Hero of the US revolution ‘was a heroine’
A US general who fought the British alongside George Washington may have been a woman or ‘intersex’, a study shows.
An analysis of Casimir Pulaski’s bones shows the pelvis is the wrong shape to be a man – a female-like oval rather than heart-shaped.
Researchers believe Pulaski, who had a moustache, was unaware of his female side.
Pulaski, a Polish nobleman who saved Washington’s life in the 1777 Battle of Brandywine by leading him to safety, is known as one of the fathers of the American cavalry.
Forensic anthropologist Charles Merbs, of Arizona State University, said it was unlikely Pulaski ever thought he was female, just that ‘something was wrong’.
He added: ‘Back in those days, they just didn’t know.’