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Army Gold Cross, awarded to Lieutenant-Colonel Sir John Scott Lillie, 6th (or the 1st Warwickshire) Regiment, Lusitanian Legion and 7th Cacadores, Portuguese Army

The Army Gold Cross records the Peninsular War battle honours for Pyrenees, Nivelle, Orthes and Toulouse.

Lillie joined the Army as an ensign in the 6th (or 1st Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot in 1807. In 1808 he was part of the first expedition to Portugal, during the Peninsular War (1808-1814). He joined the Portuguese Army in December that year as a captain in the Lusitanian Legion, and took part in various engagements in defence of Portugal. Promoted lieutenant in 1810, he fought at the Battle of Busaco (1810) and the retreat to the lines of Torres Vedras that year.

Lillie commanded the 7th Portuguese Caçadores in several battles which included the Pyrenees (1813), Nivelle (1813), Orthes (1814), and Toulouse (1814). At the Battle of Toulouse, he was severely wounded and left for dead on the battlefield for some 48 hours.

From a medal group including, Order of the Bath, Companion Badge, Army Gold Medal for the Pyrenees, Military General Service Medal 1793-1814, Portuguese Order of the Tower and Sword, Portuguese Commander's Cross for five actions, Portuguese Campaign Cross for 4 years and French Decoration of the Lily.

NAM Accession Number

NAM. 2002-01-51-2

Copyright/Ownership

National Army Museum Copyright

Location

National Army Museum, Study Collection

Object URL

https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=2002-01-51-2