Chapter VI: Part 6

=Medal for Peninsular War.=--It would appear strange that although a medal was so readily awarded for Waterloo, no recognition was given to the veterans of the Peninsular, and that they should have to wait until 1847 before a medal was issued as a record of, and reward for, their services against the veteran troops of France. That they ultimately received a decoration was due to the efforts of the veteran Duke of Richmond, who, on July 21st, 1854, presented a petition in the House of Lords, "requesting their Lordships' recommendation of them to their Sovereign, that they may receive a decoration for the services they had performed." The gallant Duke urged the claims of the junior officers, non-commissioned officers, and men in simple but powerful terms, while the Duke of Wellington, who had previously refused to present a petition to King George, opposed the grant to the survivors of over sixty battalions of the army who had, as he admitted, served under him in six campaigns.

He appeared, according to the record of the debate, to have thought only of the senior officers. "Have no rewards been bestowed upon these officers?" he asked. "New modes were discovered and adopted of distinguishing and rewarding the officers." Medals had been struck and distributed to 1,300 officers, special brevets were issued, and 7 officers raised to the peerage, as the Duke of Wellington pointed out; but he had no word of remembrance, no word of support for the thousands of officers and men whose only rewards had been hardship and scars. No word of commendation for the men who kept "grim Busaco's bloody ridge," and ultimately hurled the veterans of Marengo and Austerlitz into the ravine below; or for those who added laurels to Britain's fame at Fuentes d'Onor (Fountain of Honour); the Fusiliers and their brave companions in arms who fought so splendidly and so fiercely on the heights of Albuera, where the 57th--the first battalion of the Middlesex Regiment--gained their coveted _nom de guerre_, "Die Hards," for, as Napier states, "nothing could stop that astonishing infantry," which turned the day in the bloodiest battle of the war. It was indeed a soldiers' battle, but the senior officers, as usual, received the gold medal. What a case the Duke of Richmond had if only by stating the result of this one battle, after which "1,800 unwounded men, the remnant of 6,000 unconquerable British soldiers, stood triumphant on the fatal hill." The Iron Duke must have forgotten the gallant storming of the breaches at Ciudad Rodrigo, the success of which gained for him his viscountcy; the storming of Badajoz, which caused him to weep at the cost of the victory, and Orthes, where Picton's men climbed the rough, rocky bank, and Colborne's 52nd undauntedly pressed forward knee-deep in the marshy swamp and up the hill to the victory which practically determined the Peninsular campaign.

In his efforts, however, to oppose and belittle the claims of the petitioners for the Peninsular medal he incidentally and unconsciously brought forward the claims of those who had fought in Egypt and on the high seas, and at the battle of the Nile and Trafalgar, from the "Glorious First of June" to the blockade of France and the Bay of Biscay during the Peninsular War. As a result, we may assume, of his arguments against the issue of what is known as the "Military General Service Medal," when the claims came to be considered it was felt that justice must also be done to the sister service, and the "Naval General Service Medal" was likewise instituted on June 1st, 1847, when by a General Order it was commanded that medals be struck and conferred upon every officer and soldier who was present at any battle or siege for which gold medals had been awarded. The medal was given to those who had taken part in the Peninsular Campaign, Egypt, Italy, North America, and in the East and West Indies; and although thirty-four years had elapsed since the last battle, Toulouse, in 1814, over 30,000 applicants made good their claims to the medal. Only six applied for fifteen bars, and of these two made good their claims, Private Talbot of the 45th, and Private Loochstädt, formerly of the King's German Legion. This medal is in Lord Cheylesmore's collection.

=The Military General Service Medal.=--The medal, 1⅖ in. in diameter, bears on the obverse the diademed head of Queen Victoria, with VICTORIA REGINA on either side of the head, and the date of issue, ~1848~, underneath. On the reverse is depicted Queen Victoria, robed and crowned, standing on a daïs in the act of placing a laurel wreath on the head of the Duke of Wellington, who kneels on his left knee and holds his field-marshal's baton in his right hand. By the side of the daïs is the British Lion dormant; above is the inscription TO THE BRITISH ARMY, and in the exergue ~1793-1814~. In the left-hand corner of the exergue is the letter "w," the initial of W. Wyon, R.A., the medallist. The medal depends from a straight clasp, which is attached to the medal by a swivelled four-claw clip. The ribbon is 1¼ in. wide, of dark crimson with blue edges. The recipient's name, rank, and regiment are impressed in Roman capitals. It is noteworthy that the bars, which are 1³⁄₁₀ in. by ⅒ in., are arranged in sets of three, where the number warrants, the earliest date being nearest the medal. Those awarded to the infantry are arranged ³⁄₄₀ in. apart until the number exceeds six, when they are arranged, like those issued to the cavalry, closely together.

The following regiments received the medal with bars--the bar for EGYPT being granted by General Order dated February 11th, 1850; and as an indication of the depletion of the ranks of those who fought in 1801, I might mention that only three officers--Hill, Beaven, and Deane--of the 18th Royal Irish Regiment were alive to receive the Military General Service Medal with the bar for Egypt.

Turkish Crimea.

MEDALS FOR CRIMEAN WAR.]

EGYPT, 1801.--The 2nd and 3rd Foot Guards; 1st, 2nd, 8th, 10th, 13th, 18th, 20th, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th, 30th, 40th, 42nd, 44th, 50th, 54th, 58th, 61st, 79th, 80th, 86th, 88th, 89th, 90th, 92nd, and 96th Foot; 11th, 12th, and 26th Light Dragoons; Hompesch's Hussars; De Rolls and Dillon's Regiments; Corsican Rangers; and the 2nd and 13th Bombay Infantry.

MAIDA, July 4th, 1806.--20th, 27th, 35th, 58th, 61st, 78th, and 81st Foot; 20th Light Dragoons.

ROLEIA, August 17th, 1808.--5th, 6th, 9th, 29th, 32nd, 36th, 38th, 40th, 45th, 50th, 60th, 71st, 82nd, 91st, 95th, and 97th Foot; 20th Light Dragoons.

VIMIERA, August 21st, 1808.--2nd, 5th, 6th, 9th, 20th, 29th, 32nd, 36th, 38th, 40th, 43rd, 45th, 50th, 52nd, 60th, 71st, 82nd, 91st, 95th, and 97th Foot; 20th Light Dragoons.

