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Women Warriors of the 18th Century Mademoiselle La Maupin, an actress who died in 1707, was trained in swordfighting by her father. She issued more than one challenge to duel, and was pardonned by King Louis XIV after killing several men in one evening at a ball. A woman soldier Christian Davies (or Mother Ross) was reported to have received a pension from the Royal Chelsea Hospital at the beginning of the 18th Century. Comptesse de Polignac and Marquise de Nesle fought a duel over their lover the Duc de Richelieu Catherine the Great, 1762 Mary Reed (or Read) and Anne Bonnie (or Bonny) were sentenced to death for piracy in 1720. Catherine Lincken, 1721 Phoebe Hessel (1713-1821) was born in Stepney and joined the army at the age of 15 served for many years as a private soldier in the 5th Reg't of Foot (or Northumberland Fusiliers) in different parts of Europe including Montserrat and in 1745 at Fontenoy. European traders recorded existence of the fighting-women of the Fon (Dahomey) and the Ashanti in Africa in 1729. Ann Mills was British dragoon who fought on the frigate Maidstone in 1740. Lady Anne Macintosh (also known as Anne Farquharson of Invercauld and Colonel Anne) was married to the Laird of Macintosh who supported the Hannoverians during the Jacobite rising in Scotland in 1745-6. Anne sided with the Jacobites and raised several hundred men to fight for them, although she never led her men into battle herself. At various points both she and her husband were captured and were released into each others' custody. Lady Lude fired the first shot of the Jacobite attack on Blair Castle, Scotland. This was her own family home and had been taken over by the Hanoverians. Lady Margaret Oglivy and Margaret Murray (or Fergusson) accompanied their husbands who were officers in Bonnie Prince Charlie's (Prince Charles Edward Stewart or The Young Pretender of Scotland) army in 1745-6. Mrs Murray is reputed to have been directly involved in seizing horses and money for the army. Hannah Snell dressed as a man and called herself James Gray. She served in a regiment of the Royal Marines and fought at the siege of Pondicherry. In 1750 she revealed her secret to her comrades and was granted a lifetime pension. She died in 1791. From January to May 1757 a woman, described as being about 5' tall and aged 19 served on board the ship "Resolution" under the name of Arthur Douglas. Hannah Whitney served for five years as a marine. She revealed that she was a woman in 1761 after she had been locked in a cell and became claustrophobic. Mary Lacy served as a carpenter and shipwright on board navy vessels from 1759 to 1771 under the name of William Chandler. The Captains log for the 32 gun ship Amazon records that on 20th April 1761 "One of the marines going by the name of William Prothero was discovered to be a woman. She had done her duty on board nine months." Jane Meace attempted to enlist for a Marine in 1762 using the name John Meace. Her story was published in "Lloyd's Evening Post and British Chronicle," of 1st of December that year. Margaret Corbin (or Cochran) helped with the artillery during an attack on Fort Washington. In 1779 she was awarded her a pension for her heroism. Mary Hagidorn, armed herself with a spear and manned the pickets to defend a fort during the American Revolution (source Amazing Women in War and Peace) Prudence Wright led a troop of women who defended the town of Pepperell Massachusetts against the British . Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley served alongside her husband, John Hays, in the Pennsylvania State Regiment of Artillery for seven years. In 1771 Naval seaman Charles Waddall was found to be a woman when she was being stripped for a flogging. Mademoiselle de Guignes and Mademoiselle d'Aiguillon fought a duel in 1772 In 1775 Jemima Warner took her deceased husband's place in the ranks during an American army expedition into Canada led by Brig. Gen. Richard Montgomery and Colonel Benedict Arnold. Mademoiselle Leverrier fought a duel with a naval officer, Duprez, who had jilted her, in 1777 In 1781 Naval seaman Margaret Thompson revealed that she was female after she had been sentenced to be flogged. She used the name George Thompson. In 1782 there was a report of a Mrs Coles who had served on several men-of-war as a sailor. Lady Almeria Braddock and Mrs Elphinstone fought a duel in 1792 Angelique Brulon - awarded the French Legion of Honor. She defended Corsica in seven campaigns between 1792 and 1799. At first she fought disguised as a man, by the time her gender was discovered she had proved so valuable in battle that she was allowed to remain in the military fighting openly as a woman. In 1779 a volunteer for the 81st Highland Regiment picked up at Drumblade, Scotland turned out to be a woman. (source "18th Century Highlanders" - Stuart Reid and Mike Chappell - Osprey - 1-85532-316-8) Margaret Catchpole (1762-1869) was discovered disguised as a sailor on a British warship in 1797 Mary Anne Talbot (1778-1808) was a drummer in the army in Flanders in 1792 and a sailor on the "Brunswick" where she was wounded in action in 1794. She used the name John Taylor. An estimated 8,000 women belonged to the women's brigades which served as "front line troops" during the French Revolution. Olympe de Gouges was a leader of the women revolutionaries. She was executed in 1793 after issuing her Declaration of the Rights of Women and of Citizenesses. In 1795 the French government ordered Frenchwomen to return to their homes and prohibited them from attending political meetings, or gathering in groups of more than five. Rose Lacombe was a leader of a brigade of market women who armed themselves with pikes and swords during the French Revolution. Theroigne de Mericourt commanded the third corps of the army of the Faubourg, during the French Revolution. Mademoiselle de la Rochefoucalt, a noted orator, rallied royalists and led guerrilla actions against the republican forces. She died in battle during the French Revolution. Elizabeth Wilkinson of Clerkenwell challenged Hannah Hyfield to a boxing bout after they "had some words", Hannah replied that Elizabeth should expect "a good thumping". Catherine the Great led rebels in a successful coup against her husband Tsar Peter of Russia. She wore a soldier's uniform and directed the tactics of her various wars up until 1796. Mary Doyle of Castleboro cut off the cross belts of the fallen dragoons using a bill hook and handed them together with the cartridge boxes to her comrades at the Battle of New Ross in1798 during the Wexford Rising, Ireland. She is thought to have died later in the battle. Many women took part in the fighting at Vinegar Hill in Ireland on July 21st 1798 during the Wexford Rising. A report in the Naval Chronicle in 1807 describes a woman using the name of Tom Bowling who had served over 20 years as a bowswain's mate on a man-of-war. Virginie Ghesquiere was awarded the French Legion of Honor in the 18th century The naginata is a Japanese curved spear. Since the 15th Century it has been the traditional weapon of ladies of the bushi class. Bibliography Women Warriors of the 17th Century << . . . . >> Women Warriors of the 19th Century |
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These pages are provided by Nicky Saunders of Lothene Experimental Archaeology |