss Sampson!

Deborah lets him drop.

DEBORAH Discipline improved.

The children scatter.

DEBORAH I also made my rounds as a weaver.

HANNAH It’s brilliant. That gets you in and out of most of the houses in town. Watch the men, see how they sit, stand, how they talk amongst themselves when proper ladies aren’t about.

DEBORAH I was good with fabric. Some of my things were heir-loomed by the families that ordered them. Also, once I had that weaving reputation, it gave me the freedom to work on breast bands, loin cloths, breeches and the like, without anyone worrying about who they were for. But I maintain that it is the dreariest task imaginable. Thank God for stories.

As Deborah completes a pair of pants:

HANNAH So there I was, surrounded, in the steamy jungles of enemy territory, leagues from help, eleven bloody bullets in my leg, which I didn’t care about too much, as there was also a twelfth bullet in my groin. (Beat.) Do you know what a groin is?

DEBORAH Yes. 12

HANNAH ...Point to it.

DEBORAH (Sewing away.) Finish the story, Hannah.

HANNAH It’s that thing, Deborah, between your legs. That you pretend not to have.

DEBORAH Groin–

HANNAH Ooh!

DEBORAH (Holding up the V of the pants.) –Groin groin! What did you do about the damn bullets?

HANNAH (A mock gasp.) Language! From such a delicate young lady!

DEBORAH Ha! Do I look like a delicate lady to you?

HANNAH No, pet. Just young.

Deborah bites her lip and smiles.

HANNAH I’ll trade you. What’d you learn today?

DEBORAH Don’t get shot in India.

HANNAH And?

DEBORAH And that men hold tension in their mouths. Women tend to pout or smile, it’s all in the lips. But men, uh, clench their jaw. They grimace. They aren’t as concerned with looking pretty. Like so. Women? (She models.) 13

Men. (And again.)

HANNAH There’s a girl. (She beams.) And your reward. I pulled the bullet out me self. Watched the doctors do the ﬁrst eleven, told ’em I was beat, and when they left me to sleep, I went in after it. (At Deborah’s face.) It was that or the noose, love. The will to survive is stronger than you think.

Deborah tosses the completed pants at her friend.

DEBORAH I had built my disguise, and lined my purse with what money I could. Hannah insisted the next step was:

HANNAH Where all good men of fortune go: THE BAR!

DEBORAH I took a third job cleaning up at Sproat’s tavern, which put me in even closer proximity to soldiers and men. I learned about gambling and cards, horse races, seraglios, and other myriad mysteries that were hushed up in the tamer quarters of my predominantly Baptist town. Also, fresh news of the Revolution’s front arrived there ﬁrst, as dusty travelers rode in with a drink on their minds.

HANNAH Look here, at this mark on the wall. “Sons of Liberty must be this tall to ﬁght.” (She is well below the mark.) A pox on you, boys. Your loss.

Deborah, easily taller, lays a few ﬁngers against it.

Ebenezer Sproat enters, chatting with a traveler.

Deborah jerks away and busies herself sweeping.

TRAVELER Where’s your father, Ebenezer?

EBENEZER SPROAT He and Mother rode to Canton for supplies.

TRAVELER Uh-oh! Eb’s in charge! Drink are half price tonight! What do you say, wench, a couple of beers! 14

Deborah sets aside her broom and pours drinks for the men.

EBENEZER Mark it on his tab, Deborah.

TRAVELER Oho! Then best make his a half pint. So as I’m leaving New Jersey, just outside Elizabethtown, I stop at the pub, where I run into my friend Will Barton. Commanding ofﬁcer, Lieutenant William Barton. He had just brought on some new recruits, has one of the kids wait on the table. He serves the beer, Will says thank you. And then, Eb, I swear: the soldier curtsies.

Hannah claps a hand over Deborah’s mouth.

TRAVELER Some stupid slut thought she could get away with playing a man!

EBENEZER What happened to her?

TRAVELER Will wasn’t sure if she was a mollyboy or a wench, so he ripped her shirt open. Glad I caught that! Deﬁnitely a girl. He ﬁred up his drummers, threw her out of town to the tune of the whore’s march.

He laughs. He’s the only one. Deborah brings the drinks.

EBENEZER Thank you, Deborah.

DEBORAH Not to alarm you, Mr. Sproat, but I just saw a rat.

EBENEZER (Choking on his beer.) I’ll take care of it.

HANNAH My God, what a canker. I wish you had spit in his beer. (As Deborah resumes her sweeping.) I do like Eb’s new breeches, though. You could make a pair like that. (At Deborah’s pause.) Ooh, you like him. Is it cause he’s tall?

MAN, O.S. Mr. Sproat! There’s a delivery for you! 15

The men leave. Deborah whirls on Hannah.

DEBORAH I’ve told you: you’ll blow my cover if you say horrid things like that!

HANNAH Oh, I will, eh? And not you, blushing over that behemoth?

DEBORAH If I was blushing, it was because I wanted to bash in that man’s head. That poor girl.

HANNAH Learn from it. Don’t curtsy.

DEBORAH And why would I curtsy to you, you salty British tar?

HANNAH Haha! Avast, broom wench! Quiver in fear!

They mock battle, broom against broom. Parry! Thrust!

HANNAH You ﬁght like a Frenchman!

DEBORAH Shall I slow down, old lady? ’Tisn’t 1740 anymore! Welcome to the future! HA!

EBENEZER (Returning.) Forgot my beer.

Deborah, panting, attempts to sweep in innocence.

EBENEZER Um. I apologize about the gentleman, before. It was an unsuitable tale. I regret that you had to hear it.

DEBORAH Thank you, sir, that’s very kind.

The moment he is gone:

HANNAH Ooh, that’s very kind! 16

DEBORAH Madam, I shall be kind no more!

The ﬁght resumes. Deborah defeats Hannah, knocking her to the ﬂoor.

DEBORAH I’m ready.

HANNAH God knows, you’ve swept me off my feet.

Deborah helps her up.

Hannah puts the brooms away, and they begin the process of changing Deborah over to male garb. This occurs in full view of the audience.

HANNAH George.

DEBORAH There are enough Georges in this war already.

HANNAH Thomas.

DEBORAH Timothy. Tim Thayer.

HANNAH Th-ee thay th-ee. You’ll stumble.

DEBORAH (As Hannah binds her chest.) Tighter. Tighter. ...Fine! (Feeling the intensity of the squeeze.) Lord, I wish men had breasts as well.

HANNAH You’ll get used to it. Focus. You need a strong name. Something manly. That implies grit in your teeth and hair on your chest. Raid that Bible brain of yours.

DEBORAH Phineas. Ezekiel. Gideon. Samuel. David. 17

HANNAH I’m David, you’re Goliath. Ooh, how about Ebenezer?

Deborah slaps at her.

HANNAH What’s wrong with James Gray?

DEBORAH I am not the only one who reads, O infamous friend. Robert. (She adjusts her shirt.) Shirt. Robert Shurt...liff.

HANNAH Robert Shurtliff ?

DEBORAH Robert Shurtliff.

HANNAH Robert is so... French.

BOTH Bob.

DEBORAH (Dressed, and instantly converted. Bowing over Hannah’s hand.) Bob Shurtliff. Exquisite to meet you, madam.

HANNAH Bloody nob. I got you a present.

DEBORAH You did? ...Dare I ask how?

HANNAH You shall have to examine your own conscience for that.

She hands her a soft tube of cloth.

Deborah stares at it, then stuffs it into the front of her pants with good humor.

DEBORAH Let us pray it never falls out. 18

They travel, perhaps whistling Yankee Doodle.

DEBORAH We walked clear across Massachusetts, to ﬁnd a place to enlist. I couldn’t run the risk of being recognized. For an adventuress, Hannah seemed strangely impatient with my caution.

HANNAH (Hands on knees.) You’ve dragged me up and down two hundred miles of cobwebs and hills. I’m a sailor, not a plow horse. Hoo. The war will be over, Bob, before you ever get the chance to ﬁght–

DEBORAH We’ll stop in Bellingham.

HANNAH That craphole? Again? Why?

DEBORAH It pays the highest bounty.

Hannah cartwheels in exuberance (or similar.)

HANNAH Cheeky pirate. At last! You’ll be the best man among them.

DEBORAH We spent that last night out of doors. I was a masterless woman, and, technically, given my attire, a depraved criminal and sexual deviant. It felt grand. It was May, and plenty warm. Everything, even the stars overhead, seemed friendly with promise. We lit a ﬁre, gorged on the last of my provisions. And I confessed to Hannah the account of my dream.

