 The National Guard had built and manned a circle of barricades and makeshift forts around the base of the butte.The garrison of one barricade, at Chaussee Clignancourt, was defended in part by a battalion of about thirty women, including Louise Michel, the celebrated "Red Virgin of Montmartre", who had already participated in many battles outside the city.She was seized by regular soldiers and thrown into the trench in front of the barricade and left for dead.