Madeleine de Verchères

Marie-Madeleine Jarret de Verchères was born in the seigneury of Verchères on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. On October 22, 1692, with her parents away in Montreal, the estate's wooden palisade was attacked by a war party of Mohawk warriors while laborers were working in the fields.

Fourteen-year-old Madeleine ran to the fort under fire, barred the gates, donned a soldier's hat, and took command of the defense, armed only with two elderly soldiers, an eighty-year-old man, and her two younger brothers. Firing cannons and shouting orders from different bastions to trick the attackers into believing the fort was heavily garrisoned, she held out for eight days until military relief arrived.