HERMAN MANN It was a dream she experienced multiple times in her life, in those months leading up to her deception. It occurred the same way each time.

DEBORAH Such funny things. I don’t know if they come to us from God, or the night air. But this one always came back to me, time and again. As it began, I was lying in bed, and then the door was pushed open. In slithers a great serpent, its body as wide around as the trunk of that tree, its scales a poisonous green. And I want to hide, I want to be saved, I want it go away... It coils at the foot of my bed, and it is so dangerous... And then, every time, I hear a voice telling me, “Arise, stand on your feet, gird yourself, and prepare to encounter your enemy.” Such language, it thrills me. “Arise, stand, gird yourself, prepare to encounter your enemy.” The snake attacks.

HERMAN MANN Do you run, or scream? 19

DEBORAH I have severe combat with my foe. I take up a bludgeon and I strike him at length, until I dislocate every joint and he is gelly on the ﬂoor.

HERMAN MANN How... er, vivid. To whom did the voice belong? Deacon Thomas? Or your father?

DEBORAH Neither. It was a woman’s voice.

HERMAN MANN Really? Whose?

Deborah shrugs.

HERMAN MANN And then what occurred?

DEBORAH In the world? Lexington and Concord. In my life, I... (She glances at Hannah.) Bought a book.

Projection: “[We need] some Jersey maid to spirit up her countrymen, like Joan of Arc, [to help ﬁght off] the whole English army!” –Thomas Paine

CAPTAIN ELIPHALET THORP Our very own George Washington just had to court martial an officer, as he was so desperate for recruits he took into the army four European deserters, a handful of pint-sized boys, two immigrants, one Negro with a busted ankle, and an idiot! Don’t make me tell George the good sons of Massachusetts are all fled! Will none of you stand and fight?

DEBORAH I will ﬁght.

THORP Ah, there’s a strapping lad! How tall are you, boy? And what rock have you been under? Come here, show me your teeth.

She does. Thorp guffaws and slaps her shoulder.

THORP That was in jest, son, you’re not a horse. Here, can you lift this? 20

Deborah lifts a military pack with ease.

THORP Run fast? In forest terrain?

DEBORAH I’m fast, sir.

THORP Of course you are. I’d believe it. (He feels Deborah’s bicep.) Ha! Like granite. By Jove, I’d like to shake your father’s hand. How old are you?

HANNAH You’ve got to play it young, Beardless.

DEBORAH Eighteen.

THORP Eighteen, eh? I bet those whiskers will grow in soon, maybe in time for your ﬁrst ﬁghting winter! Now, my good sir, sign and date here if you please. You see that, people? A True Son of Liberty, answering the call! ...Robert Shurt..leaf ?

DEBORAH Luff. Of the Carver Shurtliffs.

THORP Muster Master Eliphalet Thorp. Just call me Thorp. God knows my wife does. Welcome to the Fourth Massachusetts Regulars. This company reports to Captain George Webb, of the regiment of Colonel Henry Jackson, under the brigade of General John Paterson, and we all answer to God’s Mightiest Son of a Bitch, General George Washington. You got all that?

DEBORAH Yes, sir. Muster Master Thorp. Captain Webb, Colonel Jackson, Brigadier General Paterson–

THORP Goddamnit, boy, I like you! Smart as a whip! You’ll report on to Calvin Munn. He’ll be your drill sergeant. Good luck, huh?

He slaps him again, and exits.

Deborah rubs the affected area.

DEBORAH ...Ow. Why was that so easy? 21

HANNAH The war has dragged on. They are short on men, much less brawny, beast-sized farm boys like you. Also you just brought him ten pounds’ fee. Let’s go ﬁnd this Munn.

To the side, a group of soldiers sit drinking. They are loud: bragging, dicing. Hannah grabs Deborah’s arm.

HANNAH Hold on. Watch out for them. I’ve seen their type before. The lazy ones get you killed. They’re all on the lookout for avenues of cruelty, ways to tease. Living in wait of their next rum ration. See how loud they are? Torn ﬁngernails, shoddy shave, no pride. ’Tis a sure sign they’re common. Trouble.

DEBORAH How did you deal with them?

HANNAH Avoided them the best I could. When that didn’t work, I was James Happy Lark, offering to do their chores, mend their clothes, laundry, you know.

DEBORAH Huh.

One of the men staggers away from the crowd, off to relieve himself. He slams shoulders with Deborah.

DRUNK SOLIDER Watch it, boy!

DEBORAH (Stretched tall and dangerous.) A good day to you, sir.

A glare off.

Deborah wins; he stumbles away.

HANNAH Or just... be a brute.

DEBORAH I merely said, “Good day.”

HANNAH That won’t always work, you know. 22

DEBORAH What a shame.

HANNAH The best advice I can give you is to make your men love you. They don’t even realize how much they miss their mothers. Be kind, be useful, and don’t settle everything with your balls.

DEBORAH Hannah!

HANNAH (Fixing her with a look.) Bob. You mustn’t draw that kind of attention.

DEBORAH You want me to yield. Be submissive, and... and thoughtful and clean.

HANNAH Yes.

DEBORAH So, be a woman.

Hannah thinks it through. It’s not wrong.

HANNAH Be a gentleman. When you can.

Projection: “She displayed herself with activity, alertness, chastity and valour... was never found in liquor, and always kept the company of the most upright and temperate of soldiers.” –The New York Gazette

Deborah, Hannah, and the other recruits line up.

DRILL SERGEANT CALVIN MUNN You may get kicked down, shot, gutted, stabbed. I don’t give a damn if you stumble and fall. All men, since Adam, have known what it is to fall. But what makes a man a soldier is when he gets back up again. Reloads and keeps on coming. Baron von Steuben has vowed to make you “the terror of our enemies.” Have you got that in you? To arise?! SONS OF LIBERTY, DO YOU SAY AYE?!

ALL AYE! 23

SGT. MUNN Fall out! (The other troops exit.) One moment, Bob.

He waits for others to go.

Deborah holds a salute.

SGT. MUNN Rest. This is your ﬁrst action.

DEBORAH (Dropping to At Ease.) Yes, sir.

SGT. MUNN You’ve got the look about you. You’re alert, quick, eager to please. That musket obeys you like a good horse.

DEBORAH Thank you, Drill Sergeant.

SGT. MUNN I think we may have a place for you in the light infantry. It’s a special service, sees the most action. The men are big, your size, they move fast and shoot often. Light corps is ﬂushing out Loyalist irregulars in the Hudson Valley. Lots of hit and run, thick coverage primed for ambush. The Tories move like bandits, in packs, and so our men do too. It’s messy and hot.

HANNAH That’s perfect! Fewer men to fool. They’ll be distracted with the chase.

SGT. MUNN There’s high risk. It demands intelligence and endurance. They insist on initiative in their ranks. Any interest, private? Or would you rather play it safe? There's other routine patrols, guarding French ambassadors and rich men's wives.

HANNAH Take it, Bob.

DEBORAH Sir, I'd be honored to ﬁght.

SGT. MUNN You were wasted milking cows, Shurtliff. Fall out. 24

DEBORAH We lived on constant patrol of the Hudson Valley. Throughout the summer of 1782, we roved from Eastchester to the Croton River in a no man’s land. There were farms and homesteads in the way, whose owners refused to evacuate. More than once, it was by God’s good grace we kept from shooting a civilian by mistake. The other men were a mix of educated ofﬁcers and hungry glory seekers. Strange as it sounds, one of the most bizarre sensations was being surrounded by men who shared my build. We were all tall enough to ramrod a musket, which took some doing. After years of looking down at people, it was quite a shift to be matched on every side. I ﬁt right in among my squadron of giants. Roger Barrett, a fellow private, took me under his wing.

As they patrol.

ROGER BARRETT The redcoats learned from us in the early years of the war. In Europe, these donkey wallopers loved to line up nice and neat to fight, just run straight at each other. Can you imagine? Always so goddamn proper. Boy, were they flummoxed when we wouldn’t come out from behind the trees in those first years. Called us cowards and worse, as we picked ’em off one by one. Now they’re creeping round like the rest of us, hiding them robin coats in the cool dark shade. Keep your ears clean and open, Bob. (He laughs.) Not that I have to tell you. You keep watch like a fox, boy. Anyone ever told you that?

DEBORAH “You know not what hour your Lord doth come.”

ROGER Luke?

DEBORAH Matthew, 24:42.

ROGER It’s morbid either way. “You know not what hour...” Huh.

