Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Signed Order of Maria Theresa, 1800

Imperial manuscript document granting the Austrian Order of Maria Theresa to Major Edward Butler, signed by the last Holy Roman Emperor, Francis II, at close, Vienna, 7 November 1800, one page, folding marks and age-related discolouration, folio, framed and glazed, with original red wax seal housed in a circular section affixed to the frame.

***In the Battle of Villers-en-Cauchies, fought on 24 April 1794, a small Anglo-Austrian cavalry force of the 15th Light Dragoons defeated a vastly more numerous French division during the Flanders Campaign of the French Revolutionary Wars. This was led by the Hungarian Colonel of the second Leopold Hussars, Baron Andrew Sventkerestszy. Upon his report to General Otto and the Austrian Emperor Francis II, the emperor awarded eight British officers involved in this action with a special gold medal since at that time it wasn't possible to award the Military Order of Maria Theresia upon foreigners.

On the 7^th November 1800 following a change in the statutes of the Order of Maria Theresa, allowing its award to foreigners for the first time. Permission to wear was granted by King George III and announced in the London Gazette, 2 June 1801. These same officers were appointed Knights of the Military Order of Maria Theresaa, a Baron in Austria equivalent to a knighthood in Britain. The recipients were Major William Aylett; Captain Robert Pocklington; Captain Edward Michael Ryan; Lieutenant Thomas Granby Calcraft; Lieutenant William Keir; Lieutenant Charles Burrell Blount; Cornet Edward Gerald Butler and Cornet Robert Wilson.

(Quantity:1)

Dimensions: overall size 32.2 x 29.5"/ 82 x 75cm