Lord Palmerston Signed 1820 War Office Letter — £100 Pension for Impaired Sight from Ophthalmia

Original partly printed War Office letter dated March 23, 1820, completed in manuscript and bearing the bold signature “Palmerston,” issued during the future British prime minister’s service as Secretary at War.

Addressed to an officer identified as Brevet Major S. Campbell, apparently on half-pay with the 32nd Regiment of Foot, the letter announces royal approval of an annual military pension of £100, at the rate allowed for a captain. The award specifically recognizes “the Injury which your Sight has sustained from Ophthalmia.”

The pension was to commence retrospectively on June 25, 1819, with a warrant to be prepared and forwarded to the Army Pay Office.

An evocative document connecting a prominent British statesman with the personal consequences of military disability and the administration of officers’ pensions in the years following the Napoleonic Wars.

Accompanied by a separately mounted address fragment bearing an additional apparent Palmerston signature and a red wax seal. Its original relationship to the pension letter has not been established.

Condition: Fair, with extensive splitting and apparent separation along horizontal folds, tears, small holes, edge losses, age toning, and handling wear. Principal text and signature remain clearly legible. Accompanying fragment mounted on backing, with toning and wear. See photograph.