A Sergeant and Privates of the 87th or Prince of Wales's Own Irish Regiment on Service, 1812

Aquatint by J C Stadler after Charles Hamilton Smith, 1812.

This work depicts one of the most famous events of the Peninsular War (1808-1814) when the 87th became the first British regiment to capture a French Imperial Eagle during the campaign. At the Battle of Barrosa on 5 March 1811 Ensign Edward Keogh and Sergeant Patrick Masterson captured the eagle of the 8th Regiment de Ligne. Keogh was killed during the action but Masterson managed to wrench the eagle from the dying hands of its bearer.

From Charles Hamilton Smith's 'Costumes of the Army of the British Empire, according to the last regulations 1812', published by Colnaghi and Company, 1812-1815.