Talbot, Mary Anne (1778–1808)
Talbot, Mary Anne (1778–1808)
British soldier and sailor. Name variations: Known as "The British Amazon." Born in 1778; died in 1808.
At age 14, Mary Anne Talbot became enamored of a British Army captain, by some accounts her husband, and followed him into the army. She joined the 82nd regiment of infantry, where she served in Flanders disguised as a drummer boy and a foot boy. With the army she served in the Caribbean city of Santo Domingo and in Valenciennes, France. At one point (some accounts indicate that it was due to the death of the captain, while others suggest it was due to his unpleasant behavior and not his death), she deserted the army and joined the navy as a "powder monkey"—a person who carried powder to the ship's guns. She also served as cabin boy on the Le Sage and on the Brunswick and was with Lord Howe during the war with France. During her service in the navy, Talbot was wounded in battle on June 1, 1794. Captured, she was imprisoned for 18 months. In 1796, her identity was discovered and her fighting career ended. She then became a servant for Robert S. Kirby, who wrote of her history in his 1804 work Wonderful Museum. Mary Anne Talbot died in 1808.
sources:
The Concise Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992.
Macksey, Joan, and Kenneth Macksey. The Book of Women's Achievements. NY: Stein and Day, 1976.
Karina L. Kerr , M.A., Ypsilanti, Michigan