They hunker down.

DEBORAH When you are a soldier, it is somehow always dawn, or about to to be dawn. Everything is saturated with a sensation of imminence. It’s coming, it’s coming, be ready, engage. We crouched there, just off the river bank, watching the Brits sneak through the lines, closer and closer. And I thought, my God. Some woman carried that man inside her for nine months. She fed him, raised him, taught him English and Scripture. He came into the prime of his life, rode a boat across the ocean, and came here, to this wood, on this day, to die.

Gunshots! 25

DEBORAH Or to kill me. Just like we practiced: Bite the cartridge, prime the pan, load the muzzle, ram rod in, put it back, cock and fire. Bite the cartridge, prime the pan, load the muzzle, ram rod in, put it back, cock and fire. Bite the cartridge, prime the pan, load the muzzle, ram rod in, put it back, cock and fire. The gun gets hot, there’s smoke and screams, and sprays of something wet and still, bite the cartridge, prime the pan, load the muzzle, ram rod in, put it back, cock and fire. Four times a minute, gun’s too hot, three times a minute, what the devil does time mean anyway, because, duck! Aim, fire, however long, until it’s quiet.

A multitude of yells. All the men drop, dead on the ﬂoor. Deborah sways, among the bodies. She pulls her canteen and guzzles water.

HANNAH Two shots through your coat, and one through your cap. Did you hear it go whistling by? (Beat.) Hey, slow down. (With terrible sharpness.) DEBORAH. (She slaps her.) You mustn’t drink cold water that fast. Your body’s had a shock. It’ll lay you low.

Deborah glares, panting. A beat. She nods.

HANNAH You were lucky.

DEBORAH (Kneeling beside Roger.) “Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God.” That, my friend, is from Luke.

A shift.

DEBORAH My new life continued on. There were times our small units convened, to compare reports, restock on supplies. An unfortunate biological necessity sent me to seek out one of the women that trailed the camp, making money in her own way.

CAMP FOLLOWER Good morning, soldier.

DEBORAH Um, yes. Good morning, Missus. I need to buy two, no, three rolls of bandages, please. 26

CAMP FOLLOWER Just in case you’re wounded, eh? Tha’s a bit gloomy.

DEBORAH (Stifﬂy.) They are for a friend.

CAMP FOLLOWER A friend what visits once a month, perhaps.

DEBORAH Old mother!

CAMP FOLLOWER Don’t you worry about me, dearie. I don’t count. I don’t talk to no one but my cat.

Deborah drops a coin in her outstretched hand.

When the hand remains out, she drops in a second.

CAMP FOLLOWER But here is some free advice: If you want to hide, stay away from the other ladies in camp. Women are better at truth than loyalty.

DEBORAH (Taking her bandages.) Not I.

CAMP FOLLOWER Tha’s why you’ll pass. Soldier! Be loyal to your men. It will save you.

Deborah watches her go. A big exhalation.

HANNAH (Shivering.) What do you ﬁgure? Think she was a witch?

DEBORAH I think her cat eats well. (A shift.) Winter came. Icy, self-absorbed winter, one that had no investment in the outcome of a war. We were all bunked into huts at New Windsor. Eight to twelve men conﬁned to a space about this big. Hemmed in, snow crazy. I was deeply reminded of sharing the loft with the ﬁve Thomas boys: everything was farting and hair. And one... episode worth noting. There was a soldier named Jacob Towne. 27

JACOB TOWNE They said they’d name the settlement after my grandfather. I think something got lost in the translation. But they call it Towne all right!

He laughs. The other men don’t.

DEBORAH He told that story twice a week. To be fair, in a blizzard, we told all our stories. Well, I made some up, or else did Hannah’s. But there were times when he would name me friend, and sit beside me, and times when he’d turn away, calling me Molly, or smock-faced boy. I stopped eating; I was so scared he’d ﬁgured me out.

HANNAH Don’t you get it? He likes you. He’s confused, doesn’t know why. You look like another hairy, farting soldier. But there’s chemistry at play.

Deborah and Jacob sit, almost touching. The tension builds. Jacob reaches over and taps her chin with his ﬁst.

JACOB How’s that beard coming, Molly?

DEBORAH (Shrugging him off.) Wish to Jesus it would get here. My face is freezing.

JACOB What I wouldn’t give for a woman to warm mine up.

Deborah busies herself cleaning her musket.

JACOB Well? If I had a woman here, would you want a piece? ...A blonde. Or one of those sweet fat ones. (An assessing look.) Have you spread a girl out yet?

HANNAH Careful.

DEBORAH I’m promised to a girl back home. Her name’s Hannah.

HANNAH Oh, I’m ﬂattered. 28

JACOB So?

DEBORAH So... I’d kick you ﬂea-farms out in the snow and keep the skirt in here with me.

JACOB (Easing off the scrutiny, chuckling a bit.) Feel that, Bob? Temperature’s droppin’. We’ll have to bunk in close tonight.

DEBORAH I had to get out of there. I had to eat. I volunteered to forage for food, clear roads, cut trees, and I took on the most deadly, far-ﬂung, hopelessly head-on missions I could.

Gunshots! One grazes her head. The next hits her just at the inner hip socket of her left leg.

She goes down, crawls to a safer place.

HERMAN MANN She had always thought she would rather die than disclose her sex to the army. Almost in despair, our invincible Maiden Fair drew a pistol from her holster and was nearly ready to execute the fatal deed...

HANNAH Would you PLEASE just hold off one bloody second, Juliet? Head wounds always bleed a lot. Put that down and hold your head.

DEBORAH Christ, I’ll be discovered. I’ll be locked up. I’ll be beat down. I’ll be... My left boot is... ﬁlling with blood.

HANNAH Yep. It sure is. Eh. (Going over Deborah’s body.) This would be why. You’ve a musket ball in your... I’ll be damned, Deborah. You got shot in the same place I did. Sorry, it’s not funny. It’s actually a little bit to the side. But that’s got to come out, love.

DEBORAH ...Just let me die.

HANNAH Women get whole babies out their bodies. We’re talking about a little ball. That big. Now try not to scream like a girl. 29

DEBORAH AAAAH!

HANNAH Good, nice and deep. Swear too, if that helps.

DEBORAH AAAAAH! Give me the knife.

Hannah sips at a ﬂask while Deborah works. After awhile, she produces the ball.

DEBORAH There’s another shot. Deeper in my leg. I can’t get to it.

HANNAH That’s all right, girl. You’ve done enough today and more. Splash this on the wound, and down your throat, and we’ll meet the morning when it comes. Brave soldier girl. Would you like a story for distraction? A command performance, eh? Maybe the hurricanoe, versus the good ship Swallow? Or my conquest of Lady Catherine, that alabaster minx? I could sing you a song. I was the toast of the West End, you know. (Laying a hand on her friend in comfort.) If I was alive, you’d scare me to death.

DEBORAH Where did you go? Just now, when I was shot?

HANNAH (Beat.) Not far. A shift.

DEBORAH ...Where do you ﬁgure the other Hannah is? Right now? HANNAH How should we know? Deborah pants a bit, working through the pain. HANNAH She’s... sixty years old. She’s probably somewhere clean and dry. And missing all the fun. A shift.

DEBORAH I healed, even with the second musket ball still in me. Hannah and I kept the wounds baptized in rum. Fortunately, my insistence on self-care was seen as manly and brave. My solitary recovery 30 process impressed my fellow soldiers. “That Bob! What a tiger.” Soon I was back in action. I thrived in the soldier’s life. It wasn’t a man, or a cause, or even a quiet country homestead that did me in. Despite its terrible unlikeliness, the military proved to be my match in love. Danger, chaos, marching, stiff fingers, uniforms, rations, mortality, explosions, victories and blood. These were the flowers of the bouquet I gathered. It is selfish insanity to be grateful for a war. And yet I was. And then the winter thaws came, and with them, the treachery of a woman.

WIDOW HUNT Come in, come in, you poor boys must be frozen from the damp. Here, have a seat by the ﬁre.

The men and Deborah, shivering with cold, sit in a huddle.

WIDOW HUNT You’re blue to the lips. I shall send my slave for refreshments. George! Go and fetch refreshments for these Patriots. It’s a whole troop, you know, so... get as many as you can.

DEBORAH We had met a cavalry in ambush, and were forced to backtrack across the river on a stolen ferry. We thought to take cover and respite at the home of this old widow, but something about her... her slave going out into the snow instead of down into the larder, raised my hackles. Hannah?

