Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A French Cuirrassier's M.1807 Backplate.
Nine brass studs along the bottom edge and six around the neck. There is a musket ball hole on the lower right side. By the size of the hole it would be reasonable to assume that this was caused by a British musket ball. It would have carried with it into the wearer’s body the scraps of steel from the armour, plus material from the liner and his uniform, almost certainly killing him, good condition, apart from the bullet hole £360-£440

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Collection of Trafalgar and Waterloo relics.

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Collection

As the British Army had not faced French Cuirrasiers in the Peninsula, it would be reasonable to assume that this was brought back from Waterloo. See Waterloo Witnesses by K. Hughes for many mentions of Cuirrasiers armour and its being a very popular souvenir.