Sarah A . Bowman Sarah A . Bowman ( c . 1813 – December 22 , 1866 ) was an American innkeeper , restaurateur , and madam . Nicknamed " The Great Western " , she gained fame , and the title " Heroine of Fort Brown " , as a camp follower of Zachary Taylor ' s army during the Mexican – American War . Following the war she operated an inn in Franklin , Texas ( now El Paso ) before settling near Arizona City ( now Yuma , Arizona ) . Over the course of her life she was married multiple times , often without legal record or the blessing of a priest , and was known at various times by the names Boginnis , Bourdette , Bourget , Bourjette , Borginnis , Davis , Bowman , and possibly Foyle . Background . Bowman is believed to have been born Sarah Knight sometime between 1812 and 1813 ( the 1860 census indicates her birth may have occurred as late as 1818 ) in either Tennessee or Clay County , Missouri . Raised on the American frontier , she received no formal education , and is believed to have been illiterate due to her use of an X on business and census forms . Despite the inability to read and write , she was bilingual by her later years , with a priest near Fort Yuma noting she was the first American woman he had met fluent in Spanish . Physically , Bowman was an unusually large woman . Standing tall ( some reports claim ) and reportedly weighing , she was described as " a remarkably large , well - proportioned strong woman , of strong nerves , and great physical power . " Other observers noted she had an hourglass figure . Due to her large size she was nicknamed the Great Western , an apparent reference to SS Great Western , for a time the largest ship afloat . Bowman also possessed skills to complement her Amazon - like physique . Texas Ranger John Salmon Ford said of her , " She could whip any man , fair fight or foul , could shoot a pistol better than anyone in the region , and at black jack could outplay ( or out cheat ) the slickest professional gambler . " Several tales are told of Bowman and her earlier years . The first is that she and her husband had accompanied Zachary Taylor during his campaign during the Seminole Wars . There is no record of a woman matching Bowman ' s description accompanying Taylor , but such an event would help explain her later loyalty to him . A second tale claims Bowman was in love with Taylor . If this is true , there is no evidence the affection was returned . Mexican – American War . The first documented record of Bowman occurs in 1845 at Jefferson Barracks , Missouri . When her husband enlisted in the Seventh infantry , she signed on as a laundress , a position that included food , shelter , and the opportunity to earn a salary three times that earned by an Army private . From Jefferson Barracks she accompanied the army to Corpus Christi Bay . By the time the army arrived in July 1845 , her duties included cook and nurse in addition to the laundry . The army remained encamped along the Nueces River till March 1846 when they received orders to advance to the Rio Grande . Instead of following her husband , who was ill , and most of the military wives on ships down the coast , Bowman purchased a wagon and mule team and followed the army on land . She handled the trek with skills the " best teamster in the train might have envied . " The first encounter between American and Mexican forces came on March 21 , 1846 during the crossing of Arroyo Colorado . As the Americans approached the steep embankment , bugles rang out on the other bank accompanied by the warning , " Cross this stream and you will be shot ! " Upon seeing the column halted , Bowman rode to the front and told the commander , " If the general would give me a strong pair of tongs , I ' d wade that river and whip every scoundrel that dared show himself . " ( In addition to the tool , tongs was at the time slang for men ' s trousers . ) Inspired by her example the American troops made the crossing , scattering the opposing troops in the process . Heroine of Fort Brown . By May 1846 , Bowman was married to her second husband , a man named Borginnes ( spellings vary ) . Her husband was assigned to Fort Texas ( later renamed Fort Brown ) where she operated an officer ' s mess . When Taylor withdrew the majority of his troops to confront the Mexican army near the coast , forces in Matamoros , stationed directly across the Rio Grande , responded by besieging the fort . The Mexican bombardment began May 3 at 5 am . While most of the women in the fort retreated to the bunker s to sew sandbags , Borginnes remained at her cooking fire and served breakfast at 7 am . For the next week she prepared food and coffee for the besieged fort , carrying buckets of coffee to the troops manning the fort ' s guns , even finding time to care for the wounded and other women . Her schedule of three meals daily was continued even though bullets struck both her bonnet and bread tray . She also requisitioned a musket in case the fort was stormed . Following the siege , Borginnes came to