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Hannah Snell (23 April 1723 – 8 February 1792) was an English woman who disguised herself as a man to join the British military. Snell was mentioned in James Woodforde's diary entry of 21 May 1778 selling buttons, garters, and laces.
Snell’s parents died when she was 17. She moved to London on 25 December 1740 to live with her older sibling, Susanah, in her house in Wapping. She married James Summs, a Dutch seaman, on 18 January 1744. Summs often sought the company of other women and grew to despise Snell. He used her patrimony to pay for his luxurious lifestyle. They quickly fell into debt and became impoverished. Summs abandoned Snell when she was pregnant with their child, Susanna, who died in infancy.
Snell moved back in with her sibling Susannah and her brother-in-law, James Gray. On 23 November 1745, Snell put on her brother-in-law's clothes, assumed his name, and went to Coventry to search for Summs. (1996). 9780801851605, JHU Press. ISBN 9780801851605 Later, she learned that her husband had been executed for murder. (1989). 9780404702571, William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, University of California. ISBN 9780404702571
While in Coventry, she enlisted in the British Army. She joined Guise Baronets's regiment, the 6th Regiment of Foot.
After these events, Snell deserted and went to join the Royal Marines. She boarded the Sloop-of-war HMS Swallow at Portsmouth and sailed as a cabin boy under commander John Rowzier to Lisbon. Her unit was to invade French Mauritius as part of the War of the Austrian Succession, but the attack was called off. Her unit then sailed to India to take part in the First Carnatic War. In August 1748, her unit was sent to an unsuccessful expedition to besiege the French colony of Pondicherry in India. Later, she fought in a battle at Devicottah in June 1749. She was injured a total of 11 times, with one shot in her groin and five in her leg. After the battle, she was sent to a hospital at Cuddalore, where she was seen by two physicians. To avoid revealing her sex, she either removed the bullet herself or was assisted by a local woman, instead of being tended by the regimental surgeon. (2026). 9780313327070, Greenwood Press. ISBN 9780313327070
After her three-month recovery, she was reunited with her fleet and returned to duty on the undermanned ship. She then spent five weeks in Bombay where her crewmates noticed that she did not shave her face and nicknamed her "Miss Molly Gray". This prompted her to "begin flirting with the local women" as a way to reduce suspicion about her sex. Shortly thereafter, Gray returned home to England after being discharged for complications with her wounds.
In 1750, her unit returned to Britain and travelled from Portsmouth to London, where she revealed her sex to her shipmates on 2 June. She petitioned Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, the head of the army, for her pension. She also sold her story to London publisher Robert Walker, who published her account, The Female Soldier, in two different editions. She also began to appear on stage in their uniform presenting military drills and singing songs. Three painters painted her portrait in her uniform and The Gentleman's Magazine reported her claims. She was honourably discharged and the Royal Hospital Chelsea officially recognized Snell's military service in November, and granted a pension in 1750 of 5d per day, £7/12/1 per year (increased in 1785), which was rare at the time.
In 1791, her mental condition suddenly worsened. She was admitted to Bethlem Hospital on 20 August and died on 8 February 1792. She was buried at Chelsea Hospital (now the Old Burial Ground, Royal Hospital Chelsea).
Hannah Snell is mentioned in the 1969 film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie as a woman who was prepared to "serve, suffer and sacrifice."
There are numerous accounts of Snell’s life. Snell’s memoir The Female Sailor was released in 1750 by London publisher Robert Walker. It has continued to be in circulation even to the present day, available in the following books: The Female Soldier; Or, The Surprising Life and Adventures of Hannah Snell (2011) , The Lady Tars: The Autobiographies of Hanna Snell, Mary Lacy, Mary Talbot, and Mary Anne Talbot (2008), and The Female Soldier: Two Accounts of Women Who Served & Fought as Men (2011). (2026). 9781934757352, Fireship Press. ISBN 9781934757352 Snell’s life is also the subject of further examination. For instance, Hannah Snell: The Secret Life of a Female Marine (2014) investigates the context in which her life took place, while (2020) discusses themes related to Snell’s and other figures’ "transing" of gender.
Abbreviated magazine and newspaper accounts of Snell’s life were also widespread both within and beyond England. One such early article was released in a 1750 issue of London’s The Gentleman’s Magazine. Records of later 1800s publications show the reach of Snell’s narrative; articles on Snell’s in US magazines and newspapers, for instance, are found in The New York Ledger (1865), Boston’s Ballou’s Dollar Monthly (1855–1865), Minnesota’s The St. Paul Globe (1890), and Utah’s The Salt Lake Herald (1893). Snell’s media presence decreased in the 1900s. Documented publications about her during this period, however, were still present in Utah’s The Salt Lake Tribune (1910) and Oregon's The Gazette-Times (1914).
The pronouns and gender identity assigned to Snell vary between publications. In Snell’s original 1746 memoir, she referred to herself as "Hannah Snell" and used female pronouns. However, the subsequent 1750 version identified the author as James Gray. Later editions and newspaper articles reverted back to using "Hannah Snell". Much of the academic work on Snell likewise uses her birth name and pronouns, although papers in transgender studies and related fields have diverged from this norm.
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