- Thomas Plunket
Thomas Plunket(t) (died in 1851 or 1852) was an Irish soldier in the British 95th (Experimental Corps) Rifles. He is remembered for a feat at
Cacabelos during Moore's retreat toCorunna in 1809. Here Plunket shot the French Général de BrigadeAuguste-Marie-François Colbert at a range of between 200 and 600 metres using aBaker rifle .Hadaway, Stuart. " [http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/biographies/c_plunkett.html Rifleman Thomas Plunkett: 'A Pattern for the Battalion.'] "] Costello, Edward - 'Rifleman Costello' ISBN 1-84677-000-9 First published in 1841 entitled "The Adventures of a Soldier". Costello served with Plunkett and can both cite personally witnessed experiences and the legend he already was at the time.]Plunket had run forward to make this shot, and before returning to his own lines he reloaded, and shot a trumpet-major who had rushed to the aid of the fallen general. This second feat showed that the first shot had not been a fluke, and the deaths were sufficient to throw the pending French attack into disarray. The shots were at a sufficiently long distance to impress others in the
95th Rifles , whose marksmanship (with the Baker rifle) was far better than the ordinary British soldiers who were armed with aBrown Bess musket and only trained to shoot into a body of men at 50 metres with volley fire. [ [http://www.rememuseum.org.uk/arms/technote/armtech1.htm The Weapons Collection: Technical Notes - Introduction] , REME Museum of Technology. See paragraph six in the section "Development of the lock"]Later life
After the war, Plunket was awarded a pension of one
shilling a day, after the intervention of his former commanding officer. He later renounced his pension in exchange for four years' pay and land inCanada , but he returned toEngland after a year, considering the land unsuitable. Since he no longer had a pension, he and his wife traveled as pedlars to support themselves, until Plunket's death atColchester in 1851 or 1852. 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. [Hadaway, Stuart. " [http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/biographies/c_plunkett.html Rifleman Thomas Plunkett: 'A Pattern for the Battalion'] ". Published by the [http://www.napoleon-series.org Napoleon Series] . October 2000.]References
External links
* [http://www.95thrifles.com/95th/history/articles/plunkets-shot "Plunket's Shot" - by Richard Rutherford-Moore]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.