Military General Service 1793-1814, 1 clasp, Egypt (J. Swanswick, Queen’s German Regt.) minor marks, otherwise extremely fine and unique to this regiment £2500-3000

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Collection of Napoleonic War Medals formed by the late R.W. Gould, M.B.E..

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Collection

Ex Eaton (later Cheylesmore) Collection 1880, sold 1930, and Usher Collection 1975.


In November 1798, when Charles Stuart captured Minorca the Spanish garrison included a ‘Swiss’ regiment, over 1,000 strong. These men, who were not Swiss at all but mainly Germans and Tyrolese, with a dusting of Hungarians, had been part of an Austrian army defeated in Italy and taken prisoners by the French in 1796. They were taken into British pay and service as the Minorca Regiment, which was included in the contingent which Abercromby took to Egypt in 1801. On 21 March 1801, at the battle of Aboukir, Private Antione Lutz of the Minorca Regiment captured the standard of the enemy 21st Demi-Brigade, known as the ‘Invincibles’. At the end of the campaign, during which the regiment had suffered over 200 casualties including its lieutenant-colonel who had been killed, in recognition of its fighting qualities the regiment’s titles was changed to the Queen’s German Infantry. In 1802 the corps was taken to England and in January 1805 it was brought into the Line as the British 97th Foot.

Just one officer and five men of the original Queen’s Germans claimed M.G.S. medals in 1848, but only Swanswick had the single clasp for Egypt, having seen no subsequent service in the Peninsula. His medal was consequently the only one to be named to the Queen’s German Regiment.