Virginie Ghesquière

Virginie Ghesquière (1768–1867), was a French soldier. She served in the Napoleonic army dressed as a man in 1806-1812, under Andoche Junot during the Peninsular War, and was promoted to sergeant and lieutenant. She is known as one of the three women (alongside Anne Biget and Marie-Jeanne Schellinck) rumoured to have been given the Legion of Honour by Napoleon I. That is unconfirmed, but she was given the Saint Helena Medal in 1857.