SAHAGUN, December 20th, 1808.--7th, 10th, 15th, and 18th Hussars; 3rd Hussars, K.G.L., and two batteries of Horse Artillery.

CORUNNA, January 16th, 1809.--1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 9th, 14th, 20th, 23rd, 26th, 28th, 32nd, 36th, 38th, 42nd, 43rd, 50th, 51st, 52nd, 59th, 60th, 71st, 76th, 79th, 81st, 82nd, 91st, 92nd, 95th; 1st and 3rd Batts. 1st Foot Guards; 7th, 10th, 15th, and 18th Light Dragoons; 3rd Dragoons, K.G.L.; three batteries Royal Horse Artillery; five batteries Royal Artillery; 1st and 2nd Light Battalions, K.G.L.

MARTINIQUE, February 24th, 1809.--7th, 8th, 13th, 15th, 23rd, 25th, 46th, 60th, 63rd, and 90th Foot; 1st West India Regiment, and the Royal York Rangers.

TALAVERA, July 27th-28th, 1809.--2nd and 3rd Foot Guards; 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 20th, 24th, 28th, 29th, 31st, 32nd, 36th, 38th, 40th, 42nd, 43rd, 45th, 48th, 50th, 52nd, 53rd, 60th, 61st, 66th, 71st, 79th, 82nd, 83rd, 87th, 88th, 91st, 92nd, 95th, and 97th Foot; 3rd Dragoon Guards; 4th, 14th, 16th, and 23rd Light Dragoons; 1st Light Dragoons, K.G.L.; 1st and 2nd Light Battalions, K.G.L.; 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 7th Line Battalions, K.G.L.; 1st Hussars; 2nd and 4th Batteries Foot Artillery, K.G.L.

GUADALOUPE, January to February 6th, 1810.--1st, 13th, 15th, 25th, 46th, 60th, 63rd, 70th, 90th, and 96th Foot; Marine Artillery and Naval Brigade; the Light Companies of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 6th West India Regiments; the 8th West India Regiment; York Light Infantry Volunteers; Royal York Rangers; Royal Artillery and Military Artificers.

BUSACO, September 27th, 1810.--1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 24th, 27th, 29th, 31st, 34th, 38th, 39th, 40th, 42nd, 43rd, 45th, 48th, 50th, 52nd, 53rd, 57th, 60th, 61st, 66th, 74th, 79th, 83rd, 88th, 95th, and 97th Foot; three batteries of Royal Artillery; and the 1st and 2nd Light Batts. and the 1st, 2nd, 5th, and 7th Line Batts., K.G.L.; 4th, 14th, and 16th Light Dragoons; 2nd and 3rd Foot Guards.

BARROSA, March 5th, 1811.--1st, 2nd, and 3rd Foot Guards; 9th, 28th, 47th, 67th, 82nd, 87th, and 95th Foot.

FUENTES D'ONOR, May 5th, 1811.--1st, 4th, 5th, 9th, 24th, 30th, 38th, 42nd, 43rd, 44th, 45th, 50th, 51st, 52nd, 60th, 71st, 74th, 79th, 83rd, 85th, 88th, 92nd, 94th, and 95th Foot; 1st Dragoons; 14th and 16th Light Dragoons; 1st Hussars, K.G.L.; 1st and 2nd Light Batts., K.G.L.; 1st, 2nd, 5th, and 7th Line Battalions, K.G.L.; 2nd and 3rd Foot Guards.

ALBUERA,[6] May 11th, 1811.--3rd, 7th, 23rd, 27th, 28th, 29th, 31st, 34th, 39th, 40th, 48th, 57th, 60th, 66th, and 97th Foot; 3rd Dragoon Guards; 4th and 13th Light Dragoons.

[6] Spelt ALBUHERA on bars.

JAVA, August to September 18th, 1811.--14th, 59th, 69th, 78th, and 89th Foot; 22nd Light Dragoons; Indian Native Cavalry, Infantry, and Bengal Volunteers.

CIUDAD RODRIGO, January 19th, 1812.--2nd and 3rd Foot Guards; 5th, 7th, 23rd, 24th, 30th, 40th, 42nd, 43rd, 45th, 48th, 52nd, 60th, 74th, 77th, 83rd, 88th, 94th, and 95th Foot.

BADAJOZ, March 17th to April 6th, 1812.--2nd Foot Guards; 1st, 4th, 5th, 7th, 23rd, 27th, 30th, 38th, 40th, 43rd, 44th, 45th, 48th, 52nd, 60th, 74th, 77th, 83rd, 85th, 88th, 94th, and 95th Foot; 13th and 14th Light Dragoons.

SALAMANCA, July 22nd, 1812.--2nd and 3rd Foot Guards; 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 23rd, 24th, 27th, 30th, 32nd, 36th, 38th, 40th, 42nd, 43rd, 44th, 45th, 48th, 51st, 52nd, 53rd, 58th, 60th, 61st, 68th, 74th, 79th, 83rd, 88th, 94th, and 95th Foot; 5th Dragoon Guards; 3rd, 4th, 11th, 12th, 14th, 15th, and 16th Light Dragoons; and the following regiments of the K.G.L.: 1st Hussars; 1st and 2nd Light Battalions, 1st, 2nd, and 5th Line Battalions, and Artillery.

VITTORIA, June 21st, 1813.--2nd and 3rd Foot Guards; 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, 20th, 23rd, 24th, 27th, 28th, 31st, 34th, 38th, 39th, 40th, 43rd, 45th, 47th, 48th, 50th, 51st, 52nd, 53rd, 57th, 58th, 59th, 60th, 66th, 68th, 71st, 74th, 82nd, 83rd, 87th, 88th, 92nd, 94th, and 95th Foot; two squadrons 1st and 2nd Life Guards and Horse Guards; 1st Dragoons; 3rd and 5th Dragoon Guards; 3rd, 4th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 16th, and 18th Light Dragoons; 15th Hussars.

PYRENEES, July 28th to August 2nd, 1813.--2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 11th, 20th, 23rd, 24th, 27th, 28th, 31st, 32nd, 34th, 36th, 39th, 40th, 42nd, 43rd, 45th, 48th, 50th, 51st, 52nd, 53rd, 57th, 58th, 60th, 61st, 66th, 68th, 71st, 74th, 79th, 82nd, 83rd, 87th, 88th, 91st, 92nd, 94th, and 95th Foot; 13th and 14th Light Dragoons.

