Ulrika Eleonora Stålhammar
In 18th century Sweden a woman dared to defy both strict religious law and the customs of the day to serve in the Swedish army. Her name was Ulrika Eleonora Stålhammar who was believed to have been born in 1683 in the town of Svenarum. Her father was lieutenant colonel in the army which may have influenced her future career choice. But she may have also felt that being a woman, and the social roles that entailed, was not what she was truly meant to be.
As a young child, Stålhammar was always drawn to tasks that would normally be accomplished by men. She particularly enjoyed hunting. When her father and she and her five sisters were left with little money. Her sisters soon began to enter into marriages which would help them regain some of their lost fortunes. But this was not to be the case for Stålhammar. She dressed in her father’s clothes and made an attempt to enlist in the army. She was finally successful when on October 15, 1715, she became an artillerist under the name Vilhelm Edstedt.
Stålhammar, now Edstedt, served in the Kalmar region during the Great Northern War but never saw any real action. However, her conduct was such that she was promoted to the rank of corporal. During this time, she surprising fell in love with a female maid named Maria Lönnman in April 1716. Even after learning of her real gender, Maria decided to remain with Stålhammar. But Stålhammar’s sister Elisabet, when learning of this arrangement, declared that her sister had committed a “sin against the will of God.”
In 1726, Stålhammar left the army and shortly afterward, under pressure from her family, made a confession about her deception to the Swedish monarchy and asked for a pardon. Instead, Maria and Stålhammar were placed on trial. The charge was having “violated the order of God” by dressing as a man and marrying a person of the same sex. After a contentious trial, Stålhammar and Maria were both found guilty. However, due to some witness testimonies and that of the accused, the sentences were greatly reduced (the original penalty was death). Afterward, both women went to live quietly with Stålhammar’s relatives. Stålhammar passed away in 1733 but Maria continued on as a housekeeper until her death in 1761.