HANNAH (Shaking her head.) Beware her guile.

DEBORAH At my urging, although it was the last thing we wanted to do, I got our men back up and outside, just as we heard enemy troops thundering towards the home. This time we were forced to ford the river, which was wretched and swollen with slush.

The men ford the river. One man is nearly lost in the water, but Deborah pulls him across. It is a Herculean effort. On the far bank, the men recover in a heap.

DEBORAH I was promoted for merit. I left behind the frozen cabins and the guerrilla missions to serve at the pleasure of Brigadier General John Paterson. I was one of his four waiters, and for a private, it was a huge advance. As a woman, I was able to breath a sigh of relief. I slept in a bed again, was given a horse and acted as courier. Hannah enjoyed the rides.

HANNAH Ha! Keep your nag. It’s a sailor’s life for me.

DEBORAH And then, in March of 1783, news arrived. 31

HERMAN MANN By God’s good grace, a preliminary peace treaty had been signed.

DEBORAH The men went crazy with drinking and carrying on, but I kept sober and listened to their talk. Was it over? It couldn’t be over. Not yet.

HERMAN MANN The army still had work to do. Tigers to tame, and boys to make men of. History was being written and the ink was not yet dry.

HANNAH More like, just cause some swotty white-wigs signed a thing, doesn’t mean men give up their causes.

DEBORAH I realized there would be still be plenty of uprisings. Skirmishes. Traitors. (A whisper.) Worthy ﬁghts. A reason to stay. Flooded with relief, I picked up the wine service, turned to pour, and the ﬁrst man in line was Ebenezer Sproat.

Their eyes lock.

HERMAN MANN Heaven be praised, when he looked at her, her former employer only saw what he expected to see. A young soldier, a proffered glass. Nothing more.

DEBORAH (Pouring.) Ebenezer had done well for himself. He was a celebrated Lieutenant Colonel, much loved by the General and his men. He looked so tall and handsome in his uniform. Perhaps it was the joyous mood, the music, the good cheer and wine... but I felt my belly loosening. For a moment, the ﬁrst in such a long time, I pondered what it might be like to ask the Lieutenant Colonel for a dance.

HANNAH He married Catherine Whipple in 1781.

Deborah drops that dream.

DEBORAH Of course, as a three year man, my service was far from over. The army at West Point discharged some 8,000 men, but I stayed on. The young Congress was cruel in their methods. They sent home soldiers on “furloughs”, without pay, and with no intention of recalling them to service. I watched as enraged ofﬁcers and their men petitioned for backpay. And then, from Pennsylvania, there came a frantic call for aid, as an entire line of desperate men mutinied in response. My General Paterson and some 1,500 troops raced to Philadelphia to quell it. But by the time we 32 arrived, the Brother City was in the grip of a terrible plague, an ague that felled thousands with fever. I succumbed without ever seeing action, and against my wishes was quarantined in a military hospital. Death and terror crouched in there like gargoyles upon a church. I was trapped at the mercy of the malady.

Deborah lies sick, and extinguished by it.

HANNAH Wake up, wake up, Deborah! Wake up, wake up, break out in song! Arise! Old friend, stay with me!

DEBORAH No.

HANNAH There’s no reason you can’t sweat out a fever at headquarters. One of these doctors is going to get too bloody close, with their poultices and leeches, and it’s all over from there, Bob. I don’t know about you, but I’m not yet ready to have my colors struck!

DEBORAH Be quiet, Hannah Snell. I descended into madness long ago, talking to you.

HANNAH It’s like the bullet, pet. Not fun, but you manage! (Beat.) Now, Bob. Up you get. (Beat.) Just because you carried me here doesn’t mean I’m as lazy as you, you hard-skulled, rock-brained, stiff-necked, pride-clinging, Yankee she-devil! You can’t stay here. There’s more work to be done: battles, glory, life, in that order. Now move!

Deborah lifts a hand. Hannah takes it.

DEBORAH Doctor? Doc– (She falls to the ﬂoor.)

DR. BARNABUS BINNEY Soldier, that’s a perfectly good bed you’re leaping out of. He’s out.

HANNAH Deborah!

DR. BINNEY Nurse! Some aid! Oof! Heavy fellow. 33

NURSE Is he gone? I don’t think he’s breathing.

HANNAH Why didn’t you tell us it was this bad?

DR. BINNEY It’s his chest. Bound too tight, I’ll wager. With this fever, he’s sweated it through. Feel it: soaked. (Checking the body. The phenomenal realization.) Holy Saint Francis.

NURSE What is it, Doctor?

DR. BINNEY We’re going to need a curtain, if you can ﬁnd one.

NURSE Ha! How about some fresh linens and medication while I’m about it!

DR. BINNEY (Digging a coin from his pocket.) Go to Arch Street, ﬁnd some fabric that will do. Also, here. (Digging out a second coin.) Best send a boy to tell my wife I shan’t be home this evening.

The nurse looks back curiously at Deborah. Dr. Binney clears his throat. She departs.

HANNAH Deborah, I’m sorry.

DR. BINNEY ...Soldier. Are you all right?

HANNAH No, you daft quack, she en’t all right!

DR. BINNEY If you are in some kind of trouble, perhaps I can help. (Checking around him.) I know you are low, Soldier. And you feel like departing the trials of this world for the next. But I have seen many men in my time. And you’ve the look of one who’s going to live. (Softly.) Stay with me, Madam.

Projection: “A lively, comely young nymph... dressed in man’s apparel, has been discovered.” –The New York Gazette

HANNAH Shit. Pig shit, cow shit, horse shit. Damn it to the depths of the Sea.

A bit of a dance, in which Deborah heals and rises, is offered a dress, and rejects it. She shakes the Doctor’s hand, accepts a letter from him, then gathers up her things and travels, Hannah at her side.

HANNAH I’ll come with you.

DEBORAH If you like. It would be strange if you left me now. (The women hold hands.) The Doctor gave me a letter. For General Henry Knox at West Point, detailing the facts, insofar as he knew them. Thank God Washington had departed in August or I would have fainted dead away. I stood outside his door. I couldn’t take a breath. I kept hearing drums, the crack of a whip, the slamming of a cell door, the plummeting of the gallows’ rope...

HANNAH Chin up, Bob. (She squeezes Deborah’s hand.) They’re all rebels, too.

Shoulders back. Deborah goes before General Knox.

He is occupied at his desk.

GENERAL HENRY KNOX What news from the capital, soldier? I heard Potter’s Field is full. You should be glad you escaped that fever pit alive.

Mute, shaking, Deborah extends the letter.

Knox accepts it, breaking the seal. Eyebrows up. He re-appraises her, toe to top. A booming laugh.

GEN. KNOX What manure is this! Ha, that Paterson. Private, tell him I appreciate the laugh.

Faced with her white, still-quivering stance, he falls silent, then returns to the letter. 35

GEN. KNOX Can it be so? (Beat.) What’s your name?

DEBORAH Rob–. Deborah Bradford Sampson, sir.

GEN. KNOX Deborah. “Wake up, wake up, break out in song. Arise.” (Beat.) Miss Sampson. Why did you see ﬁt to lie to the army of the United States, including but not limited to your superior commanding ofﬁcers? Was it your intention to make a mockery of this–

DEBORAH No, sir!

She can’t believe she just interrupted General Henry Knox. He reconsiders her.

DEBORAH Permission to speak, sir?

GEN. KNOX I daresay granted.

DEBORAH I am a good and loyal soldier, sir.

GEN. KNOX You’ve seen action. The Hudson Valley standoffs. Were wounded. The doctor attests to your scars. (He returns the letter.) Here. Keep it. Loyal. I suppose you are. Only loyalty would have carried you here.

DEBORAH Sir?

GEN. KNOX You could have run. (Beat.) Is there anything you need?

DEBORAH Only my life. Sir. 36

GEN. KNOX Shouldn’t be too hard to arrange. Not for a war hero like you.

He salutes her. She smartly snaps one back, holding even as he leaves. She stands, trembling, tears ﬂowing.

HANNAH The ofﬁcers were in good spirits, inclined to be both impressed and forgiving. The war had formally ended on September 25th. America was victorious, and her mood kind. Meanwhile, Deborah had lost the life she loved. 75 weeks of compounded vigilance, pressure, discretion...

HERMAN MANN She was undone as swiftly as a thoughtless child pulling at the loose end of a loom.

HANNAH Oh, shut up, Herman.

Herman sits. Deborah struggles to recompose herself.

