1806.] 



Account of Frances Scanagatli. 



467 



of the fame regiment, who fliewed her 

 uncommon marks of humanity, atten- 

 tion, and kinrliiefs, in a country whore 

 fhc was quite a llranger. Here alfo ihe 

 had fome diAiculty to conceal her itx ; 

 for, being afreded with a general debility, 

 ihe was obliged to commit herfelf in all 

 ^:cr wants to the care of a foldier who 

 was her fervant, but who happily for her 

 was a young man of inch liniplicity, that 

 t\iC ran no riik from his penetration. 



She had fcarcely recovered, when, ha- 

 ving received notice that the Council of 

 War had transfcn-ed her to the regiment 

 of Bannat, fhe reported herfelf ready im- 

 mediately to join ; and, notwithftanding 

 the advice of her prefent Commander to 

 fufpend her journey until flic had futiici- 

 ently recruited her Ibrength, Ihe perliftcd 

 in undertaking it, and arrived on the 6th 

 of May, 1799, at Penezona, in the Ban- 

 nat, where the ftaffwere llationed. 



Some promotions were at this crllis 

 taking place in the regiment, and being 

 one oi the oldelt enfigns, flie expetted to 

 be pronioted to a lieutenancy, but was 

 no lefs furprized than hurt to fmd two 

 younger eniigns preferred to her. Being 

 iure of her ground, in lb far as to know 

 that the condudt-lill given in her fuvoiu- 

 by the regiments in whicli ihe had before 

 ■ferved had left not the fniallell room for 

 je()njach, notwithllanding her mild and 

 patient cliaracter ilie preiented very flrarp 

 lemonftjances, protelting that ihe ihould 

 be alliamed to continue to wear the uni- 

 form of the regiment, if it did not repair 

 ihe injury done her. In anfvver to this 

 reincinftrance ihe received a refcript of 

 the 13th of July, which entirelv latisfied 

 Jier, the regiment declaring that the niif.- 

 take proceeded from not having known 

 that Kniign Scanagatti had been transfer- 

 fed to it when the promotions were [iro- 

 pufed, but that they would not fail to 

 take the tirft opportunity of doing jullice 

 to his merit ; and in fuCt ihe obtiiiued a 

 Jieuteuancy on the lit of March Ibllow- 

 ing. 



8iie was now placed in the battalion 

 flf referve, which generally reniHins ni- 

 H( live in cantonment, and was thgu uri- 

 d'T tlie command of Lieutenant-Colonel 

 J-in-ie!d. But anxious to iharo in the 

 glory of the campaign, ilic folicited (o be 

 transferred to one of the batlallonsof the 

 Jame regiment which weie tlien acting 

 ii:;ain(l tlie enemy in Italy, and ihe was 

 ill confpqucnce a[ipoint'.'d to the fi\t!i, 

 then encamped on the iiKnmtaiiis to the 

 eud uf Geyon, wLicii ihe joined without 

 •eiuy. 



Here ilie v\ as encamped with her bat- 

 talion, commanded by Major Paulich, 

 and Iharp Ikirmiflies and actions more fre- 

 quently took place than at any other of 

 the ontpolls. She fought under that oi- 

 ricer particularly in two battles that took 

 place on the 14th and 15th of Decem- 

 ber, 1799, in the neighbourhood of Scoi- 

 fera, and at Torriglia, where flie had tlw 

 iatisfaction of penetrating (irlt into the 

 enemy's intrencherl redoubts, which tli« 

 enemy were then forced to abandon, but 

 which they retook next day, through the 

 i'uperiority of t"o»'ce with which they re- 

 newed the attack. 



In tliis unfortunate affair the brave 

 Alajor Paulich iieing feverely wounded 

 and made pnlon<;r, with u part of his 

 battalion, the main body of the atiny ia 

 that ncighbouriiood, under the command 

 of Cieneral Count de KJcnau, was oblig- 

 ed immediately to retire. Enlign Sca- 

 nagatti was then ordered to poll himfelf 

 at Barba Cielata, v.ith a linall detach- 

 ment, in order to cover the retreat on 

 that fide ; and on the 25th of the i'ame 

 month received orders to join the battar 

 lion lying at Cainpiano and Callelbardi, 

 dillriCts belonging to tlie Duke of Par* 

 ma. 



Captain Golubowilh, and after hiin 

 Captain Kliunowich, ilicceeded to the 

 command of the battalion, which, about 

 the end of February, 1800. was lent into 

 quarters at Leghorn. At this time Eniign 

 Scanagatti having been difpatched on re- 

 gimental buiinefs toA'enice, Mantua, and 

 Milan, had the lintisfaction to levint her 

 family in palling througli Cremona, of 

 which town her t'alher was then Intcnd- 

 ant. 



Here ilie itopt a day and two nights. 

 Her mother during all that time never 

 quitted her light ; and having remarked 

 in the morning, that, when dieiring, ihe 

 laced her clieil very flraightly, to etface 

 every exterior iign of her iex, and diat fo 

 Itroiig a coinprelilon had there already 

 produced a certain degree of mortifica- 

 tion and fou>c lividity, Madame Scana- 

 gatti sominunicftted her fears to her hul- 

 band, that their child would foon fall a 

 viitiin to a cancer if they delayed lou'- 

 ger obliging her to quit the fervica. 



The lather, from the moment the newfc 

 reached him that his daughter had intro- 

 duced herielf to the Ac-uiemy aj a boy, 

 Jiud never ceafcd to importune her to rii» 

 turn to the avocuiions of her lex, but at 

 the fame time carefully concealed this 

 tranfa^-lion of a ihughlerof whom he re- 

 f;civcd the moll lalJsfactory reports, and 



