`Heroic Virgins' and `Bellicose Amazons': Armed Women,the Gender Order and the German Public during and after the Anti-Napoleonic Wars

In Prussian-German history, the period of the Anti-Napoleonic Wars between 1806 and 1815 is central for the formation of a national political culture. These wars accelerated and intensified the nationalization of the gender order and the ‘gendering’ of the nation, while permanently influencing the fundamental structures of the relationship between women, the state and the nation. The article analyses one form of female patriotic activities during this period: the participation of armed women in the wars, as well as the ways in which they were perceived and commemorated. By studying their collective perception and remembrance with a focus on Prussia in a broader European context, the article explores the relationship between women, war and the nation.