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Auction: 19002 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 5

Sold by Order of a Direct Descendant

Waterloo 1815 (William Benson, 7th Regiment Hussars.), fitted with replacement clip and ring suspension, light pitting and one or two heavy edge knocks, very fine, housed in an old cloth-covered case with mother of pearl button-push

William Benson served with the 7th Hussars and would likely have been present when the Regiment attended the Corn Riots of 1814 which broke out in Brighton. Returned to the continent, he would have been in the action at Genappe before seeing hot action at Waterloo, as recalled by Lieutenant O'Grady in the Regimental History:

‘At daybreak on the 18th we were ordered to the extreme right of the army. We were close to the road where the hardest fighting was and had the opportunity of seeing almost the whole of this tremendous battle. In every fight I had ever seen we had acted on the offensive, but here we were attacked by double our force; we maintained our position until five or near six in the evening, repulsing every effort to break our lines and covering the field with dead.

The 7th had an opportunity of showing what they could do if they got fair play, and we charged 12 or 14 times and once cut off a Squadron of Cuirassiers every man of whom we killed on the spot except the two officers, whom one Maréchal de Logis I sent to the rear….’

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Sold for
£1,300