A scarce boxed Military General Service Medal 1793-1814, 1 Clasp: Corunna awarded to Private William Waring, 1st Battalion, Foot Guards – Grenadier Guards who saw service during the Peninsula War being present at the Battle of Corunna on 16th January 1809, the rearguard action of the British Army after their retreat across northern Spain where members of the 1st Foot Guards carried their commander Sir John Moore mortally wounded from the battlefield. Waring was later admitted as an outpatient to Chelsea Hospital due to insanity on 5th December 1811.
Military General Service Medal 1793-1814, 1 Clasp: Corunna; (W. WARING. 1ST FOOT GUARDS.), housed in its original scarce card box of issue with his name on the lid.
Condition: toned, Nearly Extremely Fine
Along with torn certificate for the admission of William Waring as an outpatient of His Majesty’s Royal Hospital, Chelsea on 5th December 1811.
William Waring was from Bolton, Lancashire and saw service as a Private with the 1st Foot Guards – Grenadier Guards during the Peninsula War in Spain and Portugal and was present during the Battle of Corunna on 16th January 1809.
The Battle of Corunna (or A Coruña, La Corunna, La Coruña or La Corogne), in Spain known as Battle of Elviña, took place on 16 January 1809, when a French corps under Marshal of the Empire Jean de Dieu Soult attacked a British army under Lieutenant-General Sir John Moore. The battle took place during the Peninsular War, which was part of the wider Napoleonic Wars.
Doggedly pursued by the French under Soult, the British retreated across northern Spain while their rearguard fought off repeated French attacks. Both armies suffered from the harsh winter conditions. Much of the British army, excluding the elite Light Brigade under Robert Craufurd, suffered from a loss of order and discipline during the retreat. When the British eventually reached the port of Corunna on the northern coast of Galicia, a few days ahead of the French, they found their transport ships had not arrived. The fleet arrived after a couple of days and the British were embarking when the French forces attacked.
Soult had fewer infantry, but superior cavalry and artillery; however, the local rough terrain was unfavorable for cavalry. The British had larger quantities of ammunition for muskets, as a result of which their fire would be much better sustained than that of the enemy. They also held an imposing defensive position based on the mountainous terrain that Spain is rich in. In the resulting action, the British held off the French until nightfall, when both armies disengaged. British forces resumed their embarkation overnight; the last transports left in the morning under French cannon fire. The port cities of Corunna and Ferrol, as well as northern Spain, were captured by the French. During the battle, Sir John Moore, the British commander, was mortally wounded, dying after learning that his men had successfully repelled the French attacks. Before being wounded, he managed to give important orders in time for strengthening the defensive line around the village of Elviña. General Sir John Hope soon took over command from the wounded Moore.
Waring would be admitted as an outpatient of His Majesty’s Hospital at Chelsea on 5th December 1811 having served for 8 years and 2 months having been discharged from the army due to insanity.
