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Auction: 23003 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 17

Military General Service 1793-1814, 10 clasps, Talavera, Busaco, Fuentes D'Onor, Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz, Salamanca, Vittoria, Nivelle, Nive, Toulouse (John Killeen, 88th Foot.), heavy bruise over first ‘e’, suspension a little slack, generally good fine, possibly better

Provenance:
Dix Noonan Webb, July 2020.

John Killeen served with the famous 'Connaught Rangers' for almost the entire duration of the Peninsular War - from Talavera in 1809 to Toulouse in 1814. The Battle of Bussaco (27 September 1810) was an especially hard-fought engagement for the battalion: along with the 45th (Nottinghamshire) Regiment of Foot they performed an exceptional bayonet charge against overwhelming numbers of French troops, causing their enemy to flee back down the slope up which they had just advanced - but at a cost of 134 men killed and wounded which, along with the 45th Foot, were the highest casualties suffered by any British regiments that day.
After the charge Sir Arthur Wellesley personally congratulated the commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel John Wallace, with the words: 'Wallace, I never saw a more gallant charge than that just now made by your regiment.' This occasion was subsequently depicted in a painting by the famous military artist and illustrator Richard Caton Woodville. It is worth noting that Killeen's medal, with this number and combination of clasps, appears to be a unique entitlement to the 88th Foot.

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Sold for
£4,800

Starting price
£2800