Franziska Scanagatta

Franziska Scanagatta (also called Francesca Scanagatta) (1 August 1776 – 1865) was an Italian woman who disguised herself as a man in order to attend an Austrian officer school in 1794. She served during the French Revolution and was promoted to Leutnant (lieutenant) in 1800. In 1801 she left the army and was granted a pension by Francis I, Emperor of Austria, when he learned of her story. Life Born in Milan in 1776, which was then under Austrian rule, Scanagatta dreamt of joining the Imperial Austrian army. Fortunately, she was said to be "ugly and small, with a moustache that had developed through repeated shaving." Born with a rather weak body, she did exercises throughout her childhood to develop her muscles. She also read widely and went to an excellent convent school - apparently, all this exercising of her mind and body made her feel "like a man." Military studies Scanagatta's brother Giacomo was very different from her; he had always been quite effeminate. He was supposed to go to Vienna and train to become a soldier, but he confided in her that this was the last thing he wanted. Francesca made the most of a great opportunity: in 1794, dressed as a man, she travelled with Giacomo to Vienna and on 1 July, she joined the Theresian Military Academy in his place as a "externer Hörer" (external student - new to the army). When he realized what had happened, Francesca's father was flabbergasted and intended to go to Wiener Neustadt to bring her home, but she was so ardent in her wish to be an officer that he relented and allowed her to remain at the academy, where she gained excellent grades and graduated on 16 January 1797 as a Fähnrich (cadet/ensign). Military service In that rank, Scanagatta joined the 6th composite battalion, Warasdin Grenz District (combined Infanterie Regimenter No. 65 & 66), leading a reinforcement troop from Hungary to the battalion at Kehl on the Rhine just as the war ended in April 1797. In December, she marched with them to winter quarters in Troppau, Silesia and then to Klagenfurt in Styria. Always taking great care not to be discovered and trying to be amongst new people, she took the opportunity to take up a fellow cadet's posting to Infantry Regiment No. 56 "Wenzel Graf Colloredo" in the autumn of 1798.