FORT DETROIT, August 16th, 1812.--Three hundred men of the 41st Foot; Newfoundland Regiment; Canadian Militia, and 600 Indians; Royal Artillery (30 men).

SAN SEBASTIAN, August and September 9th, 1813.--200 of the Foot Guards; 1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 20th, 23rd, 24th, 27th, 36th, 38th, 40th, 43rd, 47th, 48th, 51st, 52nd, 53rd, 59th, 68th, 82nd, 85th, 87th, 88th, and 95th Foot, and a Naval Brigade.

CHATEAUGUAY, October 26th, 1812.--Royal Artillery; Indians; Canadian Fencibles; Canadian Militia; Voltigeurs; and Chasseurs.

NIVELLE, November 10th, 1813.--1st, 2nd, and 3rd Foot Guards; 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 20th, 23rd, 24th, 27th, 28th, 31st, 32nd, 34th, 36th, 38th, 39th, 40th, 42nd, 43rd, 45th, 47th, 48th, 50th, 51st, 52nd, 53rd, 57th, 58th, 59th, 60th, 61st, 62nd, 66th, 68th, 71st, 74th, 76th, 79th, 82nd, 83rd, 84th, 85th, 87th, 88th, 91st, 92nd, 94th and 95th Foot; and the following regiments of the K.G.L.: 1st and 2nd Light Battalions; 1st, 2nd, and 5th Line Battalions; 12th, 13th, 14th, and 18th Light Dragoons.

CHRYSTLER'S FARM, November 11th, 1813.--49th and 89th Foot; Canadian Fencibles; Canadian Militia; Indians; Voltigeurs; and Royal Artillery.

NIVE, December 9th to 13th, 1813.--1st, 2nd, and 3rd Foot Guards; 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 20th, 23rd, 27th, 28th, 31st, 32nd, 34th, 36th, 38th, 39th, 40th, 42nd, 43rd, 45th, 47th, 48th, 50th, 52nd, 53rd, 57th, 59th, 60th, 61st, 62nd, 66th, 71st, 74th, 76th, 79th, 83rd, 84th, 85th, 87th, 88th, 91st, 92nd, 94th, and 95th Foot; 7th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 16th, and 18th Light Dragoons.

ORTHES, February 17th, 1814.--2nd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 11th, 20th, 23rd, 24th, 27th, 28th, 31st, 32nd, 34th, 36th, 37th, 39th, 40th, 42nd, 45th, 48th, 50th, 51st, 52nd, 57th, 58th, 60th, 61st, 66th, 68th, 71st, 74th, 82nd, 83rd, 87th, 88th, 91st, 92nd, 94th, and 95th Foot; 3rd, 7th, 10th, 13th, 14th, 15th, and 18th Light Dragoons.

TOULOUSE, April 10th, 1814.--1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 11th, 20th, 23rd, 27th, 28th, 31st, 32nd, 34th, 36th, 39th, 40th, 42nd, 43rd, 45th, 48th, 50th, 52nd, 53rd, 57th, 60th, 61st, 66th, 71st, 74th, 79th, 83rd, 87th, 88th, 91st, 92nd, 94th, and 95th Foot; 2 squadrons 1st and 2nd Life Guards and Horse Guards; 1st Dragoons; 3rd and 5th Dragoon Guards; 3rd, 4th, 7th, 10th, 13th, 14th, 15th, and 18th Light Dragoons.

Twenty-eight bars were authorised. Twenty-one for the Peninsular, three for North America, two for services in the West Indies, one for Italy, and one for Egypt, 1801, "to those who were still alive." The bars, it should be noted, vary in their arrangement, some being farther apart than others, those awarded to the cavalry being very close together, and those to the infantry ³⁄₄₀ in. apart. If more than six are attached they are placed quite close like those for the cavalry. The bars are attached in sets of three, so that no rivets were used in the fixing of two or three bars to a medal, the set being struck in one piece; six, nine, or more bars were riveted together with very neat, small-headed rivets.

=The India Medal, 1799-1826.=--The European veterans of the Indian wars had been as badly treated in the way of war decorations as the heroes of the Peninsular, but an effort to reward the survivors was made public by the announcement on April 14th, 1851--forty-eight years after the first battle, for which a bar was issued, was fought--that the Queen had assented to the measure proposed by the Court of Directors of the East India Company to grant a medal at their expense to the surviving officers and soldiers of the Crown who were engaged in the services in India from 1799 to 1826. On the obverse is the diademed head of Queen Victoria with VICTORIA REGINA similar to that on the obverse of the medals already described, and on the reverse a seated figure of Victory, holding in her left hand, which falls by her side, a chaplet of laurel, and in her right hand an olive branch. In the background is a palm tree, and in front a trophy of oriental arms. Above all is inscribed TO THE ARMY OF INDIA, and in the exergue ~1790-1826~ and W.W., the initials of the medallist, in small capitals. The medal is 1⅖ in. in diameter, attached to a scroll suspender as used with the Punjab and Sutlej medals; the bars are also of the same design. The ribbon of pale-blue corded silk is 1¼ in. wide. The names, etc., of the European recipients were impressed in capital Roman letters, but most of those awarded to native officers and soldiers were officially engraved in a light, slanting script.

=Bars Awarded.=--Twenty-one bars were issued with the medal: ALLIGHUR, DELHI, ASSYE, ASSEERGHUR, LASWARREE, ARGAUM, GAWILGHUR, DEFENCE OF DELHI, DEIG, CAPTURE OF DEIG, NEPAUL, KIRKEE, POONA, KIRKEE AND POONA, SEETABULDEE, NAGPORE, SEETABULDEE AND NAGPORE, MAHEIDPOOR, CORYGAUM, AVA, BHURTPOOR. Only four medals were issued with the single bar for Seetabuldee and Nagpore, and one of these with edge impressed and verification of award to a man of the 39th Native Infantry realised £74 at auction. Nineteen only were issued for Assye, thirteen for Gawilghur, twenty-six for Maheidpoor, forty-eight for Laswarree, seventy-nine for Corygaum, but only a few of any of these to Europeans. The Duke of Wellington's medal had three clasps; for ASSYE, ARGAUM, and GAWILGHUR. Only thirteen with this combination were issued. A single bar for Capture of Deig awarded to a Lieutenant-Colonel has realised £50. An officer's four bar has realised £100, and a five bar £150. (See sales prices.)

