Random Coolest Statues And Monuments Dedicated To Female Warriors (13 items)

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  (#1) Joan of Arc

  • Dec. at 19 (1412-1431)

  Joan of Arc began her life as little more than an uneducated peasant, and she ended up one of the most beloved heroes of French history. Joan lived during the Hundred Years War, a harsh period of conflict between France and England. Although uneducated, Joan was a devout Catholic. At the age of 13, she began hearing disembodied voices that urged her to beat back the English invaders and expel them from France once and for all.

  Although she'd never fought a day in her life, Joan was granted an audience with Prince Charles of Valois. She convinced him to give her an army so that she could retake the city of Orléans, and her campaign ended in miraculous success. Unfortunately, Joan was eventually captured by English forces and slain at the age of 19. Her martyrdom inspired French forces for decades to come, and she was officially sainted in 1920 by Pope Benedict XV.

  A 15-foot, gilded bronze monument to Joan of Arc was completed in 1890 by French artist Emmanuel Frémiet . It can be found at the center of the Place des Pyramides in Paris, France.
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  (#2) Sri Suriyothai

  There are few people in history who have gone out in a cooler fashion than Queen Suriyothai. She ruled with her husband, King Maha Chakkraphat, over the kingdom of Ayutthaya in modern day Thailand. In the 16th century, Ayutthaya was thrust into a bitter conflict against Burmese invaders. When King Chakkraphat left his throne to command his troops, Suriyothai disguised herself as a soldier and followed her husband into combat.

  During a major engagement, King Chakkraphat fell and was nearly slain, but Suriyothai intervened and saved his life. Riding a war elephant, she charged forward and got between her husband and his attackers. The king was able to flee, but Suriyothai fought ferociously until her unfortunate demise. Her bravery is commemorated by a massive memorial outside Ayutthaya.
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  (#3) Jhalkaribai

  • Dec. at 60 (1830-1890)

  Jhalkari Bai was an Indian warrior and royal advisor remembered for her fierce military acumen and skill. Though lacking an academic education, she was trained in combat and horsemanship from a very young age. She gained a reputation as a force to be reckoned with, and stories tell of her fighting wrongdoers and even slaying a tiger.

  Bai would eventually marry Puran Singh, a soldier in the royal army of Queen Rani of Jhansi. Her marriage to Singh ultimately led her to the queen, who was shocked at how similar in appearance Jhalkari was to her. After hearing tales of Jhalkari's feats, the queen invited her to join the women's royal army.

  In 1857, a series of revolutions swept through India with the goal of expelling the British from the subcontinent. British forces marched on Jhansi the next year, and Jhalkari led an army of 4,000 in defense of a strategic fort. Queen Rani was forced to flee as the engagement began to unfold in favor of the British, but Jhalkari decided to dress as the fleeing queen and continue the battle on her own. This gave the real queen more time to escape, and Jhalkari fought her way into the British encampment and demanded to speak with the leadership.

  Fooled by her impersonation, the British spent a full day discussing terms with her before they realized the truth. It is unclear exactly what happened to Jhalkari afterward, but sources indicate that she survived the ordeal. In 2001, a statue was raised in her honor in the city of Gwalior.
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  (#4) Jeanne Hachette

  Jeanne Hachette was a French folk hero who seriously lived up to her name. The surname Hachette was actually a nickname given to her after she led a contingent of French women to liberate the besieged city of Beauvais. The women, armed with swords and hatchets, successfully ousted the 300 Burgundian soldiers in a surprise maneuver and managed to liberate the city. Jeanne was celebrated as a French hero, especially after word got out about her personal achievements in battle.

  During the engagement, Jeanne spotted a Burgundian soldier planting a flag atop the battlements. Enraged, Jeanne went after him with her axe, and eventually threw his body down into a moat. She personally ripped the flag from the battlements, giving her soldiers a symbolic victory and boosting their morale for the rest of the fight.

