Female Warriors, Vol. 2 (of 2): Memorials of Female Valour and Heroism, from the Mythological Ages to the Present Era

In Short

This volume is a expansive biographical chronicle documenting women who engaged in active warfare, military leadership, and soldiering across Europe, Asia, and Africa. Covering figures from the early modern period through the mid-nineteenth century, it spans dragoon fighters, revolutionary agitators, cross-dressing naval recruits, and Indian queens defending their fortresses. By systematically cataloguing documented historical accounts alongside period reports, the work establishes a comprehensive record of female military valor that challenges traditional historical narratives of warfare as an exclusively male domain.

The Story

The narrative arc traces a historical trajectory through individual biographical accounts, moving chronologically from European dynastic conflicts into revolutionary upheavals and nineteenth-century global anti-colonial resistance. It opens with women serving in early eighteenth-century regular armies, such as Christian Davies (Mother Ross), who enlisted as a British dragoon, fought at Ramillies, and had her sex discovered only after suffering a fractured skull from shell fire. Figures like Phœbe Hessel serve in infantry regiments for decades, earning pensions after sustaining bayonet wounds in major European engagements.

As the account progresses into the French Revolution, the nature of female combat shifts from individual disguised enlistment to public political and military action. Women like Théroigne de Méricourt and Rose Lacombe lead urban factions or command revolutionary units, though their careers frequently end in political betrayal, madness, or forced retirement into obscurity. Simultaneously, across the Atlantic, women like Deborah Samson enlist in the American Revolutionary Army under male pseudonyms, winning distinction and military discharges signed by commanding generals.

The text then moves across global theaters, detailing women in nineteenth-century conflicts: Spanish resistance fighters during the Napoleonic sieges of Saragossa, cross-dressing recruits in the American Civil War, and Italian combatants like Herminia Manelli and Anita Garibaldi. In Asia, the narrative examines royal women who assumed tactical command: Chand Beeby defending Ahmednuggur in full armor against Mogul forces, Begum Somroo directing artillery to save the Imperial army at Gocul Ghur, and the Ranee of Jhansi riding into battle in a soldier's uniform against British troops at Gwalior. The volume concludes with accounts of female combat units in African states such as Dahomey and the Jagas, ending with the 1864 Dahoman assault on Abbeokuta.

How It Unfolds

Early modern soldiers Christian Davies fights as a British dragoon until a shell wound reveals her identity at Ramillies, prompting an honorable discharge and a re-marriage ceremony attended by her entire regiment. Phœbe Hessel serves years in the 5th Regiment, receives a bayonet wound at Fontenoy, and lives to age 108 on a royal pension.

Revolutionary upheavals Théroigne de Méricourt leads revolutionary crowds in Paris before being publicly attacked by rival factions, spent the remainder of her life in an asylum. Deborah Samson enlists as Robert Shirtliffe in the American Revolutionary Army, serves valiantly despite multiple wounds, and ultimately receives an official discharge and pension.

The Napoleonic and global fronts Agostina, the Maid of Saragossa, operates artillery against French forces, earns military honors, and later walks the Prado in uniform while receiving an artilleryman's pension. Mary Anne Talbot serves as a naval drummer and midshipman, struggling post-war with lingering injuries, poverty, and legal battles over her identity.

Asian queens and commanders Chand Beeby dons armor, veils her face, and leads a sword-in-hand defense of Ahmednuggur's breached walls against Mogul storming parties. Begum Somroo deploys her sepoys and field artillery to turn the tide of battle, saving the Mogul Emperor from a surprise attack.

Imperial conflicts and African forces The Ranee of Jhansi commands troops in a sowar's uniform at Gwalior, dying in combat during a cavalry charge before her followers burn her body. In Dahomey, female combat columns scale the walls of Abbeokuta under heavy fire before being repulsed in a devastating rout.

The People

Christian Davies (Mother Ross) She seeks military service out of personal devotion and a desire for adventure, enduring severe campaign conditions as a dragoon. Despite suffering a trepanned skull and forced discharge upon the discovery of her sex, she adapts by becoming an army sutler and maintaining her ties to the regiment.

Deborah Samson An impoverished American woman who seeks independence and service by enlisting under the name Robert Shirtliffe. She hides severe battle wounds to avoid detection until a fever reveals her identity, eventually gaining an honorable discharge from General Washington and a soldier's pension.

Théroigne de Méricourt A passionate revolutionary leader who seeks political power and societal transformation through direct action. She loses her influence as political factions turn against her, ending her life in a cold asylum cell consumed by madness.

Chand Beeby The dowager queen of Bijapur who assumes command of Ahmednuggur to protect her state from Mogul conquest. Confronting desertion and breached fortress walls, she rallies panic-stricken soldiers by personally rushing the breach with a drawn sword.