FIRST KAFFIR WARS

In 1834-5 the Kaffirs in South Africa became very troublesome and necessitated the employment of armed force to subdue them, but the first serious Kaffir war broke out in 1846 owing to the outrages perpetrated by the Gaikas, and considerable fighting had to be done before the Kaffirs, by this time armed with firearms, were subdued, and Sandilli and his brother surrendered. In this campaign the following regiments were represented: 6th, 27th, 45th, 73rd, 90th, 91st, and 1st Battalion Rifle Brigade; 7th Dragoon Guards; Royal Artillery; Engineers, Sappers and Miners, also Cape Mounted Riflemen.

At the end of the year 1850 the Kaffirs were again in a turbulent condition, and Sir Harry Smith, a Peninsular veteran whose record in India I have indicated, summoned the chiefs to meet him, but Sandilli ignored the invitation and was outlawed. Then began another protracted war with the natives, during which several disasters befell the British troops. In the Keiskamma defile misfortune overtook Colonel Mackinnon, where with a force of 600 men, which included detachments of the 6th and 73rd Regiments, he was ambuscaded. He, however, reached Fort Cox, where the Governor, Sir Harry Smith, was surrounded by the dusky hordes. He managed to get away with a flying escort, and safely reached King William's Town. In June 1851 operations were conducted in the Amatola and Wolf Valley with comparatively severe losses to the British troops. In December the passage of the Kei was effected, despite the enemy's ingenious attempt--a new method in warfare to them--at constructing breastworks. Ultimately the chiefs of the Gaikas and Seyolo requested peace upon terms which could not be conceded, and the war was continued. In the spring of 1852 a determined advance was made by the British against Sandilli's stronghold in the Amatola mountains, from whence the 74th Highland Regiment, the "tortoises" as the Kaffirs called them in allusion to the markings of their kilt, after much hard fighting cleared them out. Sir Harry Smith was relieved of his command at the Cape by Sir George Cathcart, and ultimately the Water Kloof was cleared, and the Basutos under Moshesh defeated at Berea; Sandilli again surrendered, and the recalcitrant natives were expelled from the territory they had previously occupied.

The regiments represented in the campaign were the 2nd, 6th, 12th, 43rd, 45th; 2nd Batt. 60th Rifles; 73rd, 74th, 91st; 1st Batt. Rifle Brigade; 12th Lancers; Royal Artillery; Engineers, Sappers and Miners; Cape Mounted Rifles, Seamen and Marines.

=Loss of the "Birkenhead."=--The South African Wars of 1834-53 recall the loss of the troopship "Birkenhead" on February 26th, 1852, when 9 officers and 349 men, drawn up in parade order on the deck, went to a watery grave after placing the women and children, and sick, in the boats. They were on their way out as drafts for the regiments engaged in the third Kaffir war, which began at the end of 1850, and was not terminated until March 1853. The German Emperor was so impressed with the heroism of these British soldiers, who so calmly went to their death, that he caused an account of their gallant conduct to be read to every regiment of his army.

Those who took part in these wars were awarded a medal in a General Order issued in November 1854, and although many of the recipients had fought their battles twenty years previously, the medal, 1⅖ in. in diameter, bore the date ~1853~ in the exergue, above which is an admirably modelled lion, crouching under a mimosa bush; above all the record SOUTH AFRICA. No bars were given with the medal, which was only awarded to survivors, and the only way to distinguish the campaign for which it was granted is by the name of the regiment indented on the edge of the medal; but this means of identification is not possible in medals issued to the Naval Brigade, for the rank only is frequently given, as for instance, J. SHORE, STOKER. The diademed head of Queen Victoria, as issued with the medal previously described, was used on the obverse of this medal, which was suspended by a scroll clasp. The ribbon is orange and watered, with two thick and thin stripes of dark blue, leaving a narrow orange margin at the edge; the names, etc., were indented on the edge in square Roman capitals. The illustration of the medal is from a photograph of the one awarded to Captain (afterwards Lieutenant-General) A. C. Bentinck of the 7th Dragoon Guards--father of the present Duke of Portland.

The regiments engaged in the three Kaffir wars were: 1834-5: 27th, 72nd, 75th. 1846-7: 6th, 27th, 45th, 73rd, 90th, 91st; Rifle Brigade and 7th Dragoon Guards. 1850-3: 2nd, 6th, 12th, 43rd; 2nd Batt. 60th; 73rd, 74th, 91st; 1st Batt. Rifle Brigade; Royal Marines; a Naval Brigade and Cape Mounted Rifles.

SECOND BURMESE WAR

As a result of the violation of the treaty of Yandaboo, which was really never kept, and the refusal of the King of Ava to redress the grievances of the Europeans in Rangoon, who had been compelled to seek safety on board the "Proserpine," a force of 5,767 men, composed of the 18th Royal Irish, 51st and 80th, together with Artillery, Sappers and Miners, Gun Lascars, and three Infantry Regiments of the H.E.I. Co., under the command of General Godwin, occupied, after very little resistance, Martaban and Rangoon. In the reduction of the latter place the naval contingent and the ships of the fleet participated. The key to the position, the Golden Pagoda, Shwe Dagon, was carried by the Royal Irish and the 80th after a very trying time caused by the excessive heat, five of the senior officers being struck down by solar apoplexy--Major Oakes, who commanded the artillery, and another officer fatally. In the capture of Rangoon 2 officers were killed, and 14 wounded; 15 non-commissioned officers and men killed, and 114 wounded, of whom one-third belonged to the Royal Irish, which lost its adjutant at the foot of the Shwe Dagon.

=Pegu.=--Expeditions were sent out to the north and west, Bassein being captured by one force and Pegu taken on November 21st, 1852, by the other. The province of Pegu was then annexed; but the Burmese continued to harass the garrison which held the city, and it was not until after the arrival of reinforcements from Rangoon that steps could be taken to successfully deal with the enemy. The war was concluded in June 1853, but not before the army had been considerably reduced by disease, cholera claiming a large number of victims, and 22 men had been killed, and 14 officers and 94 men wounded in the taking of the village of Donobyu, held by Myat Toon, a robber chief who had about 8,000 guerillas at his call. It was in the attack on this village that Viscount, then Ensign, Wolseley of the 80th, in leading a small body of men from the 18th, 51st, and 80th, was struck down at the moment of victory. On June 30th, 1853, the war was declared at an end without any formal treaty, and a few months later the troops left a country which had claimed a terrible toll of brave men's lives in the swamps and jungles, the 18th Royal Irish having alone lost 365 officers and men mostly by disease.

