Sophie Dorothea ''Friederike'' Krüger, alias August Lübeck or Auguste Krüger (8 October 1789, Friedland,

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label= Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schweri ...

- 31 May 1848,

Templin Templin () is a small town in the Uckermark district of Brandenburg, Germany. Though it has a population of only 17,127 (2006), in terms of area it is, with 377.01 km2 (145.56 sq mi), the second largest town in Brandenburg (after Wittstock) and ...

) was a soldier in the Prussian army.Bernhard von Poten: Krüger, Auguste. In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Band 51, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1906

Life

Krüger served disguised as a man during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

in Germany from 1813 to 1815 in the first company of the ''Kolbergsches Infanterieregiment'' (renamed the 9th Grenadier regiment in 1914). Trained as a tailor, at 23 years old she cut off her hair, put on a male costume she had designed herself and obeyed a mobilization proclamation. Owing to the speed of mobilization there were no medical examinations and so she was not discovered at first. Her comrades admired her courage very much and were loyal to her, but during one attack her high voice caused the others to realize that she was female. However, she was not discharged from the army and was even allowed by King Frederick William III of Prussia to continue serving under her real name. She was promoted to corporal after the

Battle of Möckern The Battle of Möckern was a series of heavy clashes between allied Prusso-Russian troops and Napoleonic French forces south of Möckern. It occurred on 5 April 1813. It ended in a French defeat and formed the successful prelude to the " ...

. She was then promoted to sergeant after the Battle of Dennewitz and subsequently fought in the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

in 1815. At the end of the war she married a Prussian corporal, Karl Köhler, on 5 March 1816 and left the army. They had four children. She was awarded the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

and the Commemorative War Medal by King Frederick William for her bravery. On her death, she was buried in the St.-Georgen-Friedhof in

, where her grave can still be seen.

References

Life (German)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kruger, Friederike 1789 births 1848 deaths People from Friedland, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Prussian Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Women in 19th-century warfare Female wartime cross-dressers Women in European warfare