Brewer, Lucy (fl. 1812)

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Brewer, Lucy (fl. 1812)

Possibly the first American woman marine. Name variations: George Baker; Louisa Baker. Fl. in 1812.

Published The Female Marine (c. 1815), which detailed her adventures from life in a Boston brothel to her service in the Marine Corps during War of 1812; according to her account, dressed as a man, took the name George Baker, and gave 3 years of service aboard the USS Constitution, where she participated in 3 sea battles without her gender being discovered. The US Marine Corps, which maintained that it would have been impossible for a woman to serve in the manner claimed by Brewer without being detected, regards her in their Historical Division as "the legendary first woman Marine."

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