=First India General Service Medal.=--On January 23rd, 1854, Queen Victoria sanctioned the issue of a silver medal with bar for PEGU to those who had taken part in the Burmese War of 1852-3. This, later called the India General Service Medal, 1854, has been given for all the various campaigns up to the fighting in the Kachin Hills in 1892-3. Twenty-three bars were given, representing the different "little wars" in which the recipients were engaged during forty-one years. This medal, illustrated facing page 120, has the same kind of suspender and bars as the Punjab medal, likewise the same head of Victoria, but on the reverse a figure of Victory crowning with laurel a seated warrior in classic pose, holding in his right hand a Roman sword, and in his left a sheath. In the exergue is a lotus flower and leaves, and L. C. WYON beneath it. The medals, 1⅖ in. in diameter, have the rank, name, and the regiment or ship, impressed in Roman capitals for Pegu, Persia, North-West Frontier, Umbeyla, Bhootan, but for Perak and the rest of the series, except Jowaki, the lightly engraved running hand or Roman capitals were used for naming. The ribbon, 1¾ in. wide, is dark crimson with two dark-blue stripes.

The regiments entitled to the medal with bar for Pegu were the 18th, 51st, and 80th; Artillery; Sappers and Miners; 1st Bengal Fusiliers; 1st Madras Fusiliers; 5th Madras Native Infantry; and the Naval Brigade from thirteen of Her Majesty's ships.

=The V.C. and Distinguished Conduct Medal.=--These were comparatively small but significant campaigns, although the period between Waterloo and the breaking out of the Crimean War has been termed the long peace. The war in the Crimea was of a very different kind. Once again it was the meeting of Europeans face to face, and a long struggle resulted. An important outcome of the war from one point of view was the institution on January 29th, 1856, of that coveted decoration, the Victoria Cross, preceded by the institution of the Distinguished Conduct Medal on December 4th, 1854, and the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal for naval men on August 13th, 1855. The ribbon for the V.C. is dark red--dark blue for the Navy--that for the Distinguished Conduct Medal (illustrated facing page 140) dark blue with broad, red stripe down the centre, and the ribbon blue with a white stripe down the centre for the Conspicuous Gallantry medal. In the first issues the names were impressed on the edge, but in the later issues they are engraved, and the date of the action is also included. It is particularly noteworthy that the first medals of this class issued were struck from the Meritorious Service Medal, the two words being erased and Conspicuous Gallantry engraved in place thereof (see facing page 140).

THE CRIMEAN WAR

In October 1853 the Czar of Russia declared war against the Sultan of Turkey, and to defend "the sick man" Great Britain and France landed troops at Varna, a Bulgarian port in the Black Sea. At the end of February 1854 Queen Victoria bade farewell to the Guards at Buckingham Palace, and these with other regiments sailed for the East to take part in a war which, declared on March 28th, 1854, was to cost us the lives of thousands of brave men: 21,815 were killed, or died of wounds or disease, and 11,876 were wounded--a total of 32,691 officers and men. Disease accounted for the deaths of 16,041, battle only 4,774! The old soldiers, as Sir Evelyn Wood states, died without a murmur, and it "is impossible to overpraise the disciplined silence of men under privations which in a few weeks reduced one battalion from nearly 1,000 effectives to a strength of 30 rank and file." At the end of February 1855, although the strength of the British army was on paper 44,000, only 18,000 were "present and fit for duty"; and yet the medals of the brave and patient survivors of this war are selling at a few shillings apiece unless they happen to have the bar for Balaklava or Inkermann--Sebastopol, that long-drawn agony, counts for nothing!

On September 7th, 1854, the Anglo-French army put to sea, its objective being the great naval station of Sebastopol in the Crimea. There were, in addition to the crews of the warships, about 27,000 British, including the Light Brigade of 1,000, with 60 guns, under Lord Raglan, who had served on Wellington's staff in the Peninsular; 28,000 French under Marshal St. Arnaud, and 7,000 Turks under Omar Pasha. The Sardinian contingent under General La Marmora did not reach the Crimea until May 1855. The troops were landed, between September 14th and 18th, on the beach at Kalamita Bay, about twenty-five miles from Sebastopol, and two days after the disembarkation had been effected they had to force the Alma, when they defeated the Russians under Prince Mentschikoff so effectively that the allies were allowed to march southwards unmolested, and to form bases within a few miles of Sebastopol. The British established themselves at the little port of Balaklava, eight miles to the south of Sebastopol, and the French at Kamiesch Bay, six miles north of the place.

=The Alma.=--The Russians had taken up a position commanding the road to Sebastopol, with a front of two miles, mainly on the range of hills varying in height from 120 ft. to 200 ft. on the left bank of the River Alma, and on the morning of September 20th the allies prepared to attack them. The French and Turks began the battle, Marshal St. Arnaud attacking the left of the Russian position, and the centre with the aid of one British division, and Lord Raglan the right. The French General Bosquet made a brilliant advance, and drove the enemy from some high ground, but the French centre did not support him, and he was isolated; Raglan therefore decided to order the second and light divisions to advance, and this they did under a murderous cannonade. "Opposed to the English were at least two-thirds of the Russians," but the young and untried soldiers of Britain once again demonstrated the splendid fighting material of which they were made. Through the entangling vineyards and into the rapid waters of the Alma they steadily marched; emerging, they were ordered "to fix bayonets, get up the bank, and advance to the attack." They quickly climbed the steep and rugged hill-sides, but received a check, and then some one calling "Cease fire and retire," they became somewhat confused; they soon rallied, and the light division stormed into the great redoubt with its 14 guns of heavy calibre, carried the Kourgane hill, defended by 17,000 men with two redoubts and 14 guns, and then, with their depleted and broken ranks swelled by the Guards and the Highlanders, the Black Watch to the fore, who had pressed into the fight and up the Kourgane hill, charged the heights and at the point of the bayonet drove the Russians off in confusion. Thus the battle of the Alma was won, not by the brilliant tactics of the officers, but by the courage and tenacity of the men, and so by 6 o'clock in the evening Marshal St. Arnaud's tent was pitched on the spot where Mentschikoff had his headquarters in the morning. After the battle, a staff officer relates, Lord Raglan's eyes filled with tears when he shook hands with Sir Colin Campbell, and "he could not speak when the brave old veteran said to him, pointing to the dead Highlanders, 'Sir, it was they who did it,' and then the cheer went up when he asked to wear a bonnet! With its horrors, war has its romance." The same officer, writing a little later, said, "Glory when looked at close, and while it is being earned, is rather an ugly thing." The heroes of the Crimea certainly learned that.

