Interesting Story.

"In search of her husband, who had deserted her, Hannah Snell disguised herself as a man and, using the alias of James Gray, enlisted in the Royal Marines in Portsmouth in 1745. She went on to serve for four and a half years without her true sex being discovered, despite being stripped to the waist and flogged on one occasion! At the siege of Pondicherry in India in 1748, "......one of the common men was shot close to her right hand side, upon which she fired and killed the very man that shot her comrade....." Later she sustained 11 shots in her legs (probably shell splinters) and a more dangerous musket shot in her groin. This latter wound she concealed from the doctor to prevent her secret being discovered and, by digging around in the wound with her forefinger and thumb, managed to extract the musket ball herself! On leaving the service she revealed her secret and attracted an instant proposal of marriage from one of her shipmates - she turned him down. She became quite a celebrity and appeared on the stage and later kept a public house in Wapping called "The Widow in Mascarade". Her first husband had been reputedly executed for murder whilst she was serving in
the Marines. She took two further husbands and died insane at Bethlehem Hospital (Bedlam) in 1789."[b]

hi john.
I am fairly certain there is a book about her exploits , But not sure where I saw it. And not sure if she / he
wrote it , or written by somone else on her behalf.
cheers 90th.

hi john.
You may find this of interest .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannah_Snell

cheers 90th.

hi all.
If anyone is interested , a bit pricey .

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0953056503/ref=sr_1_olp_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1265587319&sr=1-10&condition=used

cheers 90th.