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Revision as of 16:08, 20 April 2023

Hannah Snell
Born23 April 1723
Worcester, Great Britain
Died8 February 1792(1792-02-08) (aged 68)
London, Great Britain
Resting placeOld Burial Ground, Royal Hospital Chelsea, London, Great Britain
OccupationSoldier
Years active1745-1750
Known forDisguising herself as a man to serve as a soldier

Hannah Snell (23 April 1723 – 8 February 1792) was a British woman who disguised herself as a man and became a soldier.

Hannah Snell was mentioned in James Woodforde's diary entry of 21 May 1778 selling buttons, garters, and laces.[1]

Early life

Hannah Snell was born in Worcester, England[2] on 23 April 1723. They were the youngest daughter of their family, with five sisters and three brothers. Snell’s father, Samuel Snell was a hosier and dyer. Due to Snell’s grandfather’s service in the military and the money they inherited from him, Samuel and his second wife, Mary Williams[3] were wealthy enough to live comfortably and provide adequate education for all their children.[4] Despite this, however, Snell never learned to write, but they could read very well.[4] Locals dubbed them as the ‘young Amazon Snell’ and they often played soldier as a child.[5]

Snell’s parents died when they were 17.[6] They moved to London on December 25, 1740, to live with their older sister, Susanah in her house in Wapping.[7] They married James Summes, a Dutch seaman,[8] on 18 January 1744 at Fleet church. However, it turns out that Summs was not the man he had seemed to be. He often sought the company of other women and grew to despise Snell. He used their things to pay for his luxurious lifestyle and the women in his company.[9] With their husband’s debauchery lifestyle, they quickly fell into debt and from there descended into poverty.[9] Towards the end of Snell's pregnancy with their daughter, their husband abandoned them, leaving them in debt.[10] Their daughter, Susanna, died five months later.[11]

Snell moved back in with her sister, Susanah and her brother-in-law, James Grey, whose name they take on for themselves. It is not clear as to why Snell decides to try and find James Summs, some have guessed out of love or hatred,[12] while others suggest she was leaving to find money and adventure.[13] Whatever the reason the conclusion is the same, on November 23, 1745, Snell assumes the identity of their brother-in-law, James Gray and began to search for Summes.[14]

They later learned that their husband had been executed for murder. According to their account, following the death of their daughter, on 23 November 1745,[15] Snell travelled to Coventry, where a few days later they enlisted in the military.[12] They joined John Guise's regiment, the 6th Regiment of Foot, in the army of the Duke of Cumberland against Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Military career

The military career of James Grey/ Hannah Snell started when they was 25 years old, they took on the name James Grey from their brother-in-law and set off to join the marines.[16] They joined the regiment of General Guise in 1757 where they received training in military exercises and greatly excelled. During this time, they had a falling out with a Sargent in their regiment named Davis who accused Grey of neglecting their duties. This incident was prompted due to Grey refusing to facilitate a sexual encounter between Sargent Davis and a local woman.[17] For this accused neglect Grey was sentenced to “600 lashes" and received 500 while tied to the castle gate in Carlisle. In the biography on James Grey by Robert Walker it is mentioned that they eluded discovery due to how their arms were tied to the gate and how small their breasts were at the time.[18] After these events they deserted and moved to Portsmouth to joined the Marines. They boarded the ship Swallow at Portsmouth and sailed as a cabin boy under Captain Rosier to Lisbon. their unit was about to invade Mauritius, but the attack was called off. their unit then sailed to India.[citation needed]

In August 1748, their unit was sent to an expedition to capture the French colony of Pondicherry in India. Later, they also fought in the battle in Devicottail in June 1749. They were injured a total of eleven times, with one shot in their groin and five in their leg.[19] After the battle they were sent to a hospital at Cuddylor which they were seen to by two physicians. they were also shot in their groin and, to avoid revealing their sex, they instructed a local woman to take out the bullet instead of being tended by the regimental surgeon.[20][21]

After their three-month recovery they eventually were reunited with their fleet where they returned to duty on the now undermanned ship. Due to the lack of sailors on the ship Grey worked more duties such as watch and operating a bilge pump as The Swallow had received damage and was leaking on the larboard bow. Grey then spent some time in Bombay where their crewmates noticed they didn’t shave their face which earned them the nickname “Miss Molly Grey”. This prompted them to “begin flirting with the local women” as a way to reduce suspicion.[22] Shortly there after Grey returned home to England aboard the Tartar after being discharged for complications with their wounds.[23]

In 1750, their unit returned to Britain and traveled from Portsmouth to London, where they revealed their sex to their shipmates on 2 June. They petitioned the Duke of Cumberland, the head of the army, for their pension. They also sold their story to London publisher Robert Walker, who published their account, The Female Soldier, in two different editions.[15] They also began to appear on stage in their uniform presenting military drills and singing songs.[24] Three painters painted their portrait in their uniform and The Gentleman's Magazine reported their claims. They were honourably discharged and the Royal Hospital, Chelsea officially recognized Snell's military service in November, and granted them a pension in 1750 (increased in 1785), a rare thing in those days.[citation needed]

End of life

Hannah Snell, engraving, 1789.