  Jeanne was personally rewarded by King Louis XI for her valor, and he allowed her to marry whatever man she saw fit. She chose her lover Colin Pilon, and the two were offered a lifelong tax exemption as an additional reward. Today, you can find a statue of Jeanne Hachette in the very town that she liberated.
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  (#5) Boudica

  Boudica was a mighty warrior, and one of the most famous heroes in British folklore. She was the queen of the Celtic Iceni tribe and a revolutionary who fought during the Roman incursion and occupation of Great Britain. She was responsible for the slayings of 70,000 Roman loyalists in Briton, through her successful campaigns against the cities Camulodunum, London, and Verulamium.

  Boudica's revolution began shortly after her kingdom was annexed by Rome in the year 60 CE. The Romans publicly flogged Boudica and defiled her two virgin daughters, leading her to swear this oath of vengeance: “Nothing is safe from Roman pride and arrogance. They will deface the sacred and will deflower our virgins. Win the battle or perish, that is what I, a woman, will do.”

  While Boudica's revolution saw many successes, she was ultimately defeated on the battlefield. Thousands of years after her passing, Boudica lives on as a symbol for justice and a hero of the British people. A great statue of Boudica and her daughters can be found at Westminster Bridge.
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  (#6) Rudrama Devi

  Rani Rudrama-Devi ruled the Kakatiya kingdom from 1262-1289 and holds a special place in Indian history. She is one of the few women to rule as queen by inheriting the throne from her father.

  Female rulers were extremely uncommon in the region, so Rani often dressed like a man in public and even used the male variant of her name. She chose to rule under the title of King, not Queen, and added vast territories to her kingdom via conquest. Near the end of her rule, she became locked in a conflict with a rebel chief and is thought to have ultimately fallen against his forces.

  Rudrama-Devi is remembered as one of India's greatest leaders, and there are multiple statues and monuments dedicated to her memory.
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  (#7) The Trung Sisters - Statue In Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

  Sisters Trung Trac and Trung Nhi were born sometime around 1 CE to a Vietnamese military general. At the time, Northern Vietnam was under the control of the Han Chinese Empire. However, while it was strictly forbidden for women to be soldiers in Han China, Vietnam had no such restrictions. This partly explains how the Trung sisters were able to rally an army of 80,000 warriors after the Chinese executed Trung Trac's husband.

  The soldiers, many of whom were women, followed Trung Trac as their new queen. The two sisters led their armies atop elephants, fighting the Chinese for years before eventually being defeated on the battlefield. While the Trung sisters perished fighting for their country, their memory has long endured.

  Unfortunately, the monument pictured above was wiped out in the 1963 coup of Vietnamese President Ngô Đình Diệm.
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  (#8) Anne Bailey

  • Dec. at 83 (1742-1825)

  Ann Bailey first moved to America in 1761, a time when much of the country was nothing but vast wilderness. After her husband was slain in 1774, Bailey took the opportunity to become who she always wanted to be: a frontier woman.

  Bailey began dressing like a man and trained in both riflery and tomahawk combat. In short time, she became a legend of the frontier. She served as a messenger in the Revolutionary War and, at times, as a spy and a scout.

  Bailey's most famous feat was at the battle of Fort Lee, where she and a host of settlers faced off against an army of Native Americans. After the settlers ran out of gunpowder, Bailey volunteered to ride through the opposing army to fetch more. After three days and 100 miles, she returned with the gunpowder. This, along with her many other exploits, earned her the nickname "Mad Ann." Today, you can find a statue of Ann Bailey at the Fort Pitt Museum.
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  (#9) Nakano Takeko

  • Dec. at 21 (1847-1868)

  1868 was a hard time in Northern Japan. A new emperor had recently ascended to power via coup, and the Aizu clan was strongly opposed to his rule. Roughly 3,000 Aizu warriors fought against an Imperial army 30,000 strong. The final engagement took place at Wakamatsu castle, where an Onna-bugeisha woman warrior made history.

