The Field Officer’s Small Gold Medal for the Pyrenees with Toulouse clasp awarded to Lieutenant-Colonel Martin Leggatt, 1st Battalion, 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment, late 50th (West Kent) Regiment. He saw action with the 50th Foot in the early stages of the Peninsula War in Spain, was present during the hard-fought retreat to Corunna in late 1808-1809, and afterwards served in Holland during the Walcheren Campaign. Soon afterwards he was taken on as A.D.C. by General Lumley in 1810, and after his promotion to Major in the 36th Foot he would lead the men of his Battalion in action against the French in the Pyrenees, and latterly, at the decisive Battle of Toulouse in 1814, comprising: Field Officer’s Gold Medal, 1808-14, for the Pyrenees with gold clasp for Toulouse (Major Martin Leggatt, 1st Bn. 36th Foot.), 34mm width, complete with gold suspension and gold ribbon buckle, a touch of light wear and a few minor hairlines to lunettes, otherwise about extremely fine. Lieutenant-Colonel Martin Leggatt (d.1830), of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, joined the 50th (West Kent) Foot as a Captain on 23 May 1805. In 1808 he travelled with his regiment to Gibraltar and then to Cadiz in May, before arriving in Portugal in July. During these early stages of the Peninsular War he took part in numerous engagements against the opposing French forces and travelled to Figueras, Obidos, Rolica, Vimeiro, Monte Sano, Villa Franca and Santarem. He also took part in in the hard-fought battle of Salamanca and during the subsequent rearguard action against Marshal Soult’s harrying French forces during the retreat to Corunna under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir John Moore, who was mortally wounded during the last of the fighting. After the evacuation of the British forces from Corunna on 17-18 January 1809, Leggatt served for a time during the ill-fated Walcheren campaign in the Netherlands in 1809, however he was soon after taken on to serve as Aide-de-Camp to Major-General Lumley which allowed him to return to service in Spain and France between October 1810 and September 1811. Major-General Sir William Lumley served on Wellington’s Staff in the Peninsula during this period, and owing to Captain Leggatt’s position as his A.D.C., Leggatt was duly present at the second siege of Badajoz in 1811. After this, during the opening stages of the Battle of Albuera, Lumley was placed in command of the Allied Cavalry by Sir William Beresford (as the previous commander, Long, was suspected of incompetence). In the subsequent fighting, in which presumably Leggatt took full part, Lumley’s Cavalry supported the flanks of Beresford’s main assault in the final stages of the battle. Following this, Lumley was again engaged in a cavalry action at Usagre, where two French cavalry regiments were deftly trapped and all but destroyed. Sadly, Lumley was forced to retire owing to ill health in September 1811, after which Leggatt received a promotion to Major in the 36th (Herefordshire) Foot on 30 January 1812, which returned him to frontline service. These experience under Lumley – a senior officer with a fighting reputation- no doubt prepared him for the hard fighting to come. Major Leggatt joined the 1st Battalion of the 36th Foot in July 1813, travelling to Falgosa de Medelina; Vittoria and Pamplona – at the latter of which the 36th saw its first real action against the opposing French forces. It was at the Battle of Sorauren (also called the Battle of the Pyrenees), however, on 30 July, that Leggatt himself assumed command of the Battalion as his senior officer Lieutenant-Colonel Ward proceeded with Captain Campbell’s Light Company. During the house-to-house fighting the British gained the upper hand and by 2.00pm Marshal Soult’s forces were defeated. For this, Ward, Campbell and Leggatt each received a gold medal for the ‘Pyrenees’ from the Prince Regent (as stated in Cannon’s ‘Regimental History of the 36th Foot’). After this battle, the 36th took part in the small engagement at Urdaz on 7 October, then as part of the 6th Division they took part in storming the main breastwork at Nivelle on 10 November. They proceeded to Nive, Bayonne, and then to Orthes, where another heavy defeat was inflicted upon the French. Marshall Soult retreated to a final stronghold at Toulouse, where the British forces surrounded and then attacked the fortified city on 10 April 1814. It was the 36th Foot who led the attack of the 6th Division, commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Clinton. It captured the ‘Mont Blanc’ area on the enemy’s right flank, turning it with great success and allowing the enemy’s redoubts and positions to be captured - but at significant cost. During the fighting, Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel Cross, the commanding officer of the 36th, was seriously wounded and was taken from the field, after which the battalion’s command devolved upon Major Leggatt, who pressed home the attack and helped to carry the day. The 36th bore the brunt of the British losses, and duly received special thanks in Wellington’s subsequent despatch. For his role in command of the 36th, Leggatt would receive the bar ‘Toulouse’ for his earlier gold medal. Major Leggatt was given the title of Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel on 21 June 1817, and appears to have retired to half-pay in 1821. On 14 May 1829 he married Elizabeth Grisdale, daughter of the Reverend B. Grisdale, Rector of Withington and Vicar of Chedworth, Gloucestershire. He died on 3 August 1830 at Charlton Kings, near Cheltenham.
Estimate: £18’000-22’000