Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria to include a Fine Collection of Napoleonic Medals

An original Peninsular War letter from Lieutenant & Captain Edward Harvey, Coldstream Guards, who, having been wounded at Fuentes D’Onor in May 1811, was killed in action at Burgos in October 1812, ink, four sides on a single folded sheet of white paper, and a single side on a new sheet of paper, folded to form the envelope addressed to his sister Louise, ‘Mrs. Lloyd’ at Oswestry, Salop, bearing a red wax seal and Plymouth stamp mark, dated at ‘Camp near Hornilles, Septr. 5th 1812’, in which, among other topics, he discusses the arrival of Wellington’s army in Madrid:

‘ ... the reception Lord Wellington with the British Army received at Madrid was the finest thing possible and must have been highly gratifying to Lord W’s feelings. He was received everywhere with the loudest exultations of joy and followed by immense crowds of Spaniards, women, children, altogether cheering him where ever he went. The town was illuminated for three successive nights and a Grand Ball given at Government House ... everything here is going on splendidly since the fort at Madrid surrendered to us ... we left El Escorial on the 30th of last month, have marched every day and I suppose we shall follow the French up close and attack them as soon as possible, they most probably will retreat to Burgos where they have a fort ... ’

in generally good condition £150-200

Edward Harvey, the son of an Admiral and M.P., was appointed an Ensign in the Coldstream Guards in May 1804 and advanced to Lieutenant & Captain in the 1st Battalion in August 1809. Present at Talavera, Busaco, Fuentes D’Onor (slightly wounded), Ciudad Rodrigo and Salamanca, he was killed in action at the siege of Burgos on 18 October 1812 - some six weeks after writing the above letter to his sister, Louise; an obituary notice appeared in The Gentlemen’s Magazine in February 1813.