the attention of U . S . newspapers who named her the " Heroine of Fort Brown " . Stories of her exploits were published in both Philadelphia and New York City . One correspondent even went out of his way to extol her virtues and fight any " tongues of slander " that might be directed at her character . Battle of Buena Vista . Following Fort Brown , Borginnes briefly established a boarding house called the American House in Matamoros . In addition to food , lodging , and stables for soldiers ' horses , the establishment also served as a saloon and brothel . This establishment proved quite popular , with one soldier describing it as " the headquarters for everyone " . As Taylor ' s force moved into Mexico the American House moved with the army , first to Monterrey and then to Saltillo . While Borginnes was not involved in the Battle of Monterrey , she did see action during the Battle of Buena Vista . During the conflict she prepared food and coffee , reloaded weapons , and carried wounded off the field of battle . Her attention to the injured even earned her the nickname " Doctor Mary " . Legend claims she received a saber wound to her cheek while working a cannon position before slaying the Mexican soldier who cut her . Another incident involves a retreating private . The soldier ran into Borginnes ' restaurant yelling that Taylor had been defeated . She responded by punching the private in the face and telling him " You damned son of a bitch , there ain ' t Mexicans enough in Mexico to whip old Taylor . You just spread that report and I ' ll beat you to death . " During the battle Borginnes learned that Captain George Lincoln , a friend that had joined the army at the same time as her husband , had been killed . Not wishing to have his body stripped , she searched for him during the battle . Upon finding him , she brought the body back to Saltillo and made sure he was properly buried . After the battle she purchased Lincoln ' s horse at auction , beating a $ 75 bid with a $ 200 offer , and made arrangements for the horse to be sent to the captain ' s family . Following her actions upon the field of battle , tradition maintains that General Winfield Scott ordered a military pension for Borginnes . Later life . Following the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 , the U . S . Army prepared to depart Northern Mexico . By this time Borginnes ' second husband had left her — whether by death or abandonment is unknown . She wished to accompany the departing troops to California , but was informed that only military wives were allowed to join the column . In response she mounted her horse , rode through the soldiers , and shouted " Who wants a wife with $ 15 , 000 and the biggest leg in Mexico ! Come , my beauties , don ' t all speak at once — who is the lucky man ? " Eventually a dragoon named either Davis or David E . volunteered , on condition that a priest perform the marriage ceremony . Her response to this was , " Bring your blanket to my tent tonight and I will learn you to tie a knot that will satisfy you , I reckon ! " By early 1849 , following a brief illness , the " Great Western " arrived in Franklin ( now El Paso , Texas ) without a husband and again using her second husband ' s name . There she established an inn that catered to people traveling across the country as part of the California Gold Rush . In the process she became known as El Paso ' s first Anglo woman and the town ' s first madam , gaining a reputation as a " whore with a heart of gold " . By early 1850 , Borginnes had moved up the Rio Grande to the town of Socorro . There she lived with a man named Juan Duran and five girls , possibly orphans , with the last name of Skinner . Shortly thereafter she married Alfred J . Bowman , a dragoon in the U . S . Army . Following his discharge on November 30 , 1850 the couple moved west . Fort Yuma . Bowman arrived at Yuma Crossing in 1852 . Yuma ' s first business operator , she cooked and did laundry for the officers of Fort Yuma while her husband prospected . One of the fort ' s soldiers noted , " She has been with the Army twenty years and was brought up here where she keeps the officer ' s mess . Among her other good qualities she is an admirable ` pimp ' . She used to be a splendid - looking woman and has done good service but is too old for that now . " After a time Bowman opened a hotel near the fort , along with other businesses near Fort Buchanan and Patagonia , Arizona . In addition to her business interests , she adopted a number of Mexican and Indian children . Bowman died December 22 , 1866 from a spider bite . Following her death she was breveted an honorary colonel and buried with military honors in the Fort Yuma cemetery . In 1890 , following the decommissioning of Fort Yuma , she was exhumed and reburied at San Francisco National Cemetery in a grave marked " Sarah A . Bowman " . In 1998 , the events of Bowman ' s life were used as the basis for the historical fiction " Fearless , A Novel of Sarah Bowman " .