Many people have engaged in crossdressing during wartime under various circumstances and for various motives. This has been especially true of women, whether while serving as a soldier in otherwise all-male armies, while protecting or disguising their identity in dangerous circumstances, or for other purposes. Conversely, men would dress as women to avoid being drafted, the mythological precedent for this being Achilles hiding at the court of Lycomedes dressed as a girl to avoid participation in the Trojan War. This articles is about cross-dressing in general, that is the act of wearing the clothing of another gender for any reason. ... For other uses, see Achilles (disambiguation). ... In Greek mythology, Lycomedes (also known as Lycurgus) was the King of Skyros during the Trojan War. ... The fall of Troy, by Johann Georg Trautmann (1713–1769). ...

Historical occurrences

Nadezhda Durova in her cavalry uniform.

• Ehud Barak, who later became prime minister of Israel, was disguised as a woman in order to assassinate members of the Palestine Liberation Organization in Beirut during the 1973 covert mission Operation Spring of Youth.
• James Barry lived his entire adult life as a man and although his true gender is unknown, he is widely regarded by the medical community as having been either intersexed or female. ^[1]
• Big Martha, served as Jacob van Artevelde's standard bearer during his revolt in the 1330s and 40s.
• Angelique Brulon
• Hazel Carter
• Anne Chamberlyne
• Pauline Cushman
• Bonnie Prince Charlie dressed as Flora MacDonald's maid servant, Betty Burke to escape the Battle of Culloden for the island of Skye in 1746.
• Nadezhda Durova decorated Russian cavalry soldier of the Napoleonic Wars who spent nine years disguised as a man. She wrote a memoir about her army service.
• Sarah Emma Edmundson (1841-1898) served with the Union Army in the American Civil War disguised as a man named Frank Thompson. She served as a spy and occasionally disguised herself as an African American.
• Albert Cashier
• Catalina de Erauso
• Jacqueline of Wittelsbach (Countess of Hainaut), led the Hoek [aristocratic] faction in Holland; she and one of her servants disguised themselves as soldiers in order to escape confinement in Ghent.
• Phoebe Hessel
• Lady Jeanne de Belleville (Lady of Clisson), led a small privateer squadron in the Channel on the side of the Montfortist faction in Brittany after the death of her husband left her as the head of the family; wore the accoutrements of a soldier while leading boarding assaults.
• Joan of Arc, French peasant-girl who had led the French army some time during the Hundred Years' War and who was accused of cross-dressing by a tribunal that put her to death. She did not disguise that she was actually a woman.
• Countess Jeanne de Montfort, led the Montfortist faction in Brittany in the 1340s after the capture of her husband left her as the titular head of the family on behalf of their young son. She wore the accoutrements of a soldier at engagements such as the siege of Hennebont.
• Dorothy Lawrence, an English reporter who secretly posed as a man to become a soldier during the First World War.
• Hua Mulan
• Deborah Sampson, 18th century Massachusetts woman who disguised herself as a male to serve in the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War.
• Hannah Snell, 18th century English woman who entered military service under the name "James Gray", initially for the purpose of searching for her missing husband. She served in General Guise's regiment in the army of the Duke of Northumberland, and then in the marines.
• Cathy Williams an ex-slave who became the first recorded African-American female to fight in the U.S. Army.
• Mary Anne Talbot
• Ecaterina Teodoroiu
• Loreta Janeta Velazquez
• Joanna Żubr
• Abdul Aziz Ghazi, the Pakistani cleric who, having ordered his followers to fight to the death, sneaked out of the Lal Masjid dressed in a burqa.
• Maria Quitéria, Brazilian heroine

• In the American Civil War. Mary Burns enlisted in a Missouri Militia Cavalry Union regiment, but her sex was discovered before the company departed for war. Sarah Collins another was another woman who enlisted as a soldier during the American Civil War. Although she disguised herself as a man, her sex was suspected because of how she put on her shoes. She was discovered to be female before her regiment left for the front.

