In November 1799, Figueur’s unit was moving through northern Italy as part of a larger Republican army. Near Genola in Piedmont, the French encountered an Austrian army, and a battle ensued. Figueur and the other dragoons were immediately thrown into the action. The fighting was bloody as the French and Austrian cavalry clashed. Figueur took four slashes from a saber before her horse was once again shot out from under her. As the other dragoons retreated from the action, Figueur was captured by the Austrians. Luckily, in the confusion of the battle, she managed to escape back to French lines.
The battle was a shattering defeat for the French, and the army retreated back towards the border. Over the next few months, they turned their attention to hunting down the Swiss partisans fighting the French in the Alps. The bitter cold took a toll on the French, who began suffering the effects of disease. The climate strained Figueur’s health, already weakened by injury. In 1800, Figueur was allowed to retire with a generous pension of 200 francs. The money was double what the average soldier received, and reflected Figueur’s status as a hero of the army.
Once again, Figueur was bored by life outside of the army, and she re-enlisted in 1802. This time, she was stationed in a garrison in Paris. Instead of fighting, she found herself moving in the upper-class circles of society, an environment she seems to have found very uncomfortable. As a famous female soldier, Figueur was a curiosity to many people. She was eventually even invited to meet with Napolean Bonaparte himself and was given a job as an attendant to his wife. This lasted for about ten days before Figueur demanded to return to her unit.
Figueur returned to active service and fought in the campaigns in Germany, where she was wounded again. After another break to recover, she joined a unit of Imperial Guards to take part in the fighting in Spain. Her service in the country was short, and she was captured at Burgos. This time, she was sent to wait out the rest of the war as a prisoner in England. She returned to France in 1814, when Bonaparte was forced to abdicate his position as Emperor and sent into exile.
Figueur served in the cavalry once again after Bonaparte’s return in 1815. She missed the final battle at Waterloo but served as a stretcher-bearer in some of the last skirmishes near the capital. With the return of peace, Figueur decided to open a restaurant. In a shocking twist, she soon discovered that her best friend from childhood, the Swiss drummer boy she believed dead, was actually still alive. In 1818, the two married. Figueur spent the rest of her life out of the public eye, though she wrote a successful biography in 1842. She died in 1861 at 86. She remains a shining example of the fact that courage knows no gender.
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