Born: 17 January 1774, France
Died: 4 January 1861
Country most active: France
Also known as: Sans-Gêne, Thérèse Figueur
The following is excerpted from “Female Warriors: Memorials of Female Valour and Heroism, from the Mythological Ages to the Present Era,” by Ellen C. Clayton (Mrs. Needham), published in 1879 and shared online by Project Gutenberg.
Thérèse Figueur, better known as “Le Dragon sans Gêne,” was born, January, 1774, at Talmay, a town six leagues from Dijon. She became a dragoon in the 15th and 9th regiments, and, from 1793 to 1812, served in all the campaigns of the Republic and of the Empire. At this time she was known to her comrades by the soubriquet of “Sans Gêne.”
One day the Comité du Salut Public issued a decree forbidding any woman to remain in the regiments. The commissioned officers and generals of the army[65] of the Pyrenees, however, begged that an exception might be made in favour of the Citoyenne Thérèse Figueur; and special authorization was granted, permitting her to remain in the service.
At the siege of Toulon, 1793, Thérèse received an English bullet in her left shoulder. She had the misfortune to be placed under arrest during the same siege by General Bonaparte, for being guilty of a delay of twenty-five minutes in the execution of an order. Some years subsequently, when the former Commandant d’Artillerie had become First Consul, he wished to see once more the Dragon sans Gêne, who came willingly enough to St. Cloud under the escort of M. Denon. The First Consul made some complimentary remarks to the “Dragon,” and added that “Mademoiselle Figueur est un brave:” then gaily pledged her in “a glass of something stronger than wine.”
Thérèse Figueur served in the “Armée d’Italie” in 1792, and in the army of the Eastern Pyrenees during the 2nd and 3rd year, and in the Army of Italy during the years 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. Among her exploits were several campaigns in Germany, and she took part in the war in Spain. In July, 1812, she was made prisoner by the Guerillas of the Curé Marino, and sent off to England, where she remained until the Peace in 1814.
She was frequently wounded, and had horses[66] killed under her. At the battle of Savigliano, she was wounded four times.
A modest pension hardly sufficed for her simple wants, yet being very generous, she constantly helped others poorer than herself. In disposition she was remarkable for piety, delicate tact, singleness of heart, and self-forgetfulness.
About 1840, Thérèse Figueur, then veuve Sutter, was admitted into the Hospice des Ménages. In that retreat her last years glided calmly away, enlivened by the frequent visits of her many faithful friends, who delighted in hearing her military reminiscences. In June, 1861, her simple funeral passed from the gates of the Hospice.