Phoebe Hessel,

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

''Smith'' (March 1713 – 12 December 1821) was best known for disguising herself as a man to serve in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, probably to be with her lover, Samuel Golding. She lived to the age of 108.

Biography

Phoebe Hessel was born Phoebe Smith, in

Stepney Stepney is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Stepney is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name was applied to ...

, and was baptised at the local church, St Dunstan's, on 13 April 1713. Some sources indicate that her father was a soldier who took her with him when she was a child. She enlisted in the

5th Regiment of Foot Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth Avenue * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a cont ...

to serve alongside her lover, and served as a soldier in the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

and

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

. Both remained in the

, and fought and were wounded in the

Battle of Fontenoy The Battle of Fontenoy took place on 11 May 1745 during the War of the Austrian Succession, near Tournai, then in the Austrian Netherlands, now Belgium. A French army of 50,000 under Maurice, comte de Saxe, Marshal Saxe defeated a Pragmatic Ar ...

in 1745. Finally, she revealed her position to the wife of the Regiment's colonel, and they were both discharged and married. According to a sergeant of the regiment, her sex was revealed when she was undressed to be whipped, upon which she only commented: "Strike and be damned!"''Battle Cries and Lullabies: Women in War from Prehistory to the Present''

Linda Grant DePauw Linda Grant DePauw (born January 19, 1940) is an American modern historian, retired university teacher, non-fiction author and journal editor, who is a pioneer in women's research in the United States. She received the Beveridge Award in 1964, wa ...

She was given no punishment, and had her salary paid out as any other soldier. They lived in

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, where they had nine children, of whom eight died in infancy, and the survivor died at sea. After Golding died, she moved to

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

to marry fisherman Thomas Hessel. He died when she was 80 years old. She supported herself by selling fish in and around Brighton, and her evidence was instrumental in securing the conviction and execution of

highwayman A highwayman was a robber who stole from travellers. This type of thief usually travelled and robbed by horse as compared to a footpad who travelled and robbed on foot; mounted highwaymen were widely considered to be socially superior to foo ...

James Rooke. In old age, she sold small items, such as oranges and gingerbread, on a street corner near the

Brighton Pavilion The Royal Pavilion (also known as the Brighton Pavilion) and surrounding gardens is a Grade I listed former royal residence located in Brighton, England. Beginning in 1787, it was built in three stages as a seaside retreat for George, Prince o ...

. She became well known in Brighton, due to her great age and unusual experiences. She was forced into the

workhouse In Britain and Ireland, a workhouse (, lit. "poor-house") was a total institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. In Scotland, they were usually known as Scottish poorhouse, poorh ...

, but was granted a pension of half a

guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

a week by

the Prince Regent George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

in 1808. She attended his coronation parade in Brighton in 1820. She died 12 December 1821, aged 108. She was buried in the graveyard of St Nicholas Church, Brighton. She was sometimes referred to as the 'Stepney Amazon'; Amazon Street and Hessel Street (both named in her honour) still exist today in Stepney (now part of the

London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and ...

References

External links

Phoebe HesselThe Amazon of StepneyLinda Grant De Pauw: Battle Cries and Lullabies: Women in War from Prehistory to the Present
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hessel, Phoebe 1713 births 1821 deaths People from Stepney People from Plymouth, Devon People from Brighton Military personnel from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Royal Northumberland Fusiliers soldiers British Army personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession Female wartime cross-dressers Women in the British Army English women centenarians Burials in East Sussex