The Ranee of Jhansi A Indian ruler who fights to maintain her territory against British advances during the 1857 conflict. Dressed in full military uniform, she resides in the saddle and personally leads charges until she is killed on the battlefield.

In Its Own Voice

"The Brigadier, who would at first scarcely believe the news, told Christian that he had always looked upon her 'as the prettiest fellow, and the best man he had.'"

This reaction highlights the respect earned by Christian Davies among her officers before her gender was revealed at the hospital of Meldré.

"She put on armour, covered her face with a veil, and, grasping a drawn sword in her hand, rushed to defend the breach."

This passage captures the dramatic moment Chand Beeby personally rallied her retreating troops during the siege of Ahmednuggur.

"Her countenance soft and pleasing, and her manners, which were perfectly feminine, were easy and engaging."

Sir John Carr describes the contrasting personal demeanor of Agostina, the Maid of Saragossa, despite her fierce military reputation on the battlefield.

What It's Really About

The volume argues that military capability, strategic intelligence, and physical courage are not defined by gender. By documenting cases across centuries, cultures, and socio-economic classes, the text demonstrates that women have systematically participated in state warfare, guerrilla actions, and siege defenses. It addresses questions regarding the societal conditions that push women into uniform—whether personal devotion, economic necessity, patriotic fervor, or political necessity—while exposing the rapid societal marginalization these fighters often face once conflicts conclude. The text illustrates how societies readily accept female combatants during periods of crisis, only to force them back into conventional gender roles or erase their contributions during peacetime.

Why Read It Today

This work offers a historical survey for readers interested in military history, gender studies, and nineteenth-century biographical prose. Rather than relying on romanticized legend, it relies heavily on military records, newspaper dispatches, personal memoirs, and contemporary eyewitness accounts to build its entries.

Reading the volume reveals the stark realities faced by early modern combatants, detailing severe battlefield wounds, primitive medical treatments, financial instability, and the psychological toll of war. While readers should expect nineteenth-century imperial perspectives and period-specific terminology, the book remains remarkable for its global scope and straightforward narrative style. It resists moralizing about its subjects, choosingAcross centuries and continents, women have donned armor, wielded muskets, and commanded armies, proving that the battlefield is by no means an exclusively male domain.

In Short

This second volume of Ellen C. Clayton's work chronicles the lives and exploits of historical women who fought as soldiers, sailors, and military leaders. Moving from the early 18th century through the French Revolution, the American War of Independence, the Indian Mutiny, and 19th-century global conflicts, the book details individual accounts of combat, disguise, capture, and survival. Clayton captures these extraordinary accounts of female valor to document a broad, global history of women’s participation in warfare across ages and cultures, preserving their memory against historic erasure.

The Story

The narrative surveys an expansive global history of female military involvement, opening in the early modern era with European women serving directly in line regiments and naval crews. Accounts begin with soldiers like Christian Davies, known as Mother Ross, who fought as a dragoon in the British Army until a head wound at the Battle of Ramilies led to the discovery of her sex. Similar accounts illustrate how women like Phœbe Hessel, who fought at the Battle of Fontenoy, and Hannah Snell adopted male attire to join active service, enduring combat wounds and arduous campaigns alongside male soldiers. The narrative moves to political and military figures such as the Chevalier d’Eon, whose life involved high-stakes diplomacy and contested gender identity across European courts.

Transitioning to the late 18th century, the book details the violent upheavals of the American War of Independence and the French Revolution. In America, women like Deborah Samson enlisted under aliases, fought in tactical engagements, and concealed severe injuries until fever revealed their identity to military authorities. In Revolutionary France, female participation spans from street agitators like Théroigne de Méricourt and Rose Lacombe to battlefield officers like Félicité and Théophile de Fernig, who served on General Dumouriez’s staff.

The scope then widens to global 19th-century conflicts. Clayton records female combatants during the Peninsular War, including Agostina, the Maid of Saragossa, who manned artillery against besieging French forces. The account details 19th-century regional and global struggles, including Anita Garibaldi’s participation in naval and land battles in Brazil alongside her husband, and women enlisting in the American Civil War, the Austro-Italian War, and Maori resistance movements in New Zealand.

Finally, the narrative turns to Asia and Africa, highlighting ancient and early modern military leaders. Clayton outlines accounts of Indian warrior-queens, such as Chand Beeby defending the fort of Ahmednuggur against Mogul sieges, Begum Somroo repelling night attacks to save the Imperial army, and the Ranee of Jhansi leading troops during the Indian Mutiny of 1857. The volume concludes with accounts of African military forces, detailing the legendary brutal laws of Tembandumba of the Jagas and the 19th-century combat engagements of the armed Dahoman Amazons against the walls of Abbeokuta.

