Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Capture of Louisbourg 1758, silver medal by Thomas Pingo, 44mm, small metallurgical imperfections in obverse field, otherwise better than very fine and rare £3,000-£4,000

As part of a multiple offensive during the later French and Indian wars, a British expedition commanded by General Jeffrey Amherst with about 9000 British regular troops and 500 Colonials, supported by 40 ships under Admiral Edward Boscawen, invested the French fortress of Louisbourg. The expedition landed under heavy fire on 8 June 1758, and besieged the garrison which, after intense fighting, surrendered on 27 July. The young Brigadier-General James Wolfe distinguished himself in the fighting, resulting in the first major victory of the war. Wolfe’s subsequent victory at Quebec the following year established British supremacy in Canada.