Rose-Alexandrine Barreau (1773–1843), also known as "Liberté" Barreau, was a female soldier of the Army of the

French First Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (), was founded on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. The First Republic lasted un ...

. She became best known for her actions fighting against the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

during an incursion near

Biriatou Biriatou (; )BIRIATU

in July 1793.

Biography

Rose-Alexandrine Barreau was born in May 1773 in the Tarn area of France. She married François Leyrac on 5 March 1792, and signed up alongside her new husband and her brother Cyprien Barreau for the 2nd Battalion of the Tarn in the Army of the

. She was listed in records as "Liberté" Barreau, a "son of Jacques and Jeanne Barreau". Barreau and the rest of the Battalion were subsequently amalgamated into the 63rd Demi-Brigade. It was against a

incursion into France at

Biriatou Biriatou (; )BIRIATU

in July 1793 that she would become known. Under the command of

Théophile Corret de la Tour d'Auvergne Théophile Malo Corret de la Tour d'Auvergne (; 23 November 174328 June 1800) was a French officer named by Napoleon as the "first grenadier of France". He was also a celtomaniac antiquarian who introduced the words "dolmen" and "menhir" into g ...

, they were engaged by the Spanish forces. First Barreau witnessed the death of her brother, and then her husband was seriously injured. Barreau moved further forward with the other

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

, before rushing into enemy fire where she fired her

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually dis ...

until she ran out of ammunition. At that point, she charged the enemy with her

saber A sabre or saber ( ) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the Early Modern warfare, early modern and Napoleonic period, Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such a ...

. Following the end of the battle, she went to her husband's side and tended his wounds. After a year and two months of military service, Barreau was discharged from the infantry, as she had been experiencing complications from being six months pregnant. The

National Convention The National Convention () was the constituent assembly of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for its first three years during the French Revolution, following the two-year National Constituent Assembly and the ...

granted her 300

livre tournois The (; ; abbreviation: ₶ or £) was one of numerous currencies used in France in the Middle Ages, medieval France, and a unit of account (i.e., a monetary unit used in accounting) used in early modern France. The 1262 monetary reform esta ...

in recognition of her service, and the following years she remained in the

train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

following the army as her husband continued to serve. The 1793 ''Annales du Civisme et de la Vertu'' characterized her as a national hero. In 1806 Barreau received a military pension. By 1809 she had five children. After falling ill, she petitioned for treatment as a veteran; it was not until 1832, however, that she and her husband were admitted to the veterans' hospital in

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

. She died there on 24 January 1843.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barreau, Rose-Alexandrine 1773 births 1843 deaths French Army personnel Women soldiers 18th-century French women 19th-century French women French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars