For the enemies of Napoleonic France, few prizes were as highly sought after as the golden eagle standards carried by each of the Emperor’s regiments.

On 5 March 1811 at the Battle of Barrosa, Ensign Edward Keogh and Sergeant Patrick Masterson of the 87th became the first to capture an Eagle in battle during the Peninsular War. Charging into the disintegrating remnants of a broken French Column, Keogh was killed in the attempt but Masterson ran the Eagle bearer though with his pike and captured the standard, reportedly crying out to his comrades “By Jaysus, boys I have the cuckoo!”.

Masterson received a battlefield commission for his efforts.