Félicité Fernig (1770–1841) and Théophile Fernig (1775–1819), known as the Sœurs Fernig (Fernig sisters), were two sisters who dressed as men and enlisted in the

French Revolutionary Army The French Revolutionary Army (french: Armée révolutionnaire française) was the French land force that fought the French Revolutionary Wars from 1792 to 1804. These armies were characterised by their revolutionary fervour, their poor equipment ...

during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

. They were allowed to remain in service after their sex was discovered and became celebrities who were frequently mentioned in the contemporary French press.

Biographies

Félicité and Théophile were born to Marie Adrienne Bassez and Sergeant François Louis Joseph Fernig, who served in the cavalry and educated his daughters in the use of weapons. When the Austrians invaded France in 1792, the sisters dressed as men, enlisted in the army, and were admired for their courage. When their sex were discovered, they were allowed to remain in service, which happened in at least some cases during this period. They participated in the Battles of Valmy,

Jemappes Jemappes (; in older texts also: ''Jemmapes''; wa, Djumape) is a town of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Mons, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It was a municipality until the fusion of the Belgian municipalities in 1 ...

Anderlecht Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...

, and

Neerwinden Neerwinden is a village in Belgium in the province of Flemish Brabant, a few miles southeast of Tienen. It is now part of the municipality of Landen. The village gave its name to two great battles. The Battle of Neerwinden (1693), first battle w ...

. The sisters were appointed aides-de-camp under General

Charles François Dumouriez Charles-François du Périer Dumouriez (, 26 January 1739 – 14 March 1823) was a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars. He shared the victory at Valmy with General François Christophe Kellermann, but later deserted the Revo ...

. However, after Dumouriez's defection to Austria in 1793, the sisters were sentenced to exile despite their pleas that they had taken no part in his betrayal. Their exile was retracted in 1802 and they settled in Brussels, where Félicité married Captain François Joseph Herman Van der Wallen.

References

* * {{authority control Female wartime cross-dressers French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Women in 18th-century warfare Women in war in France French female military personnel