Thomas Plunket (1785–1839) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

soldier in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

95th Rifles The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

regiment. He served throughout the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

and later in the

Waterloo Campaign The Waterloo campaign (15 June – 8 July 1815) was fought between the French Army of the North and two Seventh Coalition armies, an Anglo-allied army and a Prussian army. Initially the French army was commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte, but he l ...

of 1815. He is remembered for killing a French general during the

with an extremely long range rifle shot, then killing the general's aide-de-camp, who had gone to his side to render aid, with another.

Early life and Army career

Thomas Plunket was born in 1785 in Newtown, Wexford, Ireland. He joined the 95th Rifles in May 1805. In 1807, he took part in the

British invasions of the River Plate The British invasions of the River Plate were two unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of areas in the Spanish colony of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata that were located around the Río de la Plata in South America – in p ...

(1806–1807). During the 2nd Battle of Buenos Aires, the 95th Rifles were heavily engaged in street-fighting during which Plunket killed around 20 Spanish troops while sniping from a rooftop with others from his unit. They retreated when Spanish artillery bombarded their position with

grapeshot Grapeshot is a type of artillery round invented by a British Officer during the Napoleonic Wars. It was used mainly as an anti infantry round, but had other uses in naval combat. In artillery, a grapeshot is a type of ammunition that consists of ...

. Plunket also shot a Spanish officer, who was waving a white handkerchief with the possible intention of inviting a truce. This resulted in further Spanish artillery bombardment which brought about the British surrender. Plunket is mainly remembered for a feat at the

Battle of Cacabelos The Battle of Cacabelos was a minor battle of the Peninsular War that took place on 3 January 1809, at the bridge just outside the village of Cacabelos, Province of León, Spain, as British forces under Sir John Moore making their retreat to ...

during Moore's retreat to Corunna in 1809. Plunket ran forward about , lay down in a

supine position The supine position ( or ) means lying horizontally with the face and torso facing up, as opposed to the prone position, which is face down. When used in surgical procedures, it grants access to the peritoneal, thoracic and pericardium, pericardi ...

in the snow, and shot the French

Général de Brigade Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed to ...

Auguste-Marie-François Colbert with his

Baker rifle The Baker rifle (officially known as the Pattern 1800 Infantry Rifle) was a flintlock rifle used by the rifle regiments of the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars. It was the first standard-issue, British-made rifle accepted by the British ...

.Hadaway, Stuart.
Rifleman Thomas Plunkett: 'A Pattern for the Battalion.'
' Before returning to his own lines he reloaded and shot down Colbert's aide-de-camp, Latour-Maubourg, who had rushed to the aid of the fallen general, which showed that the first shot had not been a fluke. Plunket only just made it back to his own lines before being charged down by a dozen cavalry troopers, but the deaths of the two officers were sufficient to throw the pending French attack into disarray. The shots were "from a range that seemed extraordinary to the" men of the

, who were trained to shoot targets with a Baker Rifle at and whose marksmanship was far better than the ordinary British soldiers who were armed with a

Brown Bess "Brown Bess" is a nickname of uncertain origin for the British Army's muzzle-loading smoothbore flintlock Land Pattern Musket and its derivatives. The musket design remained in use for over a hundred years with many incremental changes in its ...

musket and only trained to shoot into a body of men at with volley fire.

Later life

In 1817, Plunket was discharged from the 95th after recovering from the head wound he received at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

. Awarded a pension of 6 d a day, he soon enlisted back into the army in a line regiment,

41st Foot The 41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1719. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Welch Regiment in 1881. History Early his ...

. The regiment was being inspected by his former commanding officer, General Sir

Thomas Sydney Beckwith Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Sydney Beckwith (17 February 177015 January 1831) was an English officer of the British Army who served as quartermaster general of the British forces in Canada during the War of 1812, and a commander-in-chief of ...

when the general recognised Plunket and inquired into what had happened to him. He was invited to the officers mess that night and the next day was promoted to corporal, and soon also had his pension raised to one shilling a day with Beckwith's influence.Holmes, Richard (2001). ''Redcoat: The British Soldier in the Age of Horse and Musket'' Page 416, Harper and Collins He later renounced his pension in exchange for four years' pay and land in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, but he returned to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

after a year, considering the land unsuitable. Plunket and his wife returned to the United Kingdom and, nearly destitute, made a small living as itinerant traders. Plunket died suddenly at

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

in 1839. Several retired officers in the town heard about the death and recognized his name; as a result, they took up a collection for his widow and paid for his funeral and gravestone.

Early life and Army career

Later life

References

Further reading