FReeper Canteen ~ Part IX of Women Warriors: Women Soldiers and Sailors ~ March 16, 2004

GenderGap.com ^ | March 16, 2004 | LaDivaLoca

[LaDivaLoca]

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Part IX: Women Soldiers & Sailors

In 1428 a 16 year old peasant girl named Jehanne la Pucelle convinced the Dauphin of France to put her in charge of his army by promising to reclaim Orleans from the English and have him crowned at Riems. In May 1429 she led the army in the battle that returned Orleans to the French and two months later watched the Dauphin crowned Charles VII of France in the Cathedral of Reims. In May 1430 the girl who became known to the world as Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians during her attack on Compiegne and sold to the English. She was charged in an ecclesiastical court with heresy, blasphemy, idolatry, and sorcery. In May 1431 she was burned at the stake in the market place of Rouen as a relapsed heretic. Her relapse consisted of donning the men's clothing she had worn throughout her career and which she had earlier agreed to abandon in order to save herself from the stake.

There are accounts, verified by multiple official sources, of more than 20 women who dressed as men and served in the British Royal Navy or Marines from the late 17th to the early 19th centuries. In 1690 Anne Chamberlyne joined her brother's ship and fought in the battle against the French off Beachy Head. A tablet to her memory was placed in the wall of the Chelsea Old Church, London, along with other Chamberlyne family memorials. The English translation of the original Latin read, "In an adjoining vault lies Anne, the only daughter of Edward Chamberlyne, Doctor of Laws, born in London, the 20th January 1667, who having long declined marriage and aspiring to great achievements unusual to her sex and age, on the 30th June 1690, on board a fireship in man's clothing, as a second Pallas, chaste and fearless fought valiantly six hours against the French ...".

It was also not unusual for the wives of crewmen to live aboard both English and French warships. During battles they would deliver water and carry gun powder from the magazine to the cannons as well as assisting the ships' surgeon.

John Nichols, a seaman aboard the HMS Goliath wrote of the women aboard during the Battle of the Nile on Aug. 1, 1798, "There were some of the women wounded, and one woman belonging to Leith died of her wounds and was buried on a small island in the bay. One woman bore a son in the heat of the action; she belonged to Edinburgh." The names of four of the women aboard the Goliath during the battle were listed in the ship's muster book which stated they were "victualed at two-thirds allowance in consideration of their assistance in dressing and attending on the wounded, being widows of men slain in the fight with the enemy on the first day of August."

In 1847 the British government decided that Queen Victoria would award a Naval General Service Medal to all living survivors of the major battles fought between 1793 and 1840. Mary Ann Riley and Ann Hopping, who had been aboard the Goliath during the Battle of the Nile, and Jane Townshend, who was aboard the Defiance at Trafalgar in 1805, applied and were originally approved by the Admirals reviewing the claims. They were later refused the medal on the basis that, "There were many women in the fleet equally useful, and it will leave the Army exposed to innumerable applications of the same nature." [Italics in original]. More than 20,000 men received the medal including at least one who was an infant at the time the ship he was on engaged in battle.

Kit Cavanagh, better known as "Mother Ross" was one of several women who served as dragoons in the British Army. She fought during the 1690's at first disguised as a man and later openly as a woman. She was wounded several times but survived and received a military burial when she eventually died of old age. Ann Mills was another British dragoon who fought on the frigate Maidstone in 1740.

Phoebe Hessel's gravestone in Brighton churchyard Sussex, tells of her having, "served for many years as a private Soldier in the 5th Reg't of foot in different parts of Europe and in the year 1745 fought under the command of the Duke of Cumberland at the Battle of Fontenoy where she received a bayonet wound in her arm. Her long life which commenced in the time of Queen Anne extended into the reign of George IV, by whose munificence she received comfort and support in her later years."

Angelique Brulon 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. She commanded male troops at Calvi who later drew up a testimonial which read in part, "We the garrison at Calvi certify that Marie-Angelique Josephine Duchemin Brulon, acting sergeant, commanding the attack on Fort Gesco, fought with us with the courage of a heroine". They went on to commend her skill with a sword and in hand to hand combat. She was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in 1822 and personally presented the French Legion of Honor by Napoleon III.

