Military General Service Medal 1793-1814, (4) clasps; Vittoria, Nivelle, Orthes, Toulouse
Correctly Impressed naming to : William Hennessey, 18th Hussars.
light edge bruising, otherwise nearly extremely fine
William Hennessey, by trade a Butcher, from Goran, Kilkenny, was discharged
from the Army and admitted on to the Chelsea Hospital pension list on 22nd
September 1814, having ‘Lost an eye from cold on duty in France in February
1814’. He was then aged 33.
The regiment landed at Lisbon in July 1808 for service in the Peninsular War. It fought at the Battle of Benavente in December 1808 and at the Battle of Cacabelos in January 1809 before taking part in the Battle of Corunna and the subsequent return to England later that month.
They were ordered to support Sir Arthur Wellesley's Army on the Iberian Peninsula and landed at Lisbon in February 1813. It saw action at the Battle of Morales in June 1813 and the Battle of Vitoria in June 1813. It went on to fight at the Battle of Sorauren in July 1813 and, having advanced into France, at the Battle of the Nive in December 1813, at the Battle of Orthez in February 1814 and at the Battle of Toulouse in April 1814. It returned home in July 1814.
They also participated in the Hundred Days landing at Ostend in April 1815. It charged the centre of the French position at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815. It then remained in France as part of the Army of Occupation brigaded with the The 12th (Prince of Wales's) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons under the overall command of Major-General Sir Hussey Vivian. It was disbanded in Ireland in 1821.
