1848 British Naval General Service medal with three clasps: THE POTOMAC 17 AUG 1814, GUADELOUPE, MARTINIQUE. Silver, 36 mm. MY-94 (clasps cxii, cxxvii, clxxiv), BBM-39. Choice About Uncirculated.

WILLIAM WALKER, PURSER punched on edge. An exceptional medal in terms of rarity and condition, with perhaps the most legendary of all NGS clasps for American collectors. Flashy and lustrous, with superb reflectivity in the fields on both sides. Tones of deep gold, violet, and blue light up under a lamp, present on both sides but bolder on the obverse. The overall preservation is superb, with just a short scratch on the Queen's jaw. William Walker is on the rolls as the Purser on the HMS Snap for the actions at Martinique and Guadeloupe. Just three Martinique clasps were awarded to those aboard the Snap, which was one of 46 vessels present when British forces captured the island from the French. Essentially the same force reduced Guadeloupe the following year, as the West Indian campaign of the Napoleonic Wars continued. Walker is on the rolls as the Purser of the HMS Erebus during the American campaigns of the War of 1812. Just seven ships were in the Potomac River in August 1814, set to reduce Fort Washington and capture the town it was built to protect, Alexandria. Operating without river pilots, the ocean vessels ran aground several times, exposing them to withering fire from both sides of the river. On August 27, just two days after the White House was burned and Washington was sieged, the vessels were successful in destroying the powder magazine at Fort Washington, downriver from the capital itself. Just two weeks later, Erebus was in another river - the Patapsco - taking part in the famous bombardment of Fort McHenry at Baltimore, the inspiration for the American National Anthem, The Star-Spanged Banner. Just 104 clasps were issued for the action on the Potomac River on August 17, 1814. The West Indian clasps here are quite rare as well: 475 issued for Guadeloupe and 480 for Martinique. An example of the Naval General Service medal with the POTOMAC clasp (and no others) was offered in our Ford VII sale of January 2005 as lot 389, sold at $16,100. This piece brought 10,350 pounds in 2006, a similar price. An example with two clasps, POTOMAC and BASQUE ROADS, awarded to Lieutenant John P. Paynter, brought 16,100 pounds in the July 2011 sale at DNW. A remarkable five clasp medal that included the clasp for POTOMAC was offered by DNW in 1995. Most offerings of this clasp, however, are on single-clasp medals. Offered with a modern ribbon.

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From the Gem Collection. Earlier from the collection of a "Nobleman, formerly Ambassador at the Court of Spain;" Glendining's sale of December 1908, lot 136; J. Coolidge Hills Collection; Collection of the American Numismatic Society; Morton and Eden's sale of May 2006, lot 25.