Image File history File links Durova. ... Image File history File links Durova. ... Nadeshda Durova in officers uniform Nadezhda Andreyevna Durova (Russian: ) also known as Alexander Durov, Alexander Sokolov and Alexander Andreevich Alexandrov (1783, Kiev - March 21, 1866, Yelabuga ) was a woman who became a decorated soldier in the Russian cavalry during the Napoleonic wars. ... Ehud Barak (Hebrew: אֵהוּד בָּרָק) (born Ehud Brog on February 12, 1942) is an Israeli politician, former Prime Minster, and current Minister of Defense and leader of Israels Labor Party. ... A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. ... The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) (Arabic: ;   or Munazzamat al-Tahrir al-Filastiniyyah) is a multi-party confederation and is the organization regarded since 1974 as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. ... Location in the Republic of Lebanon Coordinates: , Governorate Government  - Mayor Abdel Mounim Ariss[1] Area  - City 100 km² (31 sq mi) Population (2005)  - City 1,574,397  - Metro 1,792,111 Time zone +2 (UTC)  - Summer (DST) +3 (UTC) Website: City of Beirut This article is about the Lebanese city. ... Operation Spring of Youth took place on the night of April 9 and early morning of April 10, 1973. ... James Barry (1795 – 25 July 1865) was a surgeon in the British Army. ... An intersexual is a person (or individual of any unisexual species) who is born with genitalia and/or secondary sexual characteristics of indeterminate sex, or which combine features of both sexes. ... Jacob van Artevelde (± 1295 - 1345), known as the Wise Man, Flemish statesman and political leader, was born in Ghent of a wealthy commercial family. ... Angelique Brulon served from 1792-1799 in defense of Corsica. ... Hazel Carter During World War I, Hazel Carter of Douglas, Arizona stowed away on a ship to France to stay with her soldier husband. ... Ann Chamerlyne was a female tar who joined her brothers ship crew in 1690 and fought the French at Beachy Head. ... Pauline Cushman (1833 - December 7, 1893), a New Orleans born actor, served as a Union spy in the American Civil War. ... For the U.S. politician, see Charles E. Stuart Bonnie Prince Charlie Charles Edward Louis Philip Casimir Stuart (December 31, 1720 – January 31, 1788), was the exiled claimant to the thrones of Ireland, commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie. Charles was the son of James Francis Edward Stuart, the Old... Flora MacDonald (Gaelic: Fionnghal MacDonald) (1722 – March 4, 1790), Jacobite heroine, was the daughter of Ranald MacDonald of Milton on the island of South Uist in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, and his wife Marion, the daughter of Angus MacDonald. ... Charles Edward Stuart Bonnie Prince Charlie Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Silvester Maria Stuart (December 31, 1720 – January 31, 1788), was the exiled claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and was commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie. ... Combatants British Army Jacobites Commanders William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland Charles Edward Stuart, the Young Pretender Strength 8,000 ca. ... The Old Man of Storr, Skye The Isle of Skye, usually known simply as Skye (Scottish Gaelic: An t-Eilean Sgiathanach) is the largest and most northerly island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. ... // Events Catharine de Ricci (born 1522) canonized. ... Nadeshda Durova in officers uniform Nadezhda Andreyevna Durova (Russian: ) also known as Alexander Durov, Alexander Sokolov and Alexander Andreevich Alexandrov (1783, Kiev - March 21, 1866, Yelabuga ) was a woman who became a decorated soldier in the Russian cavalry during the Napoleonic wars. ... Edmondson as Franklin Thompson Sarah Emma Evelyn Edmundson Seelye (December 1841 – September 5, 1898), was a Canadian-born woman who lived to be about 56 and is known for serving with the Union Army in the American Civil War. ... The 21st Michigan Infantry, a company of Shermans veterans. ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Catalina de Erauso was a Basque woman, daughter and sister of soldiers from the city of San Sebastian, 1592. ... Jacqueline, Countess of Hainault and Holland Jacoba of Bavaria or Jacqueline of Wittelsbach (1401 – 1436, Dutch: Jacoba van Beieren, French: Jacqueline de Bavière) was Duchess of Bavaria-Straubing, Countess of Hainaut and Holland from 1417 to 1432. ... The Hook and Cod wars (Dutch: Hoekse en Kabeljauwse twisten) comprise a series of wars and battles in Holland between 1350 and 1490. ... Phoebe Hessel disguised herself as a man and fought as a soldier in the West Indies with her lover, Samuel Golding. ... For other uses, see Joan of Arc (disambiguation). ... Combatants France Castile Scotland Genoa Majorca Bohemia Crown of Aragon Brittany England Burgundy Brittany Portugal Navarre Flanders Hainaut Aquitaine Luxembourg Holy Roman Empire The Hundred Years War was a conflict between France and England, lasting 116 years from 1337 to 1453. ... Joanna of Flanders (1295 - 1374) was consort Duchess of Brittany by her marriage to John IV, Duke of Brittany. ... Hennebont is a commune in western France (in the historic region of Brittany), in the Morbihan département,. It is situated about ten miles from the mouth of the Blavet, which divides it into two parts: the Ville Close, the medieval military town, and the Ville Neuve on the left... Dorothy Lawrence secretly posed as a man. ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... This article is about a person named Hua Mulan who might be historical or fictional. ... Deborah Sampson Gannett (December 17, 1760 - April 29, 1827) was the first known American woman to impersonate a man in order to join the Army and take part in combat. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... Hannah Snell (1723-1792) was an Englishwoman who took a mans role to become a soldier. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... The Royal Marines (RM) are the marines and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service [2]. They are also the United Kingdoms amphibious force and specialists in mountain and Arctic warfare. ... Cathy Williams (1844 - 1892) was the first recorded African American female to serve in the United States Army. ... Mary Anne Talbot (1778-1808) was an Englishwoman who wore a male dress and became a sailor during the Napoleonic wars. ... Ecaterina Teodoroiu (January 16, 1894 - August 22, 1917) was a Romanian woman who fought and died in World War I, and is regarded as a heroine. ... Kelly Elizabeth Braadt (1991-2010) was a US woman who, according to her own account, took part in the American Civil War disguised as a male soldier named Harry T. Buford and served the Confederacy as a double agent. ... Joanna Å»ubr (ca. ... Muhammad Abdul Aaziz, is a Pakistani cleric, son of Maulana Muhammad Abdullah and elder brother of Abdul Rashid Ghazi. ... For the Lal Masjid of Delhi, see Lal Masjid, Delhi The Lal Masjid The Lal Masjid (Urdu: لال مسجد; translated: Red Mosque) is a mosque located in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total...

