FRANCE/GB Cover Historic MILITARY LETTER 1815 *NAPOLEON* & NEY 95th Rifles A4H9
£4,555.00
GB Cover HISTORIC LETTER re *Marshall Ney* *Boney* *Duke of Wellington* NAPOLEONIC WARS ex Menin/Menen William Chapman Officer 95th Regiment Warwicks Atherstone WATERLOO 1815 QUATRE BRAS A4H9
EXCEPTIONAL NAPOLEONIC WARS historic letter written 27th March 1815 from "Menen/Menin" by William Chapman Officer of the British 95th Regiment. Addressed to his mother. WONDERFUL CONTENTS mentioning the "Boney" (NAPOLEON BONAPARTE) Marshall Ney, Wellington and the King of France. See our typed transcript in the images. VERY RARE THUS. Entire Letter. Some minor faults but overall Very Good/Fine for an item of this type & period. Please look at all the scans to help form your own opinion. NEW DISCOVERY BY SAMWELLS LTD in old-time lot. NEVER PREVIOUSLY OFFERED on the historical letter & manuscripts market.
WILLIAM CHAPMAN previously served as a Lieutenant of the 95th Regiment at BUASCO (1810) and was later wounded at QUATRE BRAS (16th June 1815) and served in the 1st Battalion at the BATTLE OF WATERLOO.
William Chapman was aged thirty-one on his first appointment to the Army, as an Ensign in the Leicester Militia, on 4 March 1806. He was promoted to Lieutenant on 6 April 1807, and granted a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 95th Foot on 4 April 1809, having volunteered from the Leicester Militia with 127 men:
‘We reached Hastings that same night where we found that the volunteering of the Leicester Militia (who were quartered there) had commenced, and that one hundred and twenty-five men and two officers had given their names to the 7th Fusileers, and these Adams and I determined to make change their minds in our favour if we could. The appearance of our Rifle uniform, and a little of Sergeant Adams’ blarney, so took the fancy of the volunteers, that we got everyone of them for the Rifle Corps, and both officers into the bargain... The names of these two officers were Chapman and Freere’ (Recollections of Rifleman Harris).
Chapman was promoted to 1st Lieutenant in March 1810, fought with the 95th at the battle of Busaco in September 1810, and was appointed to the Portuguese Service, as a Captain in the 1st Caçadores, in February 1811. He was wounded at Redinha on 12 March 1811 and left the Portuguese Service in February 1812. He next saw service with the 1st Battalion at the battle of Quatre Bras, where he was wounded on 16 June 1815. Chapman exchanged to half-pay of the Corps on 12 April 1819, and ‘Retired in consequence of wounds.’ He died at Leamington, Warwickshire, on 12 February 1854.
EXCEPTIONAL NAPOLEONIC WARS historic letter written 27th March 1815 from "Menen/Menin" by William Chapman Officer of the British 95th Regiment. Addressed to his mother. WONDERFUL CONTENTS mentioning the "Boney" (NAPOLEON BONAPARTE) Marshall Ney, Wellington and the King of France. See our typed transcript in the images. VERY RARE THUS. Entire Letter. Some minor faults but overall Very Good/Fine for an item of this type & period. Please look at all the scans to help form your own opinion. NEW DISCOVERY BY SAMWELLS LTD in old-time lot. NEVER PREVIOUSLY OFFERED on the historical letter & manuscripts market.
WILLIAM CHAPMAN previously served as a Lieutenant of the 95th Regiment at BUASCO (1810) and was later wounded at QUATRE BRAS (16th June 1815) and served in the 1st Battalion at the BATTLE OF WATERLOO.
William Chapman was aged thirty-one on his first appointment to the Army, as an Ensign in the Leicester Militia, on 4 March 1806. He was promoted to Lieutenant on 6 April 1807, and granted a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 95th Foot on 4 April 1809, having volunteered from the Leicester Militia with 127 men:
‘We reached Hastings that same night where we found that the volunteering of the Leicester Militia (who were quartered there) had commenced, and that one hundred and twenty-five men and two officers had given their names to the 7th Fusileers, and these Adams and I determined to make change their minds in our favour if we could. The appearance of our Rifle uniform, and a little of Sergeant Adams’ blarney, so took the fancy of the volunteers, that we got everyone of them for the Rifle Corps, and both officers into the bargain... The names of these two officers were Chapman and Freere’ (Recollections of Rifleman Harris).
Chapman was promoted to 1st Lieutenant in March 1810, fought with the 95th at the battle of Busaco in September 1810, and was appointed to the Portuguese Service, as a Captain in the 1st Caçadores, in February 1811. He was wounded at Redinha on 12 March 1811 and left the Portuguese Service in February 1812. He next saw service with the 1st Battalion at the battle of Quatre Bras, where he was wounded on 16 June 1815. Chapman exchanged to half-pay of the Corps on 12 April 1819, and ‘Retired in consequence of wounds.’ He died at Leamington, Warwickshire, on 12 February 1854.
In stock
| Brand | PTS |
|---|---|
| Year of Issue | Up to 1840 |
| Era | NAPOLEON |
| Quality | Used |
| Currency | Pre-Decimal |
| Grade | VG/F (Very Good/Fine) |
| Country/Region of Manufacture | United Kingdom |
| Topic | Historical Figures |
| Colour | Black |
