Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria, to include the Brian Ritchie Collection (Part III)

Military General Service 1793-1814, 8 clasps, Talavera, Busaco, Albuhera, Vittoria, Pyrenees, Nive, Orthes, Toulouse (Thos. Patton, Serjt. 28th Foot) edge bruising, otherwise nearly very fine, the first clasp very scarce to the regiment £2000-2500

Just 20 clasps for Talavera to the 28th Foot, mostly to those men who had been left behind in hospital at Lisbon, who later formed part of the 1st Battalion of Detachments with the Army under Sir John Moore.

Thomas Patton was born in the Parish of Killaborn, near Ballyshannon, County Donegal, and enlisted into the 28th Regiment at Dublin on 10 September 1806, aged 24. He served 16 years 267 days and was discharged on 3 June 1823, in consequence of ‘being worn out in the service and his many wounds, also impaired vision of his right eye... conduct as a Soldier has been good and was wounded in the right shoulder on the 28th July 1809 Talavera (severely), thro’ the right knee 25th July 1813 at Mayo Heights, also in the head (slightly) on the 13th February 1814 at St Palais and the left arm (slightly) on the 18th June 1815 at Waterloo, when in action with the enemy.’

There is an amusing anecdote about Sergeant Patton, related by Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Cadell, in whose company Patton fought at Waterloo, in his Narrative of the Campaigns of the 28th Regiment, published in 1835. The incident referred to took place in January 1814, when the 28th were sharing picquet duty at the barrier between St Pierre and Bayonne:

‘About the middle of January, when the grenadier company were on this duty, a daring fellow, an Irishman, named Tom Patten, performed a singular feat. At the barrier there was a rivulet, along which our line of sentries was posted. To the right was a thick low wood, and during the cessation of hostilities, our officers had again become intimate with those of the French, and the soldiers had actually established a traffic in tobacco and brandy, in the following ingenious manner. A large stone was placed in that part of the rivulet screened by the wood, opposite to a French sentry, on which our people used to put a canteen with a quarter-dollar, for which it was very soon filled with brandy. One afternoon, about dusk, Patten had put down his canteen, with the usual money in it, and retired; but though he returned several times, no canteen was there. He waited till the moon rose, but still he found nothing on the stone. When it was nearing morning, Tom thought he saw the same sentry there who was there when he put his canteen down; so he sprang across the stream, seized the unfortunate Frenchman, wrested his firelock from him, and actually shaking him out of his accoutrements, recrossed, vowing he would keep them until he got his canteen of brandy, and brought them to the picquet-house. Two or three hours afterwards, just as we were about to fall in, an hour before day-break, the serjeant came to say that a flag of truce was at the barrier. I instantly went down, where I found the officer of the French picquet, in a state of great alarm, saying that a most extraordinary circumstance had occurred, (relating the adventure,) and stating, that if the sentry’s arms and accoutrements were not given back, his own commission would be forfeited, as well as the life of the poor sentry. A serjeant was instantly sent to see if they were in the picquet-house, when Patten came up, scratching his head, saying “he had them in pawn for a canteen of brandy and a quarter-dollar,” and told us the story in his way, whereupon the things were immediately given over to the French captain, who stepping behind, put two five-franc pieces into Patten’s hand. Tom however, was not to be bribed by an enemy; but generously handed the money to his officer, requesting that he would insist on the French captain taking the money back.’

‘The Frenchman was delighted to get the firelock and accoutrements back; and the joy of the poor fellow who was stripped of them may be conceived, as, if it had been reported, he would certainly have been shot by sentence of court-martial in less than forty-eight hours. Patten, however, was confined, and reported to Sir Rowland [Hill], and in a few days after he was tried, and sentenced by a court-martial to receive 300 lashes. The British regiments of the division were collected at the alarm-post, when Tom was brought out, and his sentence read, and Sir Rowland, in an excellent speech, addressed the man and regiments assembled, on the unprecedented crime of which he had been guilty, justly observing that the consequences of his imprudence might have cost the lives of thousands; but the General, being informed of his gallantry on many occasions from the passage of the Douro, and Talavera, was pleased to remit the sentence, to the great delight of everyone present.’

In July 1846, Patton sent a lengthy petition from Ballyshannon to “His Grace Arthur Duke of Wellington, Commander-in-Chief of all Her Majesty’s Forces,” in which he set out a statement of his services, including the expedition to Copenhagen in 1807 and campaign in Sweden in 1808, a total of 21 actions, which were fought in 33 days and nights, besides skirmishes innumerable.’ Patton, after relating several incidents concerning Talavera, the Douro, Toulouse and Waterloo, concluded, ‘Petitioner looks for no merit for himself but prays that the 28th, or Old Slashers, may wear the badges to which their gallantry entitles them and that a gratuity medal, with the number of actions fought by petitioner may be granted him and, as in duty bound petitioner will ever pray.’