Snell was shot and wounded in the marines; they were shot 12 times in the legs and once in the groin.[25] Snell decided to live with the pain, hiding the wound they had on their groin and dealing with it themself.[26] This led to them digging the bullet out while allowing the surgeon to operate on all their other wounds.[26] Snell feared that their sex would be discovered and would have negative repercussions.  

After Snell was shot, they returned to Britain. They continued to fear that their sex would be found out and they would not get their soldiers pay. The only people that knew of their sex were their brother-in-law, sister and the women they lived with.[27] In London, on the 9th of June, Snell and the other marines went to Westminster to collect their pay and be discharged; they also sold some belongings to make money as they believed that once people knew of their sex, they would not get paid.[28] Following this interaction, they told their comrades about their sex. Instead of being met with disappointment from the marines, they praised Snell and applauded them for their courage as a soldier.[29]

After Snell’s close friends found out about their sex, they told Snell they should petition for pension to the Duke of Cumberland for their service and wounds that they had received. Although, Snell received an allowance from the Chelsea College they started to appear on stage.[30] Snell's performances consisted of their singing military songs and performing military exercises while dressed in uniform.[31] Eventually their fame decreased, and they quit performing.  

Sources claim that after receiving their pension, Snell retired to Wapping and began to keep a pub named The Female Warrior[32] (or The Widow in Masquerade, accounts disagree) but it did not last long.[33] By the mid-1750s, they were living in Newbury in Berkshire. In 1759, they married Richard Eyles there, with whom they had two children. In 1772, they married Richard Habgood of Welford, also in Berkshire, and the two moved to the Midlands. In 1785, they were living with their son George Spence Eyles, a clerk, on Church Street, Stoke Newington.[34]

In 1791, their mental condition suddenly worsened. They were admitted to Bethlem Hospital on 20 August and died on 8 February 1792. They were buried at Chelsea Hospital (now the Old Burial Ground, Royal Hospital Chelsea).[8]

Legacy

Snell portrayed by H. J. Ford, 1913

Playwright Shirley Gee has written two fictional dramatizations of Snell's life: a radio play, Against the Wind (1988) and a stage play, Warrior (1989).[35]

Hannah Snell is mentioned in the 1969 film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie as a woman who was prepared to "serve, suffer and sacrifice."[This quote needs a citation]

There are numerous accounts of Snell’s life. Snell’s memoir The Female Sailor was released in 1750 by London publisher Robert Walker.[36] It has continued to be in circulation even to the present day, available in the following books: The Female Soldier; Or, The Surprising Life and Adventures of Hannah Snell (2011), The Lady Tars: The Autobiographies of Hanna Snell, Mary Lacy, Mary Talbot, and Mary Anne Talbot (2008), and The Female Soldier: Two Accounts of Women Who Served & Fought as Men (2011).[37][38][39] Snell’s life is also the subject of furttheir examination. For instance, Hannah Snell: The Secret Life of a Female Marine (2014) investigates the context in which their life took place, while Female Husbands (2020) discusses themes related to Snell’s and other similar figures’ transing of gender.[40][41]  

Abbreviated magazine and newspaper accounts of Snell’s life were also widespread both within and beyond England.[36] One such early article was released in a 1750 issue of London’s The Gentleman’s Magazine.[42] Records of later 1800s publishings show the reach of Snell’s narrative; articles on Snell’s in U.S.A. magazines and newspapers, for instance, are found in The New York Ledger (1865), Boston’s Ballou’s Dollar Monthly (1855-1865), Minnesota’s The St. Paul Globe (1890), and Utah’s The Salt Lake Herald (1893).[43][44][45][46] Snell’s media presence decreased in the 1900s.  Documented publications about them during this period, however, were still present in Utah’s The Salt Lake Tribune (1910) and Oregon's The Gazette-Times (1914).[47][48]

