Agnes Reston

Agnes Reston (née Harkness, 1771 – 24 December 1856) was a Scottish wartime nurse during the Peninsular War. She has become known as the Heroine of Matagorda, for her outstanding bravery in an early phase of the Siege of Cádiz.

Wartime actions Agnes Reston was the wife of James Reston, a sergeant in the 94th Regiment of Foot. With their four-year-old son, she accompanied her husband when in 1810 he was posted to Spain, to the small fort at Matagorda, near Cádiz. When the fort was bombarded by French forces, she removed her son to the safety of the bomb-proof before assisting the surgeon in dressing the fast-increasing numbers of wounded men, tearing up the family's linen for bandages.

A young drummer boy, instructed to get water for the surgeon, lingered at the door with his bucket, Mrs Reston said "the poor thing’s frightened, and no wonder at it. Give it to me and I’ll go for it." Amid the dreadful discharge of artillery playing on the battery, Mrs Reston made for the well and let down the bucket. Unfortunately, the rope was cut by a shot. This did not stop Mrs Reston, who asked a sailor to help her retrieve the bucket, which she successfully filled with water and took back to the bomb-proof to continue her work. The collection secured an annuity for Reston of £30 a year. She was now independent, but, as her home had long been broken up, she preferred to remain in the hospital, paying for her board. After setting aside sufficient for her funeral expenses, anything left she gave to charity.

Reston died on Christmas Eve, 1856, at the age of 85, after being confined to bed for eight weeks, and was buried in Glasgow's Southern Necropolis. The gravestone stands at the north-eastern corner of the cemetery, with the inscription:

The Heroine of Matagorda is the subject of A Humble Heroine, a poem by William McGonagall.