A good Military General Service Medal 1793-1814, 4 Clasps: Albuhera, Vittoria, Orthes, Toulouse awarded to Private Thomas Handcock, 13th Light Dragoons who saw service in Spain and France during the Peninsula War where he would be present at the Battle of Albuhera on 16th May 1911, the Battle of Vittoria on 21st June 1813, the Battle of Orthes on 27th February 1814 and in the final Battle of the War, the Battle of Toulouse on 10th April 1814. 1 of 21 members of his unit to receive this clasp combination.
Military General Service Medal 1793-1814, 4 clasps: Albuhera, Vittoria, Orthes, Toulouse; (THOMAS HANDCOCK 13TH LIGHT DRAGOONS.)
Condition: light toning, minor contact wear, better than Very Fine
Thomas Handcock saw service as a Private with the 13th Light Dragoons in Spain and France during the Peninsula War and would be present at the Battle of Albuhera on 16th May 1911, the Battle of Vittoria on 21st June 1813, the Battle of Orthes on 27th February 1814 and in the final Battle of the War, the Battle of Toulouse on 10th April 1814.
20 men and 1 officer of the 13th Light Dragoons received this clasp combination.
The Battle of Albuhera saw heavy casualties. The 13th Light Dragoons were split in two, 2 Squadrons under Lieutenant Colonel Muter were ordered to defend a bridge and managed to prevent cavalry from crossing the river. The other 2 squadrons under Colonel Head were placed to keep in check a large body of cavalry. They were exposed to infantry musket fire and artillery for the duration of the battle.
The Battle of Vittoria would take place on 21st June 1813, after the 13th Light Dragoons had undergone a long march of 333 miles, Vittoria would see a battle between King Joseph Bonaparte’s French army of 62,000 and Wellington’s British/Portuguese army of 80,000. The city contained a large amount of booty and money for payment to French troops. The battle took place in the Zadora valley west of the city and the 13th were ordered to take up a position on high ground to the right of the great road outside the city. After the horse artillery had created gaps in the French line, the 13th started to charge but were hampered by concealed ravines crossing their path. The battle was being fought furiously, but the French had to pull back at first in an organised way and then as a rout. The 13th managed to capture Joseph’s baggage train which contained many wonderful items of treasure and furniture. The captain of the guard escorting the baggage was killed by Private Michael Sullivan. The battle was not yet over because they were fired upon by enemy skirmishers who had to be dealt with. But it was a complete victory for the allied army, and King Joseph and Marshal Jourdan had to flee on horseback, leaving their possession behind for the victors.
The Battle of Orthez (27 February 1814) saw the Anglo-Spanish-Portuguese Army under Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington attack an Imperial French army led by Marshal Nicolas Soult in southern France. The outnumbered French repelled several Allied assaults on their right flank, but their center and left flank were overcome and Soult was compelled to retreat. At first the withdrawal was conducted in good order, but it eventually ended in a scramble for safety and many French soldiers became prisoners. The engagement occurred near the end of the Peninsular War.
In mid-February, Wellington's army broke out of its small area of conquered territory near Bayonne. Moving east, the Allies drove the French back from several river lines. After a pause in the campaign, the westernmost Allied corps surrounded and isolated Bayonne. Resuming their eastward drive, the remaining two Allied corps pushed Soult's army back to Orthez where the French marshal offered battle. In subsequent operations, Soult decided to abandon the large western port of Bordeaux and fall back east toward Toulouse.
The Battle of Toulouse took place on April 10, 1814, just four days after Napoleon's surrender of the French Empire to the Sixth Coalition, marking one of the final conflicts of the Napoleonic Wars. Having pushed the demoralised and disintegrating French Imperial armies out of Spain in a difficult campaign the previous autumn, the Allied British-Portuguese and Spanish army under the Duke of Wellington pursued the war into southern France in the spring of 1814.
The city of Toulouse, the regional capital, put up a fierce resistance under the command of Marshal Soult, who defended it tenaciously. One British and two Spanish divisions were badly mauled in bloody fighting on 10 April, with Allied losses exceeding French casualties by 3,000. Marshal Soult retreated from Toulouse, leaving behind 1600 wounded soldiers including three generals.
Wellington's entry on the morning of 12 April was acclaimed by a great number of French Royalists, validating Soult's earlier fears of potential fifth column elements within the city. That afternoon, the official word of Napoleon's abdication and the end of the war reached Wellington. Soult agreed to an armistice on 17 April.
