Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

An original Napoleonic War letter from Captain W. G. Eliot, Royal Artillery, ink, four sides on a single sheet of white paper, folded to form the envelope addressed to his wife, ‘Mrs. Wm. Eliot, Majr. Genl. Mann’s, Plumstead, near Woolwich, England’, dated at ‘Bremen Bough, January 17th 1806’, the content discussing the poor local conditions and the lamentable weather:

‘ ... The country all round as far as you can see is inundated from violent rains. The only roads are raised about 3 feet above the water. The inhabitants in the neighbouring villages are often driven out in the winter, by the sudden rising of the water. Even now nothing is to be seen but a few cottages and trees peeping above the surface.’

two postal stamps and remnants of red wax seal, holed in one place but otherwise in generally good condition £100-150

William Granville Eliot was born in 1779, the eldest son of Francis Perceval Eliot, and was commissioned in the Royal Artillery as a 2nd Lieutenant in December 1796. Advanced to 1st Lieutenant in July 1799 and to 2nd Captain in July 1804, he served in the expedition to Bremen in 1806 and was also present in the Walcheren operations of 1809, including attack on Fort Lillo. Next actively employed in Portugal and Spain, he was present at the battle of Talavera in July 1809, when he took command of Captain Baynes’ Brigade after the latter had been wounded. He was advanced to 1st Captain in September 1810 and, having seen further action at the siege of Bergen op Zoom, was given the Brevet of Major in June 1814. Eliot, who published A Treatise on the Defence of Portugal, died in August 1855; sold with brief research.