HANNAH The thing was... thousands of soldiers roared in the mud at the loss of their Joan of Arc. Hell, a bar full of English dogs toasted me adieu when I told them the truth of my sex. They cheered me on with warm beer and marriage proposals. No one watched Deborah go. For her, it ended fast, and in solitude. (To her friend.) Don’t look so sad. I can’t stand it.

DEBORAH It is an abyss before me now. Where am I to go? Middleborough? My sainted mother’s? West to play an Indian on the wild frontier? How does this end, Hannah?

HANNAH That’s up to you. I could have gone back to Sea, or married the Duke of Cumberland, had I set my heart upon it. Tell me, my bold Continental: where you might wish to go?

DEBORAH ...Home. If such a thing exists.

HANNAH Then start walking, Bob. You’re alive. You’re free. This is only the world. It’s not as scary once you’re out there in it. (She sings.)

Courage Boys, ’tis One to Ten, But We Return all Gentlemen, All Gentlemen as Well as They, Over the Hills and Far Away.

BOTH O’er the Hills and o’er the Main, To Flanders, Portugal, and Spain, The King Commands and We Obey, Over the Hills and Far Away...

They travel off. End of Act One. 38

ACT TWO

Projection: “Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask! Act! Action will delineate and deﬁne you.” –Thomas Jefferson

Deborah is splitting logs in men’s garb.

Hannah is perched nearby.

WHACK! Thunk, thunk.

HANNAH Did you... maybe... want to talk about it?

WHACK! Thunk, thunk.

HANNAH Gotta say, Bob, you have that splitting thing down. Look at that wood. Talk about split.

UNCLE ZEBULON Deb, er, Ephraim?

DEBORAH Yes, Uncle Zebulon?

UNCLE ZEBULON Put down the axe a moment. Have a seat. (Beat.) Your Aunt Alice and I let you join us in Sharon because, frankly, we needed your help. You’re a good farmhand, and I’m grateful for your strength. Even if you are... unconventional, playing at being your brother, you’re family. And we’ve grown accustomed to your, uh, disguise. Now, I know you’re not leading these town girls on for spite. But while you are so obsessed with your masquerade, them girls are getting their hearts broken over the gallant soldier, back from war. There are games, child, and there are sins. You might think about that, next time you make young buck eyes at them on a Sunday. (He is ﬂustered. Probably hasn’t spoken this much in a year.) Things are confused enough, without you... dallying.

DEBORAH I understand, Uncle. 39

UNCLE ZEBULON Good, then. I’ll be in the uncle. I mean, the... I mean, the barn.

He bobs his head and turns to go, hands jammed in his pants.

Then he doubles back.

UNCLE ZEBULON Actually, why don’t I take this, too. I can, um, hang it back up for you. (He delicately picks up the axe.)

HANNAH Can’t blame the poor lasses. Look at you, you’ve better legs than Adonis.

Deborah wipes her hands on her pants. They travel inside, perhaps not “together” this time.

Deborah pulls out a dress and changes into it.

HANNAH Now what are you doing?

DEBORAH Changing.

HANNAH ’Tis a dress.

DEBORAH I’ve done what you want, Hannah. ’Tis time to do what I want.

HANNAH Ease up, I apologize. I provoked us to ﬂirt because we were so damn bored. (As the preacher.) “Let your women keep silence in the churches, for it is not permitted unto them to speak... And if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home.” (She drops the act.) Clearly, your Corinthians didn’t account for those whose husbands run away from home. Or for women who have anything interesting to say. Don’t bother lying to me, because you can’t. You found it much more fun to thrill Jennie in her pew, with those bouncy golden curls, than– Hmm. Look at you. You can put on skirts if it makes you happy, but you do look bloody strange in them now.

DEBORAH It is more than the clothes, Hannah. You actually want me to be a man. I’m not. 40

HANNAH Since when?

DEBORAH God did make me a woman, even if it hasn’t been the best ﬁt. I want to be useful, to belong somewhere. (Quietly.) With someone. Someone real.

HANNAH What are you on about? You’re useful right here, to Aunt Alice and Uncle Zeb.

DEBORAH Perhaps I’ve other options.

HANNAH Like what? The Marines?

DEBORAH Benjamin Gannett knows I’m a girl.

HANNAH You told someone?! (She shakes her head in fury.) Where was I?

DEBORAH I don’t know. I wasn’t thinking about you. I just saw him on the road to town, and... we spoke.

HANNAH (In horror.) To Benjamin Gannett? The spineless ﬁshbelly? You’re twice the man he is. Hell, I’m thrice. God’s thumb, why would you ever want him?

DEBORAH He wants me.

Ben smiles shyly at her.

HANNAH I am going to be sick. I haven’t been sick since 1747, and I am going to be sick all over your precious dress. He’s a farmer. He didn’t even go to war! He pranced about in the local militia for nine days. If you must settle down, Bob, it had better be with a man who knows what it is to ﬁght. Let’s go ﬁnd that Colonel Sproat devil you liked and off his wife. Or hell, we could hunt up Calvin Munn, see if he’ll have you. (As Deborah continues to primp.) 41

Hello! You’ve been Brother Ephraim for the last year. If he starts frolicking around town in a dress, you’re going to be stoned for “playing a woman!” The irony is touching!

DEBORAH “Ephraim” moved away, and his plain younger sister Deborah came to Sharon.

HANNAH Have I taught you nothing of the ways of the world? YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

DEBORAH It was there that “Deborah” made a match that was agreeable and advantageous to her.

HANNAH Why are you giving up your freedom to a man you don’t even love? It’s obviously not the money. Look at this scrubby, run down homestead, you couldn’t grow barnacles on it...

DEBORAH We posted the marriage banns in October, and wed in April, 1785. Benjamin’s father gave us land.

HANNAH Don’t mind me, I’ll just sit here, wither away on this godforsaken patch of American soil.

DEBORAH We had three children: Earl, Mary Gilbert, and little Patience. We also adopted an orphan, Susannah Shepard. I named her Susannah after Hannah’s lost baby girl. (An olive branch?) But she was too furious with me to care. Benjamin works hard. We both do. He means well, but the land isn’t what it used to be. Things have been tight. Awfully tight.

HANNAH That does it! Woman, you are broke, stuck, and run aground, chained to a piddling little farm and the soggiest milquetoast I have ever seen. What the devil are you doing, trying to be so small?

DEBORAH You’re a good story, Hannah, but you’re not the only one.

PATIENCE PAYSON Ooh, Missus, it’s Mr. Paul Revere come calling, and I haven’t polished the good silver spoon! I’m liable to die of mortiﬁcation. Should I dress up the children? (Seizing the musket.) Shall I kill the pig?

DEBORAH Calm yourself, Miss Payson. I’m sure the great master smith of Boston won’t have you stockaded for a tarnished spoon. Let the children play and the poor creature live a little longer. 42

(She wrests the gun away.) Go put on the kettle. I shall see what he wants.

Paul enters, cheerful and warm.

PAUL REVERE I bear good news from the State Court. It was so marvelous I simply had to tender it myself. They have granted you your military pay.

He hands her a letter. She rips it open.

DEBORAH 34 pounds! Ben, we are saved!

Ben starts to exit.

DEBORAH Husband, please. This is such happy news.

BENJAMIN And when it’s gone? What then?

He goes. Deborah unconsciously rubs at her leg. Hannah curls up in her perch.

HANNAH Fishbelly has a point. You ought to capitalize, Bob. You’ve got to ﬁnd more income.

PAUL REVERE I am intruding. I only sought to bring you joy.

DEBORAH You have, Paul. It is a victory, by all accounts.

PAUL REVERE Look at this. The Governor signed it himself.

Deborah reads it aloud.

Projection: “The General Court of Massachusetts ﬁnds that she exhibited an extraordinary instance of female heroism by discharging the duties of a faithful, gallant soldier.” –John Hancock

PAUL REVERE I swear, his signature gets larger every year. 43

DEBORAH My friend, you don’t know what this means to me. There are times it seems so long ago.

PAUL REVERE Well, while we are on the topic of Amazons, I heard some fresh gossip in the Harbor, just off the boat. It seems old Hannah Snell has died.

Deborah whirls to look at Hannah, who stares off.

PAUL REVERE Were you an admirer?

DEBORAH (Weakly.) Yes. A fervent one.

PAUL REVERE She died in Bedlam, I’m afraid. Quite mad from...well, it was a side effect of her colorful activities. Unfortunate side effect. But she led a most remarkable life. And I seemed to recall you having a copy of her book among your things. Thrilling stuff, really. It is an honest shame you two never met. You might have incited a second revolution.