The late Major-General (then Colour-Sergeant) Luke O'Connor, gained his Victoria Cross in this battle. Ensign Anstruther of the Royal Welsh had with boyish impetuosity gallantly rushed forward and, outpacing all, proudly planted the Queen's colour on the parapet of the Redoubt; riddled with Russian bullets he fell, but O'Connor, taking the colour from his dying grasp again planted them on the Redoubt, and, although wounded in the breast, carried them through the rest of the fight. Captain (afterwards Major-General) Bell, C.B., also won his V.C. at the heights of Alma for his daring conduct on that day, when, all the senior officers of the regiment being placed _hors de combat_, he found himself in command, and successfully brought the 23rd out of action. The gallant Welsh Fusiliers, who were the first to land in the Crimea, lost their colonel and 8 officers, and the Light Division, of which they formed part, lost 47 officers and 850 men. The Division was composed of the 7th, 19th, 23rd, 33rd, 77th, and 88th. The total British losses were 2,000, and those of the French 3 officers, including Generals Canrobert and Thomas wounded and 560 men. The Russians had 5,000 placed _hors de combat_, including 45 officers, among whom were Generals Karganoff and Shokanoff.

The regiments present at the Alma were the Grenadier, Coldstream, and Scots Guards; 1st, 4th, 7th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 23rd, 28th, 30th, 33rd, 38th, 41st, 42nd, 44th; two companies of the 46th; 47th, 49th, 50th, 55th, 63rd, 68th, 77th, 79th, 88th, 93rd, 95th Foot; 4th and 13th Light Dragoons; 8th and 11th Hussars and 17th Lancers. The cavalry were never called into action. Lord Raglan had said he preferred to keep his "cavalry in a band-box."

=Siege of Sebastopol.=--On September 23rd, 1854, the army began its slow and "most remarkable flank march in military history." Balaklava was ultimately reached, "the result of blind accident rather than knowledge of how war should be conducted," and the armies of Britain and France settled down on the Chersonese upland, and the siege of Sebastopol commenced. From September 28th, 1854, it ran its long course until September 11th, 1855, when the Russians, who had fought so well under Todleben, retired and the allies entered it unopposed. This long and complex siege cannot here be dealt with in detail. How the unfortunate troops fared in the trenches has passed into the history of this country as a blot upon the administration which allowed brave men to die like flies; "between November 1854 and February 1855 there were 9,000 deaths in hospital, and by the end of February there were no less than 13,600 officers and men in hospital," and no wonder when men, emaciated by disease and tried by the severe weather, "carrying great-coat and blanket, marched through a sea of mud to the trenches," where they remained in a cramped position all night until day broke, and, after a few hours' rest, "often in a puddle, which chilled their bones under a worn-out tent through which the rain beat"; they who had the heart of a lion were compelled to do asses' work. The hospitals were frequently merely bell tents, and "the men lay, often in mud, on the ground, and in many cases their diet was only meat and biscuit. They were, moreover, so crowded together that the doctors could scarcely pass between the patients." The heroic Florence Nightingale, as every one knows, with her band of nurses helped to lighten the burden of pain and suffering which the men endured, but the lasting disgrace which attaches to the callous administrators of the period is only accentuated when we consider the dire necessity for her action.

=Capture of the Mamelon.=--Sebastopol was bombarded, with the co-operation of the fleet, on October 17th, and the Russians made their first sortie on the 26th; in March 1855 they made another, and on April 9th the place was ineffectively bombarded; but on June 6th a bombardment was followed by an assault, and the Mamelon, an outwork of the Malakoff, was taken. Then the allies essayed the capture of the Malakoff and the Redan, the French to take the former and the British the latter; but despite the strenuous efforts of the men, the forts remained in the possession of the enemy. In these abortive attempts on June 17th and 18th the French lost 3,500 men, and the British 1,500; and of the six British and French Generals and Commanders who led the attacks on the 18th, 4 were killed and 1 wounded. The Royal Irish lost 259 officers and men by death and wounds in the attack on the Redan, and Captain Thomas Esmond of that regiment gained the V.C. and Sergeant John Grant the Meritorious Service medal. The Russians lost 4,500 officers and men killed and wounded. The siege was, following these repulses, resumed in the ordinary way, and the stubborn Russians, who were losing 250 men each day, began to realise that their magnificent courage could not stand much longer against the determination of the allies; and at the end of August, when the brave garrison was being depleted by the loss of over 900 each day, they determined upon the evacuation of the fortress they had held so well. So they built a bridge across the outer harbour, and made preparations to cover their retreat.

=Capture of the Malakoff.=--Then the allies again determined to reduce the fortress, and bombarded it for practically three days and nights, at the end of which, on September 8th, the French again assailed the Malakoff, and carried and held it against the enemy, but the British failed to capture the Redan. The British losses were 2,271 officers and men placed _hors de combat_, including three generals wounded, and the French 7,567, including 5 generals killed and 4 wounded. The Russian losses were 12,915, including 9 generals. During the night the Russians exploded their mines, and Prince Gortschakoff successfully took his garrison, with most of the wounded, across the bridge, which they destroyed, and took up a position on the heights to the north of Sebastopol, from whence they cannonaded the fortress which the allies had occupied. The war was thus virtually at an end, although hostilities continued until February 1856, and the treaty of peace was not signed in Paris until March 29th.

Meanwhile the battles of Balaklava and Inkermann had been fought, both brought about by the efforts of the Russians to raise the siege, and both battles remarkable for the courage and fearlessness of the British troops, and alas! for the lack of simple military genius on the part of many of the officers. As a military authority has stated, "The army ought to have been beaten according to all the canons of war, but it wasn't!" Tommy Atkins saved the face of his superiors.

