The Secret of Kit Cavenaugh: A Remarkable Irishwoman & Soldier

Christian `Kit' Cavenaugh grew up around the army when her father joined King James at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. She owned her own pub when she married Richard Welsh, and was pregnant with their third child when he was press-ganged into the English army. Kit disguised herself as a man, enlisted and, leaving her children, set off to find him. She threw herself into a soldier's life and won praise for bravery. She was wounded three times before her secret was discovered. She finally came face to face with her husband in 1704, only to find him in the arms of a Dutch woman. After her death in 1739 she was buried with military honors. She was a remarkable woman who led an extraordinary life.