Hannah leaves the stage.

PAUL REVERE Well, old soldier, I should turn my horse back up the road to Boston. Rachel is waiting for me. Your earnings. (He presents her with a leather bag.)

DEBORAH Thank you, Mr. Revere. I shall have Miss Payson prepare a meal, to take with you.

PAUL REVERE No need. Save your pig. (At her blush.) Celebrate. Always a pleasure, Mrs. Gannett.

He bows and exits.

She weighs the coins in her palm, her face stiff with loss.

DEBORAH Hannah Snell. My bold British tar. I commend her soul to God, and her body to the Sea.

Hannah returns, broom in hand. 44

HANNAH (At Deborah’s surprised look.) Well, I’m not her actually her, now am I? I am Experience, which every girl needs, no matter how forthright, upright, uptight and stubborn she may be. (She gets in her face.) Now are we friends or not?!

Deborah hides a smile.

HANNAH Stop fighting me at every turn. Your precious old army is telling you this is what you’re worth. This is all you’ll get. Thirty four pounds, paid. Buckle down and live with it. But me, who knows you better than the Fishbelly, or the Silversmith, or your fluff-brained servant, I say hell with them. Your value is infinitely more. (She thrusts the broom at Deborah.) Now tell me true, you lunatic, married creature. Have you another fight in you?

DEBORAH Aye, I do.

HANNAH FROM THE GROIN!

DEBORAH (Accepting the broom.) DON’T TREAD ON ME!

Hannah extends her hand for a shake. Deborah picks her up in a hug. Once she’s back down:

HANNAH First thing we’ll need is a classic fool.

DEBORAH Another one?

HANNAH Oho, look at her. She walks, talks, and teases. No, Bob. We need a Mann to make you famous.

HERMAN MANN I shall call it, The American Heroine. The Woes of A Woman Warrior. No, wait. I’ve a better– It must be titled... The Female Review.

Projection: “A novel not one fourth of which is fact.” -Calvin Munn, Drill Sergeant 45

As Herman scribbles, Deborah examines his work and converses privately with Hannah.

DEBORAH He’s put me at Yorktown. That battle was a full year before I enlisted. I’m constantly getting married to Indian maidens in the Midwest, and bathing in rivers.

HANNAH You’ve bathed in rivers.

DEBORAH I was quick about it. It was freezing; I was surrounded by snakes and men–

HANNAH Same thing–

DEBORAH I wasn’t luxuriating in it. It’s scandalous!

HANNAH We need you famous, Deborah.

DEBORAH I cannot see us turning an actual proﬁt off this endeavor.

HANNAH Well no, not this one. But the next one. Come now, where’s my galantress of old?

DEBORAH I fought because I needed to, Hannah. I am not one to boast.

HANNAH For money? Yes, you are. Now think of the road, Bob.

DEBORAH The road.

HANNAH And little Earl. And Mary, Patience, and baby Susannah. Hollow-eyed and empty-bellied, forced to turn on Father Fishbelly like cannibals–

DEBORAH I am committed, all right?! Honestly. But I intend to have a word with my author, all the same. Herman?

She delicately picks up a page and peruses it.

HERMAN Mmm? Yes, Deborah?

DEBORAH I was reading over some of your... more unfamiliar passages.

HERMAN Mmm. Yes. (Suddenly sharpening.) No, ah, no, you mustn’t do that. You’ll get them dreadfully out of order.

He reaches for the page, but she is faster.

DEBORAH I’m careful.

HERMAN Just, please, take care to put it back. I am under a great deal of pressure for your story. My assistant in Dedham is setting the type for each chapter, quite literally as I hand it to him.

DEBORAH It is untrue.

HERMAN I swear to you, madam, the boy’s covered in ink. (Beat.) Oh. Well. Surely you understand. It is a time honored tradition, to borrow from the classics! It gives readers a thrill. But I assure you, your life remains the ﬁrm backbone of the tale. This narrative would not be possible without your, er, endeavors.

DEBORAH And those of Hannah Snell, and former Indian captives. Herman. You’re young, and your heart is in the right place. I’m grateful for your attention. But why do you feel the need to change me?

Benjamin Gannett enters.

BENJAMIN Still at it, then?

DEBORAH Yes, husband.

BENJAMIN The sun is about to set. 47

HERMAN (Nipping the page out of Deborah’s hand.) The manuscript is nearly complete. Things are transpiring quite well, quite well indeed.

DEBORAH Husband, I will join you presently.

Benjamin sits, ignoring the dismissal. The move is unexpected, and Deborah blinks at it. She recovers.

DEBORAH I am trusting you, Herman. When I apply for my pension, when my grandchildren speak my name, this book shall be their resource. All I ask is that you treat my reputation with care.

HERMAN Have you heard men say that George Washington cannot tell a lie?

DEBORAH Yes.

HERMAN Of course he can. But that’s not what people care to hear. And he’s a better man for it. Madam. Ben.

He departs.

BENJAMIN Did that puppy chew on your facts?

Deborah laughs. She sits, but not by him.

DEBORAH I should see to the chores.

BENJAMIN Earl and I handled them.

DEBORAH Then dinner–

BENJAMIN Miss Payson is... boiling something.

DEBORAH All the more reason– 48

BENJAMIN Wife. A moment.

DEBORAH (Quietly.) Hannah. Would you please?

Hannah looks back and forth at both of them. With a frown for each, she leaves.

BENJAMIN What’s this of a pension?

DEBORAH I’m applying to Congress for one. Mr. Revere is helping me.

BENJAMIN Mr. Sainted Revere.

DEBORAH And when Herman ﬁnishes his book, it will prove in my favor that I fought, and that notoriety–

BENJAMIN The Sainted Mr. Mann.

DEBORAH It’s money, Ben. Moreover, money that I earned, and that which we could greatly use.

BENJAMIN It’s not the money that upsets me, Deborah. ’Tis what you aim to do with it. (As Deborah sputters and gestures to the farm around them.) I saw you. This morning, in the woods. Drilling with that... gun. Unless there’s some secret second war we dumb farmers don’t know about–

DEBORAH No! No, that’s not it at all.

BENJAMIN Are you leaving me?

DEBORAH No!

BENJAMIN No? You polished your boots. And Mary Gilbert saw you with a map. 49

DEBORAH I was, yes, doing those things. What with the book and all, I was thinking–

BENJAMIN You were thinking?

DEBORAH It might prove proﬁtable, to go on tour.

BENJAMIN ...As a man?

DEBORAH As myself!

BENJAMIN What of your children? What of them, mother?

DEBORAH They have the farm, and Miss Payson. I’ll return!

BENJAMIN Will you? And what of me?

DEBORAH What of you, husband? Would you rather I sat here, staring meekly at the walls until we starve, or the ﬁelds are auctioned off ? I need this! It is in my power to preserve us!

BENJAMIN By making a spectacle of yourself.

DEBORAH Look at me. I am worth the price of admission.

BENJAMIN Mann’s book is embarrassment enough. It can go out into the world for you.

DEBORAH I am not afraid of the world! It is a wonderful, exciting, dangerous place, and I long for it.

BENJAMIN But not for me. I love you, Deborah.

DEBORAH I... love you. 50

BENJAMIN I pray every day that it was in my power to keep our children better fed, better clothed, better housed. For the girls to marry well–

DEBORAH Ugh! There’s so much more–

BENJAMIN I would not wish your life on them!

DEBORAH And why not?

BENJAMIN Either you are my wife, or you are some godless Amazon on parade for pennies. You will honor the covenant we have sworn between us, or you will shame yourself right out of a marriage.

DEBORAH What has changed in this marriage of ours, Ben? You knew who and what I was, and wed me all the same.

BENJAMIN I thought twas done. The galavanting. And the pants.

DEBORAH I’m going on tour.

BENJAMIN I forbid it!

DEBORAH I’m going.

BENJAMIN Then good-bye.

DEBORAH Why must everyone always make me choose! I can love you, and walk down a road at the same time. I can be a damn good mother, and a damn good shot with a riﬂe. Pants or a dress! Milking a cow or roping one! I am MYSELF. I am your wife. Both! At once! (Then, smaller:) I do love you.

She steps towards him. 51

He shakes his head.

DEBORAH I do.

Tentatively, she leans in and kisses him.

It has been months since they last kissed.

DEBORAH Please don’t be so afraid of me.

Benjamin stiffens.

DEBORAH I couldn’t unsay it. It lingered there, a bullet embedded between us.

