Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Pair: Sergeant Isaac Hunt, 61st Foot, who was wounded at Chilianwala in January 1849, and died of cholera in Mauritius in February 1860

Punjab 1848-49, 2 clasps, Chilianwala, Goojerat (Isaac Hunt, 61st Foot.); Indian Mutiny 1857-59, 1 clasp, Delhi (I, Hunt. 61st Regt.) the first with a few marks, nearly very fine, the second good very fine (2) £700-£900

Isaac Hunt was born at Ditton, Lancashire, and originally enlisted into the 81st Foot at Ormskirk on 10 May 1843, aged 19 years 9 months, a toolmaker by trade. He transferred to the 61st Foot (No. 2290) on 1 July 1844, and sailed with the regiment for India in the summer of 1845. He took part in the Second Sikh War and was wounded at Chilianwala on 13 January 1849, although he was clearly fit enough to take part in the action at Goojerat five weeks later. He is, however, shown as ‘sick’ in the following two quarterly musters. Promoted to Corporal in July 1850, he was placed in confinement on 28 February 1852 and reduced to Private. Upon the outbreak of the Mutiny he was serving with the wing left at Ferozepore until joining the H.Q. wing at Delhi, where he took part in the great assault on 14 September 1857. He was promoted to Corporal once again in January 1858 and accompanied the 61st on their 800-mile march to Bombay, leaving Delhi in April 1859, and then on to Poona where cholera broke out. Returning to Bombay the regiment sailed for Mauritius, cholera breaking out again on the voyage. Hunt was promoted to Sergeant on 22 January 1860, but died of cholera on 20 February 1860, at Port Louis, Mauritius. His Punjab medal was forwarded with his accounts to his father, Peter, of Farnworth, Lancashire.

Note: Another Isaac Hunt of the 61st (No. 1850) received these two medals but he was not present at Chilianwala. He was discharged in October 1860 and died in Wiltshire in 1902. A Mutiny medal on its own graded as nearly very fine sold by Spink in March 1977, making the above pair better attributable to Isaac Hunt (No. 2290).

Sold with copied research including muster details, pay lists, &c.