Knight’s badge, Order of the Tower and Sword, Portugal, Lieutenant-Colonel Sir John Scott Lillie, Grenadier...

Knight’s badge, Order of the Tower and Sword, Portugal, 1814 circa. From a medal group awarded to Lieutenant-Colonel Sir John Scott Lillie, Grenadier Guards, 6th (or the 1st Warwickshire) Regiment and 7th Cacadores, Lusitanian Legion, Portuguese Army. Lillie joined the Army as an ensign in the 6th (or 1st Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot in 1807. In 1808 he was part of the first expedition to Portugal, during the Peninsular War (1808-1814). He joined the Portuguese Army in December that year as a captain in the Lusitanian Legion, and took part in various engagements in defence of Portugal. Promoted lieutenant in 1810, he fought at the Battle of Busaco (1810) and the retreat to the lines of Torres Vedras that year. Lillie commanded the 7th Portuguese Caçadores in several battles which included the Pyrenees (1813), Nivelle (1813), Orthes (1814), and Toulouse (1814). At the Battle of Toulouse, he was severely wounded and left for dead on the battlefield for some 48 hours. The Prince Regent John of Portugal (later King John VI) revived the Royal Order of the Tower and Sword in 1808, to acknowledge the contribution of Portuguese and foreign individuals in aiding the Portuguese Crown and resisting the invading French.