Benjamin, with whatever dignity left, exits.

Projection: “Idleness is the bane of a soldier.” –Isaiah Thomas’ Almanac, 1776

DEBORAH I retreated whenever possible, which in our small farmhouse was no easy feat. In good weather, I took to the outdoors, and rehearsed for the beneﬁt of Hannah and the pig. My curious children listened in, provided their father was detained. (A shift.) Elocution was in vogue. It was typical to stand and gesture, with deliberate choreographed hand movements for emphasis. With my memorization skills, I soon had everything in place. The evening would begin with me appearing in my dress, mostly to appease the respectable members of the audience who feared my impropriety. Then, I would speak at length about the factors that led to my unusual enlistment.

HERMAN Her parents were going to force her into a loveless marriage. To escape an evil drunkard’s clutches, she ﬂed into the bosom of the Patriot movement, led solely by the Grace of God.

DEBORAH Um, yes. All right. And how I enacted my deception–

HERMAN With the Fates conspiring to her aid, and constant prayer–

DEBORAH And learned to do my duty. 52

HERMAN Despite her many ﬂaws–

At her peeved look:

HERMAN She persevered.

DEBORAH Thank you. Hail, Columbia and other patriotic songs play, for a brief interlude, while I change into my old regimentals.

HANNAH We will have to let them out a bit, but not much. It warms a cold Englishwoman’s heart to see my Bob again.

DEBORAH A retired ofﬁcer cries out the 27 manual exercises of arms, which I perform without ﬂaw.

OFFICER POISE - FIRELOCK! COCK - FIRELOCK! TAKE AIM! FIRE!

DEBORAH And then we wrap things up with a rousing chorus of God Save the Sixteen States. Well? I want to overcome any aspersions on my character. Am I too bold in violating the female sphere? People may feel I am forward and ambitious.

HANNAH You are ambitious. Not damnably so! After they watch all that, they shan’t care. It’s good, Deborah. It’s a marvelous show. (She sniffs.) I took to the stage too, you know. Being as clever and loud as I could. I didn’t have your golden reputation. I was the saucy, naughty widow. You’re a respectable wife and mother, the pride of the infantry. You’re going to be wonderful out there, Deborah, and I ﬁnd I am a little jealous.

DEBORAH There’s no room in you to be a big jealous. Chin up, James Gray. I intend to share the stage. (They link arms.) It is time. Farewell, children. Miss Payson, please...

PATIENCE PAYSON Don’t worry, Missus. We shan’t eat the pig. Unless it dies of natural causes. 53

DEBORAH And husband... Thank you. For this chance. I truly believe it is the best thing I could do, for all of us. (Beat.) I’ll come back to you.

Benjamin kisses her, with unashamed heat. She ﬂutters, suddenly feminine and vexed by it.

He complicates things further by handing her her gun. Deborah smiles privately at him, not for the beneﬁt of the audience nor anyone else.

DEBORAH (To their children.) Mother loves you.

Deborah and Hannah travel. They delight in traveling again.

MALE JOURNALIST The Celebrated Mrs. Gannett appeared last night to great acclaim at the Federal Street Theatre of Boston in order to relate her astonishing narrative. Crowds jammed the theatre for four nights, determined to see this historical ﬁgure.

FEMALE AUDIENCE MEMBER I am at a loss which to most admire: her achievement as a soldier, or that her chastity is beyond question. To think! All that time, surrounded by men, and yet a maiden...

GIL BLASS Persons who have never seen Mrs. Gannett have ﬁgured to their imagination a large masculine frame... yet it is impossible for the most prejudiced observer to deny that she is beautiful to an eminent degree. She is a person of utmost charm.

DEBORAH I planned that whole tour out like a war. I played book keeper, publicist, and star in one. I had ﬂiers made, hired a girl in each town to dress my hair. Performances scheduled across three states, in public halls, hotels, courthouses, and Masonic lodges. At that point in time, a woman might be allowed to sing a song at the odd ceremony, or recite an ode. But it was a rare and arduous campaign that earned her the chance. An itinerant female, covering that much ground, unaccompanied, to star in her own lectures? I was without precedent. Note that. I was the ﬁrst. Although technically, it was my second tour.

Her bright pride disappears. She gasps, doubling over.

HANNAH Are you well? 54

DEBORAH (Gathering her strength. Lying.) I’m ﬁne. Just not as young as I was. (She straightens.) I am angry at myself for missing the mail wagon, and my leg is bothered from the walk.

HANNAH The old bullet, eh? I can take your mind from it. See there? Through those trees? That’s the Hudson. The Croton River feeds off that. Smell it? Mud and pond scum. We’re not so far from your glory days.

A thief jumps out behind them.

THIEF (Pulling a knife.) Stay where you are! Give me your coin purse and I’ll let you keep your things.

Deborah whirls, a pistol drawn.

DEBORAH I was an expert marksman in the Continental Army, my boy. We took out the largest standing army in the world. How do you fancy your chances?

THEIF Nice try, grandmother.

She shoots at his feet. He leaps, drops his knife and ﬂees.

DEBORAH I never could shoot a man in the back. RUN, KID! HA! (She ﬁres a second bullet in the air. Beat.) I suppose I should add this to the act.

HANNAH (Picking up his knife.) It’s far too good to leave on the road to Schenectady.

DEBORAH Grandmother indeed. We should have spanked him.

She twirls the gun a bit.

DEBORAH I was blessed in my choices for lodging. After my initial success in Boston, word spread before me. Old captains and ofﬁcers carried forth the gossip of my arrival, and I entered each town or 55 hamlet with direct invitations to homes, or else excellent advice on a reputable inn. When I reached western New York, I received a surprise invitation to pass an entire month with General John Paterson and his family. It was difﬁcult for me not to fall back into the pattern of waiting upon my old friend. More than once his servants prized the tea kettle from my grip. (She laughs.) After all my years of marriage, being holed up my two-room farmhouse, the opulence of parlors and living rooms was almost too luxurious to stand. At meal times, we spoke not of whether we could put off killing the pig for one more day, but rather of politics, history, music, art. I had been a rough male soldier, but as a female veteran I was treated like a lady by my hosts. In the face of so much kindness, I found myself recalling the old fortune teller from camp, who remarked upon the loyalty of men.

Deborah seals some money into an envelope. She kisses it.

HANNAH What’s that?

DEBORAH My earnings. I am sending $110 back to the family, in the hopes they make good use of it.

HANNAH Have you eaten? You’re as pale as a Welshman.

DEBORAH No, I’ve no appetite. Don’t fuss. (She puts the letter somewhere safe.) I miss the children. ’Tis fortunate for you and your premiere tour I only had the four, and that they’re halfway grown. Most wives my age would still be nursing babes at home.

HANNAH ...You know, you don’t speak of the Fishbelly at all.

DEBORAH Hannah. Don’t be hateful.

HANNAH I wasn’t! I’m not! I just... you never speak ill of him, even when he fails you. The great jellyﬁsh.

DEBORAH I love him.

HANNAH ...I’ll never understand it.

DEBORAH Whatever happened to your man? 56

HANNAH I told you. I told you in 1775.

DEBORAH No, you didn’t.

HANNAH (A sigh.) You mean did I kill him. (Deborah nods.) I baked him into crumpets and mailed him to France. I’m told he was much enjoyed at Versailles. (Beat.) I think I would have killed him. I think I could have, if I ever saw him again. But I didn’t. A sailor told me he was tried and hung for murder while I was off traipsing across India. Isn’t the world a funny thing? If I had stayed in London... there’s so much I would have missed. (Beat.) I suppose most things take care of themselves, in the end. Well, how do you like that? It seems there is some romance left in me after all. (Beat.) Deborah?

Deborah has pulled out her diary; she writes careful entries.

HANNAH The journal, eh? Well, be a lamb, don’t put my sob story in there for the world to see. Leave it well enough alone. (Beat.) Deb? Bob? (With a groan.) Would you stop forgetting me!

DEBORAH (Not to Hannah, nor to the audience, either.) I am a great distance from my native home, among entire strangers. My tooth aches, a fever rages, and there is a violent pain in my left side.

HANNAH You’ll recover! Just need to sleep is all.

DEBORAH I have done no business to advantage for quite some time. But I am determined to do this thing. A soldier does not turn back from a ﬁght.

HANNAH Hush, old soldier. Rest your bones a bit. 57

Hannah climbs up somewhere. It’s not the rigging, but she is happiest when she has the chance to be aloft.