=Balaklava.=--The charge of the Light Brigade in this battle was an example of what appears to have been either muddle-headedness or overweening belief in the importance of our cavalry, but it gave to the Light Cavalry of the British Army undying fame. Their "death-ride" gave them eternal life! The battle of Balaklava was fought on October 25th, 1854, the anniversary of Agincourt. The Russian relieving force, numbering 22,000 infantry and 3,400 cavalry, with 78 guns, advanced from the Tchernaya by Kamara across the Woronzoff Road to attack the front of the position at Balaklava, and to meet them Lord Raglan took down the first and fourth divisions to the plain, which General Canrobert--St. Arnaud had died--reinforced with the first division of French Infantry and the Chasseurs d'Afrique.

="The Thin Red Line."=--The Russians obtained possession of three forts, and managed to retain two of them with 7 guns; then "their artillery advanced with a large mass of cavalry, and their guns ranged to the 93rd Highlanders, which, with 100 invalids, under Lieutenant-Colonel Daveney, in support, occupied very insufficiently, from the smallness of their numbers, the slightly rising ground in front of No. 4 Battery." Then a body of the enemy's cavalry, "amounting to about 400, turned to their left, separating themselves from those who attacked Lord Lucan's Division, and charged the 93rd Highlanders, who immediately advanced to the crest of the hill, on which they stood and opened their fire, which forced the Russian cavalry to give way and turn to their left; after which they made an attempt to turn the flank of the 93rd ... upon which the Grenadiers of the 93rd under Captain Ross were wheeled up to their right and fired on the enemy, which manœuvre completely discomforted them." Thus the gallant Sir Colin Campbell officially described the deed of the "thin red line" at Balaklava; that line of imperturbable Highlanders armed only with muzzle loaders, that, despite the rounds of shot and shell which harried them, dared to accept the charge of cavalry and drove them off.

=Charge of the Heavy Brigade.=--Then the main body of the Russian horsemen, about 3,000, advanced against the British Heavy Brigade, 900 sabres strong. The light-blue jackets, with embroidery of silver lace, the grey coats of the Dragoons, and the glitter of the lances, made a brave picture as the enemy's cavalry cantered toward their objective. They "nearly halted. Their first line was at least double the length of ours--it was three times as deep. Behind them was a similar line, equally strong and compact. They evidently despised their insignificant-looking enemy," but the trumpets rang out again in the valley; then Brigadier-General Scarlett, with about 300 Scots Greys and Enniskilleners, went right at the centre of the Russian cavalry, and then, as W. H. Russell, the famous _Times_ correspondent, graphically described, "as lightning flashes through a cloud the Greys and Enniskilleners pierced through the dark masses of the Russians. The shock was but of a moment. There was a clash of steel, and a light play of sword blades in the air, and then the Greys and the redcoats disappeared in the midst of the shaken and quivering columns. In another moment we saw them emerging with diminished numbers, and in broken order, charging against the second line. It was a terrible moment.... With unbated fire the noble hearts dashed at the enemy. It was a fight of heroes.... By sheer steel and sheer courage, Enniskillener and Scot were winning their desperate way through the enemy's squadrons, and already grey horses and red coats had appeared right at the rear of the second mass, when, with visible force, like one bolt from a bow, the 4th Dragoon Guards riding straight at the right flank of the Russians, and the 5th Dragoon Guards, following close after the Enniskilleners, rushed at the remnants of the first line of the enemy, went through it as though it were made of pasteboard, and put them to utter rout." Then followed that "superb incident--at once a blunder and a miracle."

=Charge of the Light Brigade.=--Lord Raglan, being desirous that the withdrawal of the Russians should be taken advantage of to regain the heights, and fearing that the enemy might attempt to remove the guns from the redoubts captured from the Turks, gave orders for the Light Cavalry to be moved forward. Captain Nolan misconstrued the order, and indicated to Lord Lucan that the heavy battery of guns a mile away, supported by masses of cavalry and infantry, with other batteries on either flank, was to be charged. Lucan hesitated to carry the mad order into effect, but ultimately decided that it was his duty to do so, and gave the order to the Earl of Cardigan to take the terrible odds which he saw arrayed against him. Cardigan, like Scarlett, was a brave and daring cavalry leader, and into the "valley of death" he rode with his Light Brigade of 621 men. Encircled by fire they charged down the valley, dashed through the guns, sabred the gunners where they stood, cut their way through a brigade of Russian cavalry and a company of infantry, turned about, what was left of them, when four squadrons of Lancers were hurled at them, but they met the charge gallantly, and then the Russian artillerymen, recovering from their shock, but without regaining their senses, turned their guns upon the daring British cavalry and their own men who were struggling with them! The Greys and Enniskilleners, and the Chasseurs d'Afrique created a diversion, otherwise it is doubtful whether a single man of that brave little band, which rode so fearlessly and fought so uselessly, would have survived to receive the plaudits of his countrymen, and--shame of shames--as was the case with several of them, to end his days in the workhouse or eke them out with the aid of charity. It were almost idle for the poet to sing:

"Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!"

Four hundred and twenty-six of the brigade were placed _hors de combat_, 13 officers and 162 men were killed or taken prisoners, the former including Captain Nolan, who was struck early in the charge by a piece of shell and killed; 27 officers and 224 men were wounded. There struggled back to camp, in scattered groups, a remnant of 195 mounted men. In this charge Quartermaster Charles Wooden, whose group of medals forms the frontispiece to this volume, as Sergeant-Major in the 17th Lancers, gained the Victoria Cross by assisting Surgeon Mouat in saving the life of Lieutenant-Colonel Morris of his own regiment when lying exposed to a heavy fire of shot and shell, and carrying him to a place of safety. The Sergeant-Major had a horse shot under him.

The regiments engaged at Balaklava were the Heavy Brigade, comprising the 1st, 2nd, and 6th Dragoons; 4th and 5th Dragoon Guards; the Light Brigade, consisting of the 13th Light Dragoons and 17th Lancers in the first line, 4th Light Dragoons and 8th and 11th Hussars in the second line, and the 93rd Highlanders; but men of the Rifle and Naval Brigades, and of the artillery and various line regiments, including the 4th, 19th, 21st, 30th, 33rd, 44th, 47th, 50th, 53rd, 68th, and 77th, were also present and received the medal with the bar for Balaklava.