Marie Schellinck, a Belgian, fought for France in the Napoleonic Wars. She was wounded at Jemmappes, Austerlitz and Jena. She received the French Legion of Honor and a military pension in 1808. Virginie Ghesquiere who fought under Junot in Portugal and Angelique Brulon were two other women awarded the French Legion of Honor in the 18th century.

In 1807 Napoleon removed the French Legion of Honor from his own chest and awarded it to Ducaud Laborde, who fought openly as a woman with a troop of hussars at the battles of Eylau, Friedland and Waterloo. Although she was wounded at Friedland she continued to fight and captured 6 prisoners. At Waterloo her husband was killed and her military career ended when a cannon ball destroyed her leg. 

Elizabeth Hatzler wore the uniform of a French dragoon and fought beside her husband in several battles in 1812. She carried him during the army's retreat after he was wounded in a losing battle against the Cossacks.

Sylvia Mariotti served as a private in the 11th Battalion of the Italian Bersaglieri from 1866 to 1879. She fought the Austrians in the Battle of Custozza.

Next Tuesday Part IX of Women Warriors:

Women Revolutionaries

[Diva Betsy Ross]

SMOOTH-SANTANA

[E.G.C.]

((HUGS))Good morning, beachn4fun. How's it going?

[Kathy in Alaska]

Oh boy! Cookies!! Ma likes snickerdoodles!! Stay safe in the snow.

[blackie]

Hugs!

xoxox

[tiamat]

Snickerdoodles are good.

How about an assortment?

I really ought not to whine about the snow considering where YOU are! LOL!

[tomkow6]

[tiamat]

AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!

I am NOT showing that to Caitlin!

Sick!

Funny, but SICK!

LOL!

;-)

[Kathy in Alaska]

How about an assortment?

An assortment is good, but no nuts, and the softer the better. In fact, cookie dough is really good!

[tiamat]

Kathy in Alaska wrote:

An assortment is good, but no nuts, and the softer the better. In fact, cookie dough is really good!

---

Can't do nuts. Caitlin won't eat them.

How about we just give you some dough, and a spoon, and a place near the fire?

;-)

[beachn4fun]

(((Hugs))) back at ya EG. Well, today it is raining, so I'm stuck inside. And, I have financials and timecards this week, so I'm stuck at my desk. Other than that.....just fine! How about you?

[beachn4fun]

Hi ya tia! Have a good day yourself! FR has slowed to a crawl since I was away, huh?

[beachn4fun]

#200

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

"Getting my WELCOME HOME sign ready for Ft. Campbell!"

Please tell Eric Welcome Home from the Canteen!

[tiamat]

beachn4fun wrote:

Hi ya tia! Have a good day yourself! FR has slowed to a crawl since I was away, huh?

---

Hi Beachy!

That's only because you are so sunny and exciting! The Canteen NEEDS you! ;-)

No seriously: the weather got crappy here, so I came back on lne and there is like NOTHING happening!

[tiamat]

Thanks for the Woohoo!

;-)

[beachn4fun]

Ok, one more message before I leave again......

WARNING!

I had a yahoo email supposedly from "support@yahoo.com" with an attachment. The message started out, "Hello user of .......Your email account has been temporarily disabled due......Pay attention to attached file....." Of course, the file was a doc.pif which raised my antenna cause it is not well known extension. Happily, Yahoo mail scans attachements before downloading or opening. It told me it was....Virus W32Beagle.J@mm.

So, be extra careful when receiving emails. It looks legit at the beginning but the body and attachment are what are suspicious. Take extra care.

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

YOUR POST 200

[E.G.C.]

Yeah, thanks for the warning. Jut a reminder to everyone to update heir anti-virus software regulary when possible.

Doing just fine. Weather's cloudy and cool this morning.

[tiamat]

LOL!

Thank you, Tonk!

That's a good 4-H woo-hoo!

Having a good day?

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

Thanks for the e-mail virus warning.
Have a great day!