  Nakano Takeko was a skilled warrior, trained as an Onna-bugeisha, or female samurai, from a young age. Female warriors were fairly uncommon at the time, and most of the women at Wakamatsu castle preformed jobs outside of combat during the assault. This was not the case for Nakano Takeko, however. She rallied a group of Onna-bugeisha warriors to march on the front lines of the conflict. Historians believe that as many as several hundred women joined her in combat, armed with naginata blades against the enemies' relatively high-tech devices.

  At least five imperial soldiers were felled at the tip of Nakano's blade, but she ultimately perished after taking a hit to the chest. Her last act was to ask her sister to remove her head, so the enemy could not keep her body as a trophy. She was interred as a hero at the Aizu Bangmachi temple, where her grave and a monument to her life can still be found.
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  (#10) Fu Hao

  The legendary Lady Fu Hao is believed to be the first female general in Chinese history, serving under the Shang king as both a military officer and a shaman. Fu Hao was also the wife of the king and acted as one of his most trusted advisers. Archaeologists have found bone fragments from oracles with etchings that describe some of Fu Hao's military campaigns against rival tribes like the Tu, Ba, Yi, and Qiang.

  When Fu Hao's tomb was excavated, archaeologists unearthed a vast horde of treasures buried alongside her. The haul included over 100 weapons, 750 jade, and roughly 2,000 artifacts in total, signifying just how respected Fu Hao was in her own time. A giant statue depicting Fu Hao can be found at the site of her tomb. 
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  (#11) US Women Veterans Memorial - Statues In Las Cruces, NM

  It wouldn't be until 2016 that the United States military finally opened all combat positions to women, but women have been fighting for the US since the Revolutionary War.

  Women played a multitude of roles in US military operations, primarily as military nurses. WWII saw the creation of the first Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, thanks in no small part to US representative Edith Nourse Rogers (MA). From that point onward, women began serving in various roles on the battlefield, including as artillery specialists and mechanics.

  In March 2018, a monument to all American women veterans was established in Las Cruces, New Mexico. It was one of only two of its kind in the country, and showcases the evolution of women in combat from WWI to the modern Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Six life-size statues represent the contributions of women to the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Army National Guard.
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  (#12) Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba

  • Dec. at 80 (1583-1663)

  Queen Nzinga Mbande was the ruler of two nations, Ndongo and Matamba, which existed in the region now known as Angola. She was born in Ndongo sometime around 1581, a time of military struggles and colonization in her country. The Portuguese had just arrived and were looking for a new source of slaves to send to Brazil after being muscled out of other African territories by European rivals. The years that followed were chaotic, filled with combat, truces, and turbulent political infighting among the Ndongo royal family.

  Queen Nzinga was the daughter of the former king and rose to power shortly after his passing. She successfully negotiated with the Portuguese to establish Ndongo as an independent monarchy, but the Portuguese broke the terms less than a year later. They began enslaving her people once again, so she organized an armed revolt. Nzinga was eventually pushed out of her country into the land of Matamba, only to conquer this new country and become its queen. She then allied with the Dutch and other African powers to resist the Portuguese occupation of Ndongo. She fought a non-stop conflict with them for 30 years.

  Nzinga fought for her people until her passing at 82. In 2002, a massive statue of Nzinga was erected in the country's capital.
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  (#13) New York State Women Veterans Memorial - Statues In Albany, NY

  Over 60,000 of the 1.2 million women veterans in the United States live in New York, and a monument was dedicated to those veterans in 1998. In a truly savage move, the New York State Women Veterans Memorial features an 8-foot-tall Lady Liberty standing on top of the English crown.

  This was designed to represent the role women played in the Revolutionary War, and all American engagements since. Depictions of female veterans from various eras appear on either side of Liberty herself. 

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