Jeremiah Healy, 5th Foot, whose nine clasps represent a unique combination to the regiment

Military General Service 1793-1814, 9 clasps, Roleia, Vimiera, Corunna, Talavera, Busaco, Fuentes D’Onor, Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz, Salamanca (Jeremiah Healy, 5th Foot) good very fine £2500-3000

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Collection of Napoleonic War Medals.

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Provenance: Sotheby 1880; Spink, November 1972.

Unique combination of clasps to the regiment. Two officers and 14 men received the clasp for Talavera, where they served with the 2nd Battalion of Detachments, composed mostly of men who were previously wounded or too sick to campaign or who had become separated from their parent units in the retreat to Corunna.

Jeremiah Healy was born in the Parish of St Barry’s, Cork, and enlisted there for the 5th Foot on 8 June 1807, aged 25, for unlimited service. He was discharged in the rank of Private on 24 November 1826, in consequence of chronic rheumatism and general impaired constitution from service in the West Indies and length of service. He had served a total service of 19 years 170 days, including 2 years 144 days in the rank of Sergeant, and served in the West Indies for 7 years from April 1819.

Sold with copied discharge papers.