Rosie #1: Lin Siniang

Lin Siniang was a young concubine turned martial arts instructor & military leader in 1600s China.

Lin was born in 1629 to a poor family, but whose military father was well versed in combat and martial arts. He taught Lin how to use a sword and spear, as well as instructed her in martial arts. She quickly became a local legend, with people doubting her skills until they saw the then-SIX YEAR OLD kicking ass in person.

Sadly, due to ongoing conflicts both in and out of the country, Lin’s parents were killed when she was still young. Lin turned to sex work to support herself, working during the day, but still practicing her fighting skills at night in modern-day Nanjing. While practicing her combat skills, she was spotted by feudal lord Zhu Changshu, who supposedly fell in love with her beauty and brawn, but either way took her to his court to be his “princess” (more than likely his concubine since she was still very underage).

Problematic romances aside, Zhu Changshu DID ask Lin to pass on her martial arts and weaponry knowledge to the rest of the concubines within his court. He may have wanted the women to learn basic self-defense skills due to frequent attacks from hungry rebels. So Lin began instructing the other women in court–and probably because they weren’t allowed to leave the compound and didn’t have much else to do–they fell in love with it and quickly became an in-house all-female army

During one such rebel raid, Zhu was captured and taken prisoner, and Lin with her girl squad quickly ran into battle to rescue his ass (even though his underestimation of these rebel forces ultimately led to his capture).

More than likely, due to the timeline and regions involved, the rebel forces that captured Zhu were led by Li Zicheng, who would later totally overthrow the Ming dynasty and briefly establish the Shun dynasty .

Meanwhile, Lin & her forces ran into an overwhelmingly outnumbered battle, but fought ferociously and refused to surrender. In the beginning of the battle, the rebels were so confused by being attacked by women that Lin and her army were able to take out a significant number of their enemies.

The rebel forces were able to overtake Lin’s army, and she was eventually left as the last woman standing, refusing to surrender, fighting until she physically could no longer stand.

Upon his rescue and return to his feudal throne, Zhu honored Lin and the rest of the women died in the battle with a soldier’s burial. As they should.

References:

Rosie #2: Lucille Mulhall

Lucille Mulhall was America’s first cowgirl, nicknamed Queen of the Range & Champion Lady Steer Roper of the World.

Lucille was born October 21, 1885 in St. Louis Missouri. In 1889, her parents Zach and Agnes moved the family to Oklahoma territory, where Lucille would grow up on the family’s ranch in modern day Mulhall, Oklahoma.

Theodore Roosevelt apparently saw her ride on the family ranch and was tremendously impressed, earning her the nickname The Golden Girl of the West. There is also a legend that says Roosevelt told Lucille if she could rope a wolf he would invite her to the inaugural parade. 3 hours later she delivered on that bet.

Lucille was one of the first women to compete with men in roping and riding events. She was known as Rodeo Queen, Queen of the Saddle, and Queen of the Western Prairie.

In 1903, She won the $1,000 championship in Fort Worth earning her the title Queen of the range. She competed at the Calgary Stampede and won the title “Champion Lady Steer Roper of the World,” she was one of the stars of the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Wild West show, & she formed her own rodeo troupe in 1913. She then produced her very own rodeo in 1916.

Lucille is noted to have tremendous timing when roping, impeccable balance while on her horse. Another article noted that part of her popularity was because she was “diminutive” in size and had a “ladylike demeanor,” but was also authentic as she did have a true ranching background.

She retired from rodeo performing in 1922, back to the family ranch in Mulhall oklahoma.

Details on her personal life are a bit sparse, but here’s what we do know:

Lucille married Martin Van Bergen in 1908. He was a cowboy singer and together they had a son.
Later, she was married to Tom Burnett of the Four Sixes Ranch in Texas. they were married for 3 years

Lucille was killed in a car accident on December 21st 1940. One of her friends from childhood, Will Rogers, wrote that Lucille was “the direct start of what has come to be known as the cowgirl.”

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucille_Mulhall
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_Professional_Rodeo_Association
https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/womens-rodeo-world-championship-makes-history-in-fort-worth/2969674/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodeo
https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=MU006
https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/collections/awards/rodeo-hall-of-fame/inductees/5084/