This biography is republished from The Dictionary of Irish Biography and was written by Patrick M. Geoghegan. Shared by permission in line with Creative Commons ‘Attribution’ (CC BY) licencing.
Born: 1667, Ireland
Died: 7 July 1739
Country most active: International
Also known as: Christian Cavanagh, Kit Cavanagh, Mother Ross
Davies, Christian (alias ‘Mother’ Ross, Kit ‘Kitty’ Cavenaugh) (c.1667–1739), female soldier and adventurer, was apparently born in Dublin, daughter of a brewer and maltster named Cavenaugh . It is difficult to establish the truth about her colourful career; most accounts follow uncritically an autobiographical account of her life, published posthumously, that contains many inaccuracies and embellishments. According to this account she lived with her aunt, a Dublin innkeeper, after a failed relationship, inheriting the inn on her aunt’s death (1688). By this time Christian had fallen in love with a waiter, Richard Welsh, whom she married, bearing three children. In 1692 Welsh disappeared, and Christian later discovered that he had been press-ganged into the army. Undaunted, she set out to Flanders to rescue her husband and, disguising herself as a man, enlisted in a company of foot. She fought and was wounded at Landen (1693). During her adventures she even found time to court the daughter of a burgher, over whom she later fought a duel.
Returning to Dublin (1701), she continued in her male disguise before rejoining the army with the resumption of hostilities in 1702. In 1704 she marched to the Danube, where she was wounded in the hip at Schellenberg. On her recovery she fought at Blenheim (August 1704), finally encountering her husband. Furious at finding him with a Dutch woman, she sliced off her rival’s nose before persuading Welsh to resume their relationship. Continuing in her male disguise, in 1706 she fought at Ramillies, where part of her skull was blown away, and her gender subsequently discovered. She was dismissed from the service but continued to live at camp as Welsh’s wife, where she went between the lines carrying food, water, and instructions. Welsh was killed at Malplaquet (September 1709), and Christian was so distraught that she gained the sobriquet ‘Mother Ross’ (by which she was subsequently known) after a Captain Ross witnessed her plight. She married shortly afterwards Hugh Jones, a soldier who was killed in 1710 at the siege of St Venant.
Retiring from service, in 1712 she visited England where she was presented to Queen Anne, who granted her a pension of a shilling a day for life. Returning to Dublin, she opened a beer and pie house, and profited from certain privileges given to her by the government. She married a soldier called Davies, an alcoholic who squandered all their money. She became less and less respectable, and ended her days at the Pensioner’s College at Chelsea, London, where she died 7 July 1739. She was given full military honours, and three grand volleys were fired over her grave.
In 1740 an account of her life, written in autobiographical form and entitled The life and adventures of Mrs Christian Davies, was published. This work was attributed to Daniel Defoe, although most scholars now dispute this; in any case, his authorship is unlikely, as he had died in 1731. Almost all accounts of her life derive from this work, and although she did exist and fought disguised as a man, it is unclear how much of the story is fictional.