Joseph Martin of Burbage.

 Joseph Martin of Burbage.

He was a Peninsular War veteran and served in 48th Foot. He was from Burbage, Leicestershire and was still living there in 1876.

His MGSM had 4 clasps for, Talavera, Bussaco, Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz and was in the Oakley Collection in 1953.

At Talavera his regiment earned great fame for a charge the saved the day.

At the storming of Badajoz he was in the 2nd Brigade of the 4th Division, they assaulted the Main Breach and he was one of the many wounded there.

He was wounded again by a Lancer and captured on 19 September 1812. (ADM 103/646). At that time he was still with the 4th Division near Madrid. There were no battles there at that time but lots of outpost skirmishes. There were only a few Lancers units in Spain then, he was probably taken by the Westphalian Lancers of Merlin's Division of King Joseph's Army of the Centre.

He says he was carried (in a wagon?) to the POW camp at Valenciennes. This camp was a massive, old fortress on the Belgian border, near Mons. From Madrid it is about 870 miles and would have taken about 58 days.

He was also a worker at Fontainebleau, 155 miles from the camp and 10 days march.

At the end of the war in April 1814, he was released, marched to a French port and returned home.

He was not at Waterloo.

Article from The Hinckley Historian, issue 77, Summer 2016.

Local news paper article.

Private of the 48th Foot about 1812.