1848 British Military General Service medal with one clasp. FORT DETROIT. Silver, 36 mm. MY-98 (clasp xx), BBM-44. About Uncirculated.

1848 British Military General Service medal with one clasp. FORT DETROIT. Silver, 36 mm. MY-98 (clasp xx), BBM-44. About Uncirculated.

P. LAROSE, CANADn MILITIA punched on edge. A particularly flashy and attractive piece, with nice gold and pastel toning, deeply mirrored fields, and superb visual appeal. Only light polish hairlines are noted, along with a couple of trivial marks in the left obverse field.

There were two men named Pierre LaRose on the rolls for Fort Detroit, an action in August 1812 that yielded 321 awarded clasps to members of the Royal Artillery, the 41st Foot, and Newfoundland Fencibles (the militia unit LaRose was in), and allied native tribes. American General William Hull was intended to be the tip of the spear of an American invasion of Canada, but after crossing the river from Detroit and making little headway into enemy territory, he retreated back to Fort Detroit to await reinforcements. While he waited, British General Isaac Brock made a play for the American fortress, and it fell with no opposition on August 16, 1812. Gen. William Henry Harrison recaptured the lost fort in 1813. In 1814, Hull was sentenced to death at a court martial on the charge of cowardice, but his charge was commuted.

Offered with a modern ribbon.

Estimate: $3,500 - $7,000.

Provenance: From the Gem Collection.

Earlier from James A. Elliot, Jr., via R.J. Lathrop, June 1961; our (Stack's) sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part VII, January 2005, lot 397.

To view all items from the Gem Collection, click here.

Click here to see Coins in Motion.