User:Lquilter/Elisa Bernerström
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Elisa Bernerström was a woman who served in the Swedish army dressed as a man during the Finnish War between Sweden and Russia 1808-1809. She was decorated for bravery in battle[1], one of two confirmed women to have been so recognised in Sweden before the 1900s.[citation needed]
Elisa, a maid, enlisted together with her husband the soldier Bernhard Servenius, "as she had decided to live and to die with her husband". Her husband is believed to have been killed or captured at the Battle of Ratan and Sävar, while she herself collected the ammunition of the enemy and gave it to her fellow soldiers during the battle. [1]
Her gender was discovered during the march to Piteå, when she, for the third time, prepared to "in her ability serve her country". She was fired, but also decorated for bravery in battle. [1]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Johansson, Christer. Kvinnorna och Kriget: Soldathustrur, markententerskor och kvinnliga krigare (PDF). Retrieved on 29 December 2007.
{{Euro-mil-bio-stub}} {{Sweden-bio-stub}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Bernerström, Elisa}} [[Category:Female wartime crossdressers]] [[Category:Swedish soldiers]] [[Category:Women in early modern warfare]] [[Category: 1700s births]] [[Category: 1800s deaths]] [[Category:Year of birth missing]] [[Category:Year of death missing]] [[Category:Women in 19th century warfare]] [[Category:LGBT history in Sweden]] [[Category:19th century in Sweden]] [[sv:Elisa Bernerström]]
