Thomas Plunket

For the American Civil War Union Army soldier, see Thomas Plunkett. For other people, see Thomas Plunket (disambiguation).

Thomas Plunket
Born	1785 Newtown, Wexford, Ireland
Died	1839(1839-00-00) (aged 53–54) Colchester, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service / branch	British Army
Years of service	1805-1817
Rank	Corporal
Unit	95th Rifles 41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot
Battles / wars	Anglo-Spanish War (1796–1808) British invasions of the River Plate Peninsular War Battle of Cacabelos War of the Seventh Coalition Battle of Waterloo

Thomas Plunket (1785–1839) was an Irish soldier in the British Army's 95th Rifles regiment. He served throughout the Peninsular War and later in the Waterloo Campaign of 1815. He is remembered for killing French general Auguste François-Marie de Colbert-Chabanais during the Peninsular War with a Baker rifle shot, then killing the general's aide-de-camp, Latour-Maubourg, who had gone to his side to render aid, with another.

Early life and army career

Thomas Plunket was born in 1785 in Newtown, Wexford, Ireland. He joined the 95th Rifles in May 1805. In 1807, he took part in the British invasions of the River Plate (1806–1807). During the 2nd Battle of Buenos Aires, the 95th Rifles were heavily engaged in street-fighting, during which Plunket killed around 20 Spanish troops while sniping from a rooftop with others from his unit. They retreated when Spanish artillery bombarded their position with grapeshot. Plunket also shot a Spanish officer waving a white handkerchief with the possible intention of inviting a truce. This resulted in further Spanish artillery bombardment, which brought about the British surrender.

The Plunkett Shot

Plunket is mainly remembered for a feat at the Battle of Cacabelos during Moore's retreat to Corunna in 1809. Plunket ran forward from the British line about 90 metres (100 yd), lay down in a supine position in the snow, and shot the French Général de Brigade Auguste-Marie-François Colbert with his Baker rifle. He quickly reloaded and shot down Colbert's aide-de-camp, Latour-Maubourg, who had rushed to the aid of the fallen general, demonstrating that the first shot had not been a fluke. Plunket only just made it back to his lines before being charged down by a dozen cavalry troopers, but the deaths of the two officers were sufficient to throw the pending French attack into disarray.

The distance of the shots has been debated by historians. The shots were "from a range that seemed extraordinary to the" men of the 95th Rifles, who were trained to shoot targets with a Baker Rifle at 180 metres (200 yd). Their marksmanship was far better than the ordinary British soldiers, who were armed with a Brown Bess musket and only trained to shoot into a body of men at 50 metres (55 yd) with volley fire. The 95th Rifles trained for long distance sniping, and Plunkett was among the unit's top marksmen. Most historians agree the range was at least 100 yards, with a likelihood of around 200-300 yards, with Plunkett possibly advancing slightly between shots. A historian familiar with the area asserts it was no less than 200 yards, a remarkable feat given the Baker rifle's limitations and the moving target.

Later life

In 1817, Plunket was discharged from the 95th after recovering from a head wound at the Battle of Waterloo. Awarded a pension of 6d a day, he soon enlisted back into the army in a line regiment, 41st Foot. The regiment was being inspected by his former commanding officer, General Sir Thomas Sydney Beckwith when the general recognised Plunket and inquired into what had happened to him. He was invited to the officers' mess that night and the next day was promoted to corporal, and soon also had his pension raised to one shilling a day with Beckwith's influence. He later renounced his pension in exchange for four years' pay and land in Canada, but he returned to England after a year, considering the land unsuitable.

Plunket and his wife returned to the United Kingdom and, nearly destitute, made a small living as itinerant traders. Plunket died suddenly at Colchester in 1839. 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 and gravestone.

Further reading

• Costello, Edward (1852). The adventures of a soldier; or, Memoirs of Edward Costello, narratives of ... p. 9. —"Colonel Beckwith [, the 95th CO,] broke the silence, by calling out, 'Private Thomas Plunket, step into the square!' All eyes, it is needless to say, were eagerly fixed upon Plunket, as he halted, with his rifle shouldered, in the finest position of military attention, within a few paces of his Colonel. 'Here, men,' exclaimed the commanding officer, pointing to Plunket, 'here stands a pattern for the battalion!'"
• Rutherford-Moore, Richard. "Plunket's Shot". Archived from the original on 11 October 2012.