In popular culture

• The Lord of the Rings — Éowyn, the White Lady of Rohan, pretends to be a man and slips off to combat the forces of Mordor.
• All the Queen's Men — a 2001 comedy set during WWII with cross-dressing as a central plot device.
• Blackadder Goes Forth - several characters crossdress in one episode, Major Star.
• Terry Pratchett's novel Monstrous Regiment is a satirical look at this phenomenon.
• The Last of the Blonde Bombshells is a comedic film in which one of the main characters crossdresses to avoid military service during World War II.
• I was a Male War Bride is a comedy where the male French officer, played by Cary Grant, must dress like a woman to return as a war bride of his American military wife.
• One of the running gags of the TV series M*A*S*H is Klinger's attempts to get discharge from military service by crossdressing.
• In the Futurama episode "War Is the H-Word," Leela disguises herself as a man to join a male-only army and protect her enlisted friends.
• In the Disney film Mulan, which is based on the story of Hua Mulan, Mulan dresses as a male to save her father.
• In Tamora Pierce's The Song of the Lioness quartet of books, Alanna of Trebond disguises herself as a boy named Alan and goes to be trained in place of her twin brother in order to become a royal knight, a position only given to noble-born boys. Over the course of the four books, and others in the Tortall Universe, Alanna proceeds to fight for the kingdom as an accomplished knight both before and after the discovery of her true gender.
• Genesis Climber Mospeada was perhaps the first anime series to feature a regular crossdresser amongst the main protagonists. Yellow Belmont, a former soldier, crossdressed to avoid anti-soldier reprisals by the Imbit and others, and eventually became an accomplished pop singer. During the course of the series, Yellow would cross-dress to hold concerts, enabling his soldier comrades to procure much needed supplies for their war against the Imbit. Yellow had many fans of his music; none outside of his circle of friends realized he was a man until he revealed it to the public during the final episode of Mospeada.
• H. E. Bates's novel The Triple Echo is about a World War II army deserter who cross-dresses to avoid arrest. This was made into a film in 1972.