HANNAH Bright morning stars are rising. Bright morning stars are rising. Bright morning stars are rising. Day is a’breaking in my soul.

DEBORAH (Coming to.) Hannah?

HANNAH I am here.

DEBORAH I believe I would like to go home.

Tenderly, Hannah helps her to her feet.

HANNAH It’ll have to wait until after New York. You’ve already sold out the theater.

DEBORAH I am tired.

HANNAH I know.

DEBORAH My journal, I haven’t ﬁnished it. I have uncompleted days.

HANNAH Leave it. It’s time to go on.

DEBORAH Yes. Go on. Yes, I understand, thank you.

Hannah backs off, to worry in the wings.

DEBORAH First, the dress. I am in my dress. Once I was tall and dark, now I ﬁnd I am stooped and, to be honest, a little gray. (Taking her place in the spot light.) 58

The theatre seems so large. For once in my life, I feel small.

HECKLER Go on!

DEBORAH I say my lines, as I have learned them, as I have practiced them these many months–

HECKLER Speak up!

HECKLER 2 We can’t hear you!

DEBORAH The yelling and hissing gets louder. I fear I lose my place.

HANNAH Roger Barrett! Beside you, shot down in the snow!

Deborah looks to the stage space where Roger died. She swallows.

DEBORAH I found myself losing the thread of all of Herman’s lies. From my mouth spilled a sudden truth: I wanted to ﬁght. (She blinks at this admission.) I was good at it. Look at me, why waste all this. (Regrouping.) I am indeed willing to acknowledge what I have done. I swerved from the accustomed ﬂowery path of female delicacy, to walk upon the heroic precipice of feminine perdition! (Beat.) There. I said that part right. The precipice.

HECKLER WHAT? SPEAK UP!

HECKLER 2 Sssss!

HANNAH Oi, shut it, you snot rag pansy Yanks! I didn’t see you in the war!

DEBORAH Hannah! I mean... I... (Courage failing.) 59

Hail, Columbia failed to play. The musicians had fled in terror from the angry crowd. There was no one to cover the stage, to give me time to don costumes, or fetch my gun. I was so tired. (Over boos and hisses. A last stand:) I had my choice. I could have been a doctor, sir, or a landowner, a man about town. I could have sat on my ass and heckled the Brits. (She pants a bit.) But I was a good and loyal soldier. I used my freedom, to fight for freedom, and I’ll be damned if you think it was done for pride, or publicity, or tickets, or campfire stories, or any reason save that we could not breathe. I fought, and here I am. And here you are. My America. (She swoons.)

HECKLER 2 Go home!

HECKLER 3 Does your husband even know that you’re gone?!

DEBORAH That I am gone. ...I felt gone.

She leaves the stage.

WILLIAM DUNLAP Mrs. Gannett, the female who is distinguished for having served in the American army as a solider in the late war, delivered an oration yesterday at New York’s Park Theater. Her talents do not appear calculated for theatrical exhibitions, and she is not to appear again.

HANNAH I don’t blame her. Your damned audience was out of control.

Beat. He clears his throat.

WILLIAM DUNLAP Her character is irreproachable and her situation merits the sympathy of the public. It is to be hoped that she returns safely home.

HANNAH Come away, friend, and never mind the grumpy buggers of New York.

Beat. Deborah re-enters, woozy, a bit out of it.

HANNAH I fear it is still beyond my domain to carry the bag.

To her great relief, Deborah picks it up. 60

HANNAH Got it? Excellent. There is still a farm boy in this matron!

They travel, at a slower pace.

HANNAH You look better.

DEBORAH I feel a little better, out of the city, leaving that pitiful performance behind. I am afraid I fell apart under ﬁre.

HANNAH The audience saw what they wished to. Either you are the black-hearted, baby-eating mistress of Satan, out to destroy the name of Mother, or a national hero. I thought it was the latter, but if you’ve been hiding your horns and tail from me all these years I shall be most wroth with you. (Beat. She straightens.) Do you hear that?

DEBORAH What is it?

HANNAH The Sea.

DEBORAH Oh. The most water I’ve ever seen was Boston Harbor.

Hannah steps forward, to the shore.

A moment with the wind in her hair.

HANNAH Mrs. Gannett. Allow me to introduce the bounding main. (A foxy grin.) I’ve an idea. It would bring you home far faster than walking.

DEBORAH Oh, no.

HANNAH What if we took the ferry to Newport?

DEBORAH I have no stomach for sailing, Hannah. I’m a soldier, not an octopus. 61

HANNAH You are Deborah. Bradford. Sampson. Gannett.

DEBORAH I am ill.

Beat. Then, pushing her onto the boat:

HANNAH You can be both!

DEBORAH My guts feel like eels. Or, oil and iron scraps.

HANNAH Watch the horizon. That’s a trick what’s tried and true. (She tries to restrain her buoyancy.) Feel the breeze, Bob! You’ll be back on your inland farm soon enough. This may be your last chance for an ocean voyage.

DEBORAH God be praised.

HANNAH (Ignoring her. At the rail.) Oh, Poseidon, you fat blue bastard, it’s good to see you!

She blows the Sea a kiss.

DEBORAH (Beat.) I know I am not being very pleasant at present. Thank you, my friend. Enjoy your sail.

HANNAH ...Would you like a story?

DEBORAH How is there a single tale left between us that’s gone untold? (She smiles, however weakly.) Very well. If it amuses you.

Hannah assumes her stage.

HANNAH As a child, before I moved to London and married the ill-fated Cad, I was actually quite a happy girl. I told my playmates that if I lived, it would be a solider’s life for me. Boys and girls and idle 62 drunkards in the street, I warned them all: “Watch me, I’m Hannah Snell! Wait and see what I’ll become!”And then I bullied all my siblings and all our gangs, to fall in line and march! Through all the tangled streets of Worcester. At ﬁrst they laughed and fell out in crooked rows. But each day at dawn, for reasons they could never name, we would muster. We drilled. We trooped, double time. Our fame spread through the city: Young Amazon Snell’s Company and Crew. Shopkeepers cheered us on. Old women smiled, and veterans tossed us sweets. (Softer, just for her friend.) Can you see that now, as I do? The bright sun, the wobbly cobblestones, proud, scabby little knees jerking up and down, as I loudly kept the time? Thin feet, soles coated with city grime, boys and girls alike in line. How bold we were, how far we went! Around the world, it seemed, in jagged force, before the bells struck nine. (Larger again.) We were ragtag, and had no foes. No provisions, no weapons. Just garbled songs, and for horses we were joined by half-tamed dogs. All around that city we roamed, in every season of the year.

DEBORAH Why did you ever stop?

HANNAH I didn’t, pet. I wandered away for a bit, mucked about in all the wrong things, but I came back to it. Where I was joined by you, and Mary Lacy, Mary McCauley, Mary Talbot, Maggie Corbin, Boudicca, Catalina de Erauso, Epipole, Joan of Arc and Hua Mulan. We all go marching round. Right into the very bellies of our ﬁghts. We’re not dying of syphilis now, Bob, not yellow fever, nor childbirth nor dreadful marriages any more. We’re not seasick. We’re not old, or broken down. We all come back, see? All of us, boys and girls and fools in love, we are all marching on, and it’s that sweet march of victory and going home. That is where you are now, Bob. That last march, that happy march, onward, never alone, and you are there with me. (Triumphant.) Aren’t you glad you mustered, now? O, Deborah, aren’t you glad?

Projection: “Our country is in danger, but not to be despaired of. On you depend the fortunes of... millions yet unborn. Act worthy of yourselves.”

–Joseph Warren

DEBORAH I went home.

Her husband appears, also older. He radiates pride. He hugs his soldier home. Then he kisses his much-missed wife.

DEBORAH To the white house my son had built us, on East Street. There, I paid my debts, kissed my husband’s callused hands, and cared for my daughters again. I comforted my grandchildren when they were teased because their granny had been to war. I drank rum at the tavern, helped 63

Herman Mann make a new edition of my book. My body was home, its itchy feet well scratched. Not too bad for a poor girl, eh? An ugly one? (Beat.) My spirit is less inclined to settle. It still yearns for new stories, decent ﬁghts. It is forever looking back and marveling at the things I have done. (Beat. Glancing at Hannah.) We. All the parts of me. (Beat.) Yet even in the evening hours of my life, it is still this country that moves me. America. Just a mutual dream some people were having, while I ﬁnally came awake. Wake up! Wake up, break out in song, arise. Arise. Take a deep breath, girl. Be free.

END OF PLAY