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Two Day Fine Militaria Online Only Auction (79) 20/10/21 11:30 AM Closed

Starts Ending 20/10/21 11:30 AM CEST

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Lot 2The Field Officers Gold Medal for Corunna 1809 Awarded to Major William Williams 81st Regiment of Foot, Wounded Multiple Times During the Peninsular War and Served with the 13th Regiment of Foot in North America During the War of 1812

The Field Officers Gold Medal for Corunna 1809 Awarded to Major William Williams 81st Regiment of Foot, Wounded Multiple Times During the Peninsular War and Served with the 13th Regiment of Foot in North America During the War of 1812
The Field Officers Gold Medal for Corunna 1809 Awarded to Major William Williams 81st Regiment of Foot, Wounded Multiple Times During the Peninsular War and Served with the 13th Regiment of Foot in North America During the War of 1812, medal named in the correct style “MAJOR WILLIAM WILLIAMS 1ST BN 81ST “. Period repair to the suspension, complete with the original lunettes and ribbon with gold ribbon buckle. Remains in good condition. Sir William Williams K.C.B., K.T.S. 1776 – 1832. He purchased his ensigncy in the 54th Regiment in 1792, during the 2 years following he served in the Low countries under the Duke of York. Promoted to Lieutenant in Sept 1793 he proceeded to the West indies where he was wounded during the action at St. Vincent. In 1796 he was a Captain and returned to the British Isles to help suppress the rebellion in Ireland. He then went to Egypt under Sir Ralph Abercromby and was said to have been the first soldier to land in Egypt and was involved in every action. In 1802 he was Brevet Major being given a substantive rank in the 81st 2 years later. Wounded for the second time at Corunna, he then participated in the expedition to Walcheren and in November 1809 he was posted to 5/60th as Lieut.-Colonel. Wounded twice at Bussaco, once a Fuentes D’Onor and after being wounded for the 6th time at Salamanca he transferred to 13th Regiment stationed in North America being involved in the fighting at Lake Champlain and Plattsburg. At St.Johns, New Brunswick he was in command of the advanced posts on the Richelieu river when the attack by the American General Wilkinson was repulsed. In 1815 he became a K.C.B. and became a Major General in 1830 dying at home in Bath 2 years later. For his service at Corunna, Fuentes D’Onor, Cuidad Rodrigo, Badajoz and Salamanca he was awarded the Army Gold Cross with 1 clasp. In 1813 he received the Portuguese Order of the Tower and Sword. Major William Williams arrived in Spain with 2/81st as part of Sir David Baird Contingent when they landed at Corunna between the 13th and 26th October 1808. Baird’s troops joined with Moore’s main force on 20th December. Lieutenant General Sir John Moores victory at Sahagun on 21st December 1808 had confirmed the position of the British army in Spain and caused Napoleon to redirect the majority of his forces away from recently captured Madrid to pursue the British in an attempt to block their access to the coast (and the possibility of escape). Realising he was severely outnumbered, with Napoleon having some 250,000 troops at his disposal and his having beaten the Spanish army, Sir John Moore realised that his only option was to ‘run for it’ back to the coast to escape by sea. Thus, on 25th December the British army began its retreat over 250 miles of inhospitable mountainous terrain through snow and ice continually being harried by the advancing French troops. It is estimated that the British Army lost some 5000 men during the retreat. The main body of the British army arrived at Corunna on the 11th of January 1809 to find that only 26 of the 270 transport ships had arrived with the rest being delayed at Vigo due to contrary winds. Moor took the opportunity to re-equip his army with the 5000 muskets and ammunition taken from the stores at Corunna, the remaining munitions of almost 12,000 barrels of powder and 300,000 musket cartridges in 2 magazines were destroyed in massive explosions on 14th January to prevent then being captured by the French. On the same day the ships arrived in the harbour and Moore began to embark the troops starting with artillery and cavalry. To cover the embarkation Moore had selected a defensive position on a ridge of high ground approximately 2 miles south of Corunna. On 15th January Marshal Soult manoeuvred his forces onto the higher ridges opposite. Moore deployed his army to face the French with Hopes Division on the left and Baird on the right. Soult planned to make his main thrust with Mermet’s division around the village of Elvina intending to turn Moores flank and roll up his line whilst the rest of the British line would be kept occupied by Merle and Delaborde’s Divisions. On the afternoon of the 16th January Moore, convinced there would be no action that day had just started to withdraw some of his troops so that they could embark when the French launched their attack. As the French batteries fired, two of Mermet’s brigades advanced toward the village of Elvina pushing back the picquets of the 4th and 50th Foot. The French 31me Léger approached the village in 2 columns whilst the 47me Line went to outflank the village on the left. Moore rode to the right flank and instructed the 4th to throw back their right wing to protect against the encircling movement, meanwhile Baird had ordered the 42nd forward to counterattack. The 50th then advanced against the 31me Léger’s left column the fighting that followed was confused with the Battalion becoming broken up into small groups and the 50th was ordered to withdraw leaving the village in French hands. Baird’s Divisional reserves, the 1st Foot Guards, were called up and the 42nd believing they were being relieved started to withdraw until Moore intervened to prevent this. Soon after Moore fell from his horse with a mortal wound having been struck on the shoulder by a round shot. The fighting in Elvina continued until dusk, Mermet fed in his reserves, the reinforced British still could not fully eject the French from the village. Merle tried to support the French in the village by advancing his left wing toward the village, but this was countered by Manningham who advance the 1st and 81st down the slope to attack the flank of the 4me Léger. The French turned to meet the attack and a desperate fight lasting 2 hours followed with Merle supporting his men with the 2me Léger. The 81st suffered considerable casualties and had run out of ammunition, they were then replaced by the 59th. After a further advance by Merle on the right flank the French withdrew. As darkness fell at 6.00pm the fighting ceased across the whole battlefield without either side having made any territorial advantage. During the fighting the 81st suffered 30 dead and 133 wounded of which Major William Williams was one. Later that evening the British army began to withdraw from its positions leaving campfires and picquets to conceal their departure. The embarkation continued through the night and it wasn’t until 8am the following day that the French realised the British had retired and so advanced on the town. The last rear-guard left the town on January 18th with the Spanish garrison waiting until the fleet was at sea before surrendering. The fleet embarked some 26,000 men over the 5 days. Categories: Medals
Estimate:
Lot closed - Winning bid:£20,000
Estimate: £14,000 - £16,000
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