Marie Tepe

Marie Brose Tepe Leonard (August 24, 1834 – May 24, 1901), known as "French Mary," was a vivandière of Franco-Turkish descent who fought for the Union Army during the American Civil War. Tepe served with the 27th and 114th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiments.

Early life Little is known of Tepe's early life. Born Marie Brose, Tepe was born in Brest, France, on August 24, 1834. Her father was Turkish and her mother was French. It is unknown when she immigrated to the United States, but it is estimated that she immigrated at fifteen years old. Around 1854 she married a tailor from Philadelphia named Bernhard Tepe. Tepe's regiment was present at the First Battle of Bull Run, Fair Oaks, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and Spotsylvania.

Post-war life After the war, she married a Civil War veteran named Richard Leonard; her previous husband had died at Gettysburg. The death of Bernard is in dispute as military records report that he survived the war and mustered out with his company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1864. Certain records report that the two met during the Petersburg Campaign and married in Culpeper, Virginia. She and Leonard divorced in March 1897, with Tepe citing "general abuse" as the cause of the split.

Tepe was awarded the Kearny Cross for her courageous service at Chancellorsville. In 1898, a newspaper reported that Tepe attempted to receive pension for her military service, yet no records indicate that she received this pension. As a result, she became destitute later in life, developing rheumatism and still suffering from her ankle injury incurred during the war.

She committed suicide May 24, 1901 by drinking a lethal dose of "Paris Green," a kind of paint pigment.