The pronouns and gender identity assigned to Snell vary between publications. In Snell’s original 1746 memoir, they refer to themself as ‘Hannah Snell’ and use female pronouns.[36] However, the following 1750 version identifies the author as James Gray, a man, even printing their name across the cover.[36] Later editions and newspaper articles reverted back to using ‘Hannah Snell.’[36] Much of the academic work on Snell likewise uses their birth name and pronouns, although papers in Transgender Studies and related fields are beginning to diverge from this norm.[36]   

One common theme is narratives about the difficulties Snell faced in passing as a man, focusing on obscuring physical differences.[36] These include Snell’s lack of a beard.  Articles describe them affirming their masculinity through other actions, such as by openly flirting with women and assuming an outgoing demeanor at gatherings.[36] Another frequently addressed topic is Snell’s chest.  The 1750 autobiography and later publishings chronicle them enduring a public whipping, bared to the waist.[36] However, the exact circumstances differ between articles.  One narrative explains that Snell hid their chest by facing the city gates.[36] Another notes that they tied a handkerchief around their neck to cover their front.[36] A third account merges these situations by claiming they did both.[36] A related situation, Snell’s memoir recounts a boatswain claiming that he had noticed that their chest was similar to a woman’s, but later discounted his observation as Snell had a very masculine presence and no-one else had raised concerns.[36]