=Inkermann.=--On Sunday, November 5th, 1854, the battle of Inkermann was fought. The Russians had received considerable reinforcements; it is estimated that by that time 120,000 troops were under Prince Mentschikoff's command, and the Czar's soldiers were in high fettle, owing to the presence in camp of the Czar's sons, Michael and Nicholas. A general advance was made by the Russians, Mount Inkermann being the objective, and the battle commenced by an assault thereon by General Danneburg with about 40,000 men. The Mount of Inkermann and the district thereof was held by the Second Division under General Pennefeather. At daybreak masses of Russians were discerned marching to the attack, and soon afterwards the armies were in conflict. Then began the "soldiers' battle," which was to add lustre to the record of the several British regiments whose gallantry gained the day. How can one adequately paint the picture of 200 men of the 30th charging a couple of Russian battalions and putting them to rout, or of the 49th defeating a strong column and chasing their flying foemen? How can one do justice to the 525 men of the 41st who fought and dispersed five battalions of the enemy, and the 260 men of the 77th who put to rout 1,500 of the famous Tomsk Regiment? In the first stage of the battle 4,000 British soldiers beat back 15,000 Russians from the slopes of Inkermann, where, in the detached fighting that had taken place, many a V.C. was well earned. In the second stage the terrific struggle ranged around the worthless sand-bag battery; seven times did the Russians capture it, and as often was it retaken by the British, each time with awful slaughter, until the dead lay around the battery in heaps and filled the entrenchment. In this useless and stubborn fight Generals Adams, Cathcart, and Torrens fell. There young Captain Stanley of the "Die Hards" fell as he called to his men to "remember Albuera" and follow him. There a few hundred Coldstreams, who had 8 officers killed, fought back to back against 6,000 Russians, and sustained "the bloodiest struggle ever witnessed since war cursed the earth." Then two 18-pounders were ordered up by Lord Raglan, and, as happened at the Alma, helped to determine the events of the day. An artillery duel resulted, many a British gunner falling by his gun, in the discomfiture of the enemy ere the Zouaves, led by their Vivandière, pushed into the fight and drove the Russians toward the sand-bag battery, where the dead had formed a wall. The French Zouaves and British soldiers then made short work of the contest, and the Zouaves' standard was firmly planted on the sand-bag battery. By 1 o'clock the battle was decided, but such was the straggling and intermittent nature of the fighting that it was not until 3 o'clock that Mount Inkermann was again entirely in the possession of the allies. In this great battle 10 British Generals were killed or wounded--Lord Raglan alone being unharmed--39 officers and 558 men killed, and 1,760 officers and men wounded (rather more than one-third of the total strength of the army engaged). The French lost 130 killed and wounded, and the Russians over 11,000, including 256 officers killed.

The following regiments were present at Inkermann: Grenadiers, Coldstreams, and Scots Fusilier Guards; 1st, 4th, 7th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 23rd, 28th, 30th, 33rd, 38th, 41st, 2 companies 46th, 47th, 49th, 50th, 55th, 57th, 63rd, 68th, 77th, 88th, 95th; 4th, 8th, 11th, and 13th Hussars; 17th Lancers and 2 batteries of the Royal Horse Artillery and Royal Field Artillery.

Medals with bars for the Alma or Inkermann, or both, are rare to the 46th Foot, while the medals awarded the Coldstream Guards and to participants in the charge of the Light Brigade realise good prices when offered for sale.

=The Crimean Medals.=--In December 1854 Queen Victoria commanded that a medal bearing the word "CRIMEA" should be struck, and that bars for the ALMA and INKERMANN ("the soldiers' battle") should be awarded to those who had taken part in the battles; but the world had wondered at the "death-ride" of the Light Brigade--on October 29th, 1854--and so no one was surprised when, in February 1855, a clasp for BALAKLAVA was granted to those who rode so bravely into the jaws of death, and, wonder of wonders, came out again; likewise to the Heavy Brigade and to the regiments engaged in the vicinity. The bar for SEBASTOPOL was added to the list in October 1855, so that the four-bar medal illustrated is a complete record of one of the greatest of modern wars, significant because of the fact that we fought shoulder to shoulder with our old adversaries the French, and side by side with the Turks and Sardinians against the Russian Army. The medal, designed by W. Wyon, represents on the reverse a Roman warrior with a flying figure of Victory crowning him with a laurel wreath; to the right of the figure is the word CRIMEA arranged perpendicularly. The obverse is the same as that on the Peninsular and India General Service medals. The bars are the most ornate of the whole series given with British medals. A special bar for AZOFF was given to the Navy. The suspender is of a very appropriate character, suggesting a palm wreath issuing from a conventional cusp. The ribbon is of pale blue with yellow edges, and, be it noted, the ribbon for the Baltic medal--illustrated facing page 296--granted to sailors and a few marines, is yellow, with pale-blue edges. The Baltic medals were all issued unnamed, as were also the Crimean; but some recipients of the latter had their name and regiment engraved privately. Others were officially named later, with the same stamps as were used for the Army General Service and early Kaffir War medals, in square Roman capitals.

Five bars in all were issued, but four is the greatest number awarded with any medal. The bars should read upward from the medal as follows: Alma, Balaklava, Inkermann, Sebastopol, but a number of the medals were issued without the bars being fixed, and the order is consequently sometimes found to be inaccurate; care should therefore be taken to verify the record of the person named on the medal. Many medals were issued before the grant of the bar for Sebastopol at the end of October 1855, and many exist without this bar, although all who took part in the battles of Balaklava and Inkermann were entitled to it. The troops who landed in the Crimea after September 9th, 1855, the day Sebastopol fell, were not entitled to the medal unless they had been engaged against the enemy after that date.

=The Turkish Medals.=--The Turkish Government, in whose cause we took up arms, gave to the allies a silver medal suspended by a bright-red ribbon with green edges ½ in. wide running through a small ring. This is illustrated beside the British Crimean medal. These medals vary; they were intended for the British, French, and Sardinian soldiers, and had among the trophy of flags that of the country the recipient belonged to in the front, beside the Turkish flag, and in the exergue either CRIMEA 1855, LA CRIMEA 1855, or CRIMEE 1855, but as the ship which was bringing the medals to England foundered, many men received the French or Sardinian variety. These medals, 1⅖ in. in diameter, bear on the obverse the Sultan's cypher encircled by a laurel wreath, with the date in Arabic Hegira "1271."

They were generally issued unnamed, but I have several impressed.