Claire Lacombe

Claire Lacombe was an actress who traveled around France in the late 1700's entertaining at castles and country houses until she'd had a bellyful of aristocrats and decided to join the revolution in Paris. Nicknamed "Red Rosa," Lacombe helped to storm the royal palace known as the Tuileries on August 10, 1792.  Because a gun shot wound through the arm didn't stop her from fighting, from then on, she was known as "the heroine of August 10th."

Her frequent attendance at gatherings of the highly revolutionary Cordelier's Club would likely have brought her into contact with most of the angriest of those who wanted a re-distribution of the power and the wealth. Among them was Pauline Leon, with whom Lacombe founded the Society of Revolutionary Republican Women (in-your-face women all), who demanded, among other things, that women should not only be allowed to vote, but also be armed to protect their homes and allowed to enlist in the army.

During the Reign of Terror, Lacombe was imprisoned for sixteen months and considered enough of a problem that she was moved over and over to avoid her organizing other prisoners or managing an escape.  When she was released in August of 1795, she disappeared.  Supposedly.  Ha!