Born: 27 July 1792, Brazil
Died: 21 August 1853
Country most active: Brazil
Also known as: NA
Initially disguised as a man, Brazilian soldier Maria Quitéria de Jesus served in the Brazilian War of Independence against the Portuguese from October 1822 to 1824. The daughter of a farmer, Quitéria received no formal education but presumably would have learned to ride, hunt and use firearms in her youth. Unmarried, she enlisted in the Parakeet Battalion against her father’s wishes, fighting in several battles before her father, having discovered what she’d done, revealed her gender. However, because she had performed well in battles, she was allowed to continue, and was promoted to cadet in July 1823 and lieutenant the following month, when she was received by the emperor and awarded the Imperial Order of the Cross. She is the first known woman to serve openly in a military unit in modern Brazil.
After the war, she married Gabriel Pereira Brito and had a daughter, but she would eventually die in relative obscurity and poverty, widowed and almost blind. It was only years later that her legacy as a national heroine was revitalized. The military Medal of Maria Quitéria was issued in 1953, a century after her death, for contributions to military efforts. In 1996, she was named Patron of the Corps of Support Staff Officers of the Brazilian Army by presidential decree.