Marie-Angélique Josèphe Brûlon, née Duchemin (January 20, 1772 – July 13, 1859), was a French soldier.Alain Pigeard ''L'Armée Napoléonienne, 1804-1815 '' - 1993 Page 617 "2224 DUCHEMIN Marie-Angélique-Joséphine Née à Dinan (Côtes-du-Nord) le 20 janvier 1772 Épouse fort jeune un militaire du 42e, dénommé Brulon" Born in

Dinan Dinan (; ) is a walled Breton town and a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in northwestern France. On 1 January 2018, the former commune of Léhon was merged into Dinan. Geography Its geographical setting is exceptional. Instead of n ...

into a soldier family, Duchemin married a soldier named Brûlon and served from 1792 to 1799 in the defence of

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

. She initially fought disguised as a man along with her husband, but was eventually discovered to be a woman. Despite this, she had shown such valour in battle that she was allowed to remain in service. She survived her husband and was proficient with sword and dagger in hand-to-hand combat. In 1797, she asked to be allowed into

Les Invalides The Hôtel des Invalides ( en, "house of invalids"), commonly called Les Invalides (), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as ...

after she received severe wounds in the

siege of Calvi The siege of Calvi was a combined British and Corsican military operation during the Invasion of Corsica in the early stages of the French Revolutionary Wars. The Corsican people had risen up against the French garrison of the island in 1793, a ...

, but was denied seven years. When she received the pension in 1804, she was also promoted to the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

decorated her as a Chevalier (Knight) of the

French Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

on August 15, 1851, the first woman to receive that honor. The first request on her behalf, filed by marshal Sérurier in 1804, had not been granted.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brulon, Angelique 1772 births 1859 deaths Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Female wartime cross-dressers People from Dinan French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Women in 18th-century warfare French female military personnel