583: Ulrika Eleanora Stålhammar
Female Soldier During the Great Northern War
Born: c.1683, Svenarum, Sweden
Died: 16 February 1733, Hultsjö, Sweden
As a child, Ulrika was a persistent tomboy and hated womanly ideals. She ran away from home to escape an arranged marriage.
In 1713, she joined the army as a man and the next year married a maid named Maria Lönnman. After two weeks Ulrika told her the truth (that she was a woman) and they continued to live in a marriage of what was described as “spiritual love” by the LGBT Wiki.
Ulrika left the army in 1726 and returned to dressing as a woman. In 1729 she was charged with “violating the order of God” for dressing as a man and “making a mockery of marriage” for marrying another woman.
Ulrika and her wife were given light sentences and lived out the rest of their lives as a couple in quiet seclusion. The reason for their light sentences was due to the fact that Ulrika and Maria claimed to have had no sexual contact, and so their homosexuality was mostly forgiven.
There are no known images of Ulrika.
Sources:
https://lgbt.wikia.org/wiki/Ulrika_Eleonora_St%C3%A5lhammar
https://www.afterellen.com/people/533493-womens-history-passing-mans-world/3
https://sok.riksarkivet.se/sbl/Presentation.aspx?id=34664
http://theleagueofextraordinaryladies.com/2015/06/ulrika-eleonora-stalhammar-swedish-corporal/