Madeleine Caulier

Madeleine Caulier (born 1680 in Avelin, died 1712 near Denain) was a French servant, soldier, and heroine of the War of the Spanish Succession, a figure who is partially legendary.

Biography Madeleine Caulier is a semi-legendary figure, as – according to French historian Sarah Dumortier – there is a lack of conclusive archival evidence to confirm her actual existence.

She was said to have been born in Avelin in 1680, during the reign of Louis XIV. Madeleine was a poor village girl who worked as a servant at an inn called Le Tournebride.

On 11 July 1708, in the seventh year of the War of the Spanish Succession, French forces were defeated at the Battle of Oudenarde. This victory opened the way for the anti-French coalition’s forces deeper into Flanders. On August 14 of that year, an army of 110,000 soldiers under the command of Duke John Churchill and Prince Eugene of Savoy began the siege of the heavily fortified city of Lille. Though a French army was dispatched to relieve the city, they did not dare to engage the allies in open battle, instead attempting maneuvers and diversionary actions to force the allies to abandon the siege. According to one version, French officers, learning of this, asked her to deliver a message to the besieged city, to which she agreed. In other accounts, the French staff stopped at the inn Le Tournebride, and after overhearing a conversation among officers about how to deliver a message to Lille, Madeleine volunteered her help, surprising those present.

The next morning, Madeleine set out on her journey. She encountered difficulties along the way and was reportedly stopped by allied guards at one point. Her only wish was to become a soldier, and this request was granted. Disguised as a man, she fought in a dragoon regiment. According to another, though less likely, version, she fell in the 1709 Battle of Malplaquet.