How It Unfolds

Soldiers in disguise In the early 18th century, women enter European military units under male aliases, enduring front-line combat and severe injury. Christian Davies serves as a British dragoon until a shell fractures her skull at Ramilies, prompting medical discovery, an honorable discharge, and her transition to army sutler.

Revolutionary combatants During major Atlantic revolutions, women take up arms in regular forces and political uprisings. Deborah Samson fights in the American Revolutionary Army until fever exposes her sex, while figures like Théroigne de Méricourt lead revolutionary crowds in Paris before suffering political downfall.

Patriots on global battlefields Across Europe and the Americas, female soldiers gain public recognition during 19th-century wars of liberation. Agostina takes up cannon fire at the Siege of Saragossa, earning national honors, while Anita Garibaldi fires carbines on Brazilian warships alongside her husband.

Sieges and Eastern leadership In Asia, royal and aristocratic women command strategic defenses against massive invading armies. Chand Beeby rallies demoralized troops to hold the breaches of Ahmednuggur, Begum Somroo deploys tactical artillery to rescue the Emperor's forces, and the Ranee of Jhansi fights to the death during the siege of Gwalior.

Western African regiments The book concludes by documenting structured female military units in Western Africa. Clayton records both historical traditions of sovereign military queens and the 19th-century Dahoman Amazons who assault fortified positions at Abbeokuta.

The People

• Christian Davies (Mother Ross): A determined British dragoon who seeks her missing husband by enlisting in the army. She fights valiantly through major European engagements until a fractured skull leads surgeons to discover her sex, forcing her discharge.
• Deborah Samson: A poor young woman from Massachusetts who teaches herself to read before enlisting in the Revolutionary Army as Robert Shirtliffe. She endures wounds in battle and earns the esteem of her officers before a brain fever reveals her identity to her physician.
• Agostina (The Maid of Saragossa): A Spanish patriot who steps up to fire an artillery piece after its crew falls during a French siege. She survives to receive military honors, a government pension, and public acclaim across Europe.
• Chand Beeby: The Queen and dowager-regent of Bijapur who assumes defense of Ahmednuggur against Mogul forces. Wearing a veil and holding a drawn sword, she personally leads the defense at the breach to turn back repeated enemy assaults.
• The Ranee of Jhansi: A Indian ruler who resists British forces during the 1857 uprising. Dressed in a soldier's uniform, she commands troops and coordinates defenses until she falls mortally wounded in a cavalry charge.

In Its Own Voice

"The surgeons sent word to Brigadier Preston that his 'pretty Dragoon' was a woman."

Brigadier Preston initially struggles to believe that one of his bravest soldiers is a woman.

"I will go below; but only to drive out the cowards who are skulking there."

Anita Garibaldi refuses her husband’s pleas to take cover during a naval battle, choosing instead to enforce discipline among the crew.

"'My gun,' alluding to one with which she had effected a considerable havoc among the French at Saragossa, 'was not so nice and clean as this.'"

Agostina inspects British naval guns with the critical eye of an experienced artillery officer.

What It's Really About

The book presents a historical argument against the traditional exclusion of women from military history. By collecting documented cases from diverse geographic regions and historical eras, Clayton demonstrates that female combat is neither a novelty nor a rare anomaly, but a recurring phenomenon across human civilization.

Underneath the individual accounts of battlefield bravery lies an investigation into how societal norms react when traditional gender boundaries break down. Clayton highlights the stark contrast between how female combatants are treated upon discovery—ranging from military pensions and public honor to lunacy, poverty, or execution. The text explores how necessity, patriotism, personal devotion, and survival drive women to adopt military roles traditionally reserved exclusively for men.

Why Read It Today

This work offers readers an early, comprehensive effort to recover women's history from regional archives and period reporting. Readers interested in military history and gender studies will appreciate the breadth of Clayton's research, which spans small local conflicts to major international wars.

The reading experience feels like navigating an extensive historical ledger. Clayton maintains a matter-of-fact tone, balancing heroic anecdotes with plain accounts of hardship, injury, and post-war obscurity.

Modern readers should be prepared for period-specific language and mid-Victorian imperial attitudes, particularly in the chapters covering non-European nations. The narrative does not shy away from the harsh realities of historical warfare, detailing surgical trepanning, public executions, and heavy battlefield casualties. Despite these stern period realities, the sheer volume of documented lives leaves a lasting impression of the widespread, often overlooked role women have played in military history.

<ElicitationsGroup message="Explore further details about this text:"> <Elicitation label="Analyze Clayton's mid-Victorian historiographical methods" query="Analyze the historiographical methods used by Ellen C. Clayton in Female Warriors, Vol. 2, focusing on her sources and period perspective."/> <Elicitation label="Compare the regional portrayals of European vs. Asian combatants" query="Compare how Ellen C. Clayton portrays European female soldiers versus Asian warrior-queens in Female Warriors, Vol. 2."/> </ElicitationsGroup>