Jemima Nicholas
Part of the reason why the USA is an independent country today is because in the late 18th Century, at the time of the Revolution, the whole of Europe was engaged in a power struggle. When the US rebelled against British rule, shortly after the other European nations of France, the Dutch Republic (now the Netherlands) and Spain felt they had an opportunity to end Britain's Global dominance. In the end, Great Britain had to give up its US colonies, as you all know.
But the tension in Europe remained, and indeed was heightened when shortly afterward the French people also rebelled against the aristrocracy there, ending the French monarchy. This forced Europe into yet another war, this time everyone (Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, Dutch Republic, Spain...) taking sides against France. Despite this alliance France was able, under Napoleon Bonaparte, to one-by-one defeat her enemies on mainland Europe, and by 1797 only Great Britain remained, and indeed Spain had allied with France.
From 1797 onwards, we enter the Napoleonic Wars of Britain against France. Names that hopefully you all know, such as Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson and Arthur Wellesley the Duke of Wellington, are the heroes of this war, winning battles at sea and on land and defeating Napoleon in 1815 at Waterloo (e.g. the Abba song, the London Underground Station).
What is less well-known is that in 1797, on February 22nd, some 1,400 French Troops landed at Fishguard in Wales. This caused mass panic and several villagers fled as the news spread across the countryside. In fact the invasion was doomed to failure because 800 of the invaders were assorted "riff-raff" that quickly deserted, leaving just 600 soldiers. In addition some of these soldiers were, shall we say, not in the best state when the British resistance started.
As a result the "invasion" came rapidly to a halt and the 600 troops surrendered on February 24th.
Jemima Nicholas at last appears in this tale because, unlike several of her fellow villagers who had fled, she instead stayed to fight. She grabbed a pitchfork, strode about the fields at night and found, rounded up and captured 12 of the French soldiers. This remarkable tale of courage in the face of overwhelming odds is so typical of British history, and this is one of my favourite examples of it.
Indeed, the "Battle of Fishguard" is the last time ever that foreign invaders have landed on British soil.
Today marks 255 years to the day since Jemima Nicholas was baptised.