The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1914-12-31
WOMEN WHO WERE SOLDIERS

London Tit-Bits: The war has
produced its crop of stories, more or
less true, of women who have dis
guised themselves as men, shoulder
ed a rifle and fought in the trenches.
One of these heroines, who did a gal
liant deed in rescuing a soldier, and,
though probably she will not be al
lowed to take any further part in the
campaign, she will go down in Rus
sian history as a minor star-a fol-
lower CT Joan of Arc, and some of the
Spanish heroines of the Peninsular
war.
There has been scarcely a war in
which some woman has not had a
part in the fighting line. During the
Balkan war women of all classes in
Servla, Montenegro and Bulgaria,
who can handle a rife as we'll as they
can a saucepan, fought for their re-
spective countries. A notable case
that of Miss Sophie Kovanovitch,
a young Servian girl, who obtained
permission from King Peter to fight
like an ordinary soldier, and, dressed
in military uniform, accounted for
several Turks. A Belgrade school
girl, Milena Manditch, was also found
among the volunteer forces raised by
the Servian committee for national
defense. She was only II years of
age, and went from the high school
at Belgrade to take her place in the
fighting line, wearing an ordinary
soldiers uniform.
Another extraordinary case of a
woman in a recent war hiding her sex
and fighting as a soldier was that of
Kritskaya, a Russian girl, on
whom the czar conferred high mil
itary honors for the part which she
took in the Russo-Japanese war. No
one suspected her of being a woman,
and this brave Soldier gained re-
loWn by saving three wounded com
dressing their wounds, and
then %reentering the firing line until
she herself was wounded. Another
woman, Harrietena Korot-1
'tiewitch, donned mans attire and
in many battles during the
tusso-Japanese war, in order to be
near her husband, She fought side
by side with him in numerous sorties,
and won the admiration of officers
md men by her fearlessncss. One
lay, while riding to the trenches
With dispatches, a large she'll strucl
destroyed certain earthworks
farrietena wasNseen to stagger as
he shell exploded, and she was pick
I'd up dead. 1t was only after her
leath that her sex was discovered
The British army has had it's wo-
men soldiers, and two Of them are
buried in the cemetery of Chelsea
hospital. One of these dames-Han-
lah Smell, a truculent-looking per-
on, whose portrait is preserved in
he great hall Of the hospital, served
n the siege of Pondicherry and was
,adly wounded, her sex being dis
covered when she was removed to
he hospital. She became a pension
II and wore on occasions the three
ornered hat and uniform coat of
and was, at her own request,
'uried in the graveyard of the hos
'ital. Christina Davis was the other
emale soldier buried in this Gene
cry. She is described as a FIAT,
oily woman" Another English
roman who successfully posed as
man and enlisted as a soldier was
'hoebe Hessel, who vas a private in
he Fifth foot regiment, and fought
t Fontenoy in 1745, under the duke
f Cumberland, being severely woun-
ed. Ultimately she died at Brighton
1 1921 at the age Of 1903. The most
amous Englishwoman Soldier"
owever, was "Dr. James Barry"
tho Joined the medical corps in 1913
nd served at Waterloo and in Cri- s
lea. In 1858, after many promo
lons, she became inspector general,
nd it was not until many years la {
Or that the fact that she was a wo- l
ian was discovered.