References

  1. ^ Barrow, Mandy (2013). "Understanding old British money - pounds, shillings and pence". Project Britain.[self-published source?]
  2. ^ Creighton, Margaret S.; Norling, Lisa (1996). Iron Men, Wooden Women: Gender and Seafaring in the Atlantic World, 1700-1920. JHU Press. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-8018-5160-5.
  3. ^ Anonymous (2011). "The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Female Soldier, by Anonymous". The Project Gutenberg eBook. p. 3.
  4. ^ a b Anonymous (2011). "The Project Gutenberg EBook, the Female Soldier, by Anonymous". The Project Gutenberg eBook. p. 3.
  5. ^ Wheelwright, Julie (23 September 2004). "Snell, Hannah [alias James Gray] (1723–1792), sexual impostor". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  6. ^ Laskow, Sarah (9 March 2022). "Britain's Most Famous 1700s Sailor Spent 4 Years Disguised as a Man". Atlas Obscura.
  7. ^ Anonymous (2011). "The Project Gutenberg EBook, the Female Soldier, by Anonymous". The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Female Soldier, by Anonymous. p. 6.
  8. ^ a b "Blue plaque: Britain's most famous female soldier Hannah Snell was a Worcester girl". Worcester News. 9 May 2018.
  9. ^ a b "The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Female Soldier, by Anonymous". www.gutenberg.org. p. 6. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  10. ^ The female soldier; or, the surprising life and adventures of Hannah Snell, Born in the City of Worcester, who took upon herself the name of James Gray; and, being deserted by her husband, put on mens apparel, and travelled to Coventry in quest of him, where she enlisted in Col. Guise's Regiment of Foot, and marched with that Regiment to Carlisle, in the Time of the Rebellion in Scotland; shewing what happened to her in that City, and her Desertion from that Regiment. Also a full and true account of her enlisting afterwards into Fraser's Regiment of Marines, then at Portsmouth; and her being draughted out of that Regiment, and sent on board the Swallow Sloop of War, one of Admiral Boscawen's Squadron, then bound for the East-Indies. With the many Vicissitudes of Fortune she met with during that Expedition, particularly at the Siege of Pondicherry, where she received Twelve Wounds. Likewise, the surprising Accident by which she came to hear of the Death of her faithless Husband, whom she went in quest of. The Whole Containing The most surprising Incidents that have happened in any preceding Age; wherein is laid open all her Adventures, in Mens Cloaths, for near five Years, without her Sex being ever discovered. 1750. OCLC 642217841. Gale CW0104689797.
  11. ^ Wheelwright, Julie (23 September 2004). Snell, Hannah [alias James Gray] (1723–1792), sexual impostor. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press.
  12. ^ a b "The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Female Soldier, by Anonymous". www.gutenberg.org. p. 7. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  13. ^ Laskow, Sarah (1 July 2015). "Britain's Most Famous 1700s Sailor Spent 4 Years Disguised as a Man". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  14. ^ Creighton, Margaret S.; Norling, Lisa (1996). Iron Men, Wooden Women: Gender and Seafaring in the Atlantic World, 1700-1920. JHU Press. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-8018-5160-5.
  15. ^ a b Snell, Hannah (1989). The Female Soldier: Or the Surprising Life and Adventures of Hannah Snell. William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, University of California. ISBN 978-0-404-70257-1.[page needed]
  16. ^ Anonymous (2011). "The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Female Soldier, by Anonymous". The Project Gutenberg eBook. p. 7.
  17. ^ "The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Female Soldier, by Anonymous". 2011. p. 8.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ^ Anonymous (2011). "The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Female Soldier, by Anonymous". The Project Gutenberg eBook. p. 34.
  19. ^ Anonymous (2011). "The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Female Soldier, by Anonymous". The Project Gutenberg eBook. p. 15.
  20. ^ Pennington, Reina; Higham, Robin (2003). Amazons to Fighter Pilots: A-Q. Greenwood Press. p. 404. ISBN 978-0-313-32707-0.
  21. ^ Druett, Joan (2000). She Captains: Heroines and Hellions of the Sea. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-684-85690-2.
  22. ^ Manion, Jen (2020). "Female Husbands A Trans History". Cambridge university press. p. 78.
  23. ^ Manion, Jen (2020). "Female Husbands A Trans History". Cambridge university press. p. 72.
  24. ^ "Hannah Snell, 1750 (c)". National Army Museum. London. NAM Accession Number 1963-05-63-1.
  25. ^ Anonymous (18 June 2011). "The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Female Soldier". The Project Gutenberg. p. 15.
  26. ^ a b Anonymous (18 June 2011). "The Female Soldier Or, the Surprising Life and Adventures of Hannah Snell". The Project Gutenberg. p. 36.
  27. ^ Anonymous (18 June 2011). "The Female Soldier; Or, The Surprising Life and Adventures of Hannah Snell". The Project Gutenberg. p. 36.
  28. ^ Anonymous (18 June 2011). "The Female Soldier; Or, The Surprising Life and Adventures of Hannah Snell". The Project Gutenberg. p. 38.
  29. ^ Anonymous (18 June 2011). "The Female Soldier; Or, The Surprising Life and Adventures of Hannah Snell". The Project Gutenberg. p. 39.
  30. ^ Anonymous (18 June 2011). "The Female Soldier; Or, The Surprising Life and Adventures of Hannah Snell". The Project Gutenberg. p. 30.
  31. ^ Women's Museum of California (31 January 2018). "Hannah Snell – The Female Solider". Women's Museum of California.
  32. ^ "Trans and Gender-Nonconforming Histories". Historic England.
  33. ^ Anonymous. "Hannah Snell: The Famous 'Woman in Men's Cloaths". JaneAusten.co.uk. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  34. ^ Anonymous (26 March 2023). "Hannah Snell: The Famous "women In Men's Cloaths". Jane Austen Centre.
  35. ^ Bradley, B.G (16 November 2007). "'Warrior' a feast for senses and mind". The Mining Journal. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012.
  36. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Manion, Jen (2020). "Chapter 3: The Sailors and Soldiers". Female Husbands: A Trans History. Cambridge University Press. p. 80. ISBN 9781108652834.
  37. ^ Snell, Hannah (2011). The Female Soldier; Or, The Surprising Life and Adventures of Hannah Snell. Prepared by Chris Curnow, Joseph Cooper, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. Project Gutenberg.
  38. ^ Snell, Hannah; Lacy, Mary; Talbot, Mary (2008). The Lady Tars: The Autobiographies of Hannah Snell, Mary Lacy and Mary Anne Talbot. Fireship Press. ISBN 9781934757352.
  39. ^ Snell, Hannah (2011). The Female Soldier: Two Accounts of Women Who Served & Fought as Men. Leonaur Ltd. ISBN 9780857066763.
  40. ^ Stephens, Matthew (2014). Hannah Snell: The Secret Life of a Female Marine, 1723-1792. Ship Street Press.
  41. ^ Manion, Jen (2020). Female Husbands: A Trans History. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781108652834.
  42. ^ "Some Account of Hannah Snell, the Female Soldier". Digital Transgender Archive.
  43. ^ "A Female Soldier". Digital Transgender Archive.
  44. ^ "A Singular Character". Digital Transgender Archive.
  45. ^ "Women as Men". Digital Transgender Archive.
  46. ^ "A Woman Warrior". Digital Transgender Archive.
  47. ^ "Adventurous Lives of Women in Trousers". Digital Transgender Archive.
  48. ^ "Women Who Were Soldiers". Digital Transgender Archive.

Further reading

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Snell, Hannah".
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