Thomas de Croismare (1779-1847) soldier, book-keeper, civil servant, musician

Thomas de Croismare was a lieutenant with Napoleon’s army at the Battle of Borodino 1812 outside Moscow (Bataille de la Moskova) the deadliest day of the Napoleonic Wars.

He was also present when Napoleon was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo 1815. de Croismare was wounded in the shoulder and the mouth.

With the creation of Belgium in 1830, de Croismare became a book-keeper, and later an employee at the Ministry of Finance, where he rose to a post of considerable trust.

He was noted for his playing of the violoncello, and for the attentions that he paid to women, although he never did marry.

He died at the age of 68. This resulted in an astonishment in that, when his body was being washed prior to interment, it was discovered that it was of the female type.

• “Life-Time Disguise of Sex” various newspapers May 1847. Reprinted in William Arthur. The Antiquarian and General Review, Vol 3, 1847: 264 Online; reprinted in The Western Literary Messenger, 1847: 354 Online; reprinted in the Port Tobacco Times, 13 May 1847 Online;