It is now necessary to speak of two medals of a slightly different nature to any of the foregoing. In mentioning the first, we must recall the work undertaken by the 12th Lancers in 1793, when one section of the regiment went to Corsica and, landing, captured the Bastia, whilst another section went forward to the Italian coast and entered the harbour of Civitavecchia. For the protection thus afforded him, Pope Pius VI gave a dozen of the officers gold medals suitably inscribed. These decorations, it must be added, were not officially recognized in England, and the recipients received no permission to wear them when in uniform.
In the year 1794, another case of British soldiers receiving a foreign decoration occurred. In this instance, Emperor Francis II of Germany was the donor of a gold medal and a chain pendant to each of eight officers of the 15th Light Dragoons. The Emperor had fallen into a precarious position at Villiers-en-Crouché, a small settlement near Cambray, and, had it not been for the heroic and persistent efforts of the English, he would certainly have been captured by the French, who were massed in great numbers. The awards were made as a thank-offering for his lucky escape.
Unlike the Pope's decorations, those of Francis II were recognized by the English Army authorities, and the recipients were allowed to wear them when parading in full dress. The following letter may be quoted in reference to the matter[16]:—
"To Lord Dorchester, Colonel of the
15th Dragoons.
May 1, 1798.My Lord,—The Emperor of Germany having been pleased to present each of the officers of the 15th Regiment, under your Lordship's command, who distinguished themselves in so gallant a manner by their spirited attack upon the enemy, with a very inferior force, on the 24th April, 1794, near Cambray, a gold medal has been struck by his Imperial Majesty's orders, on the occasion, as a particular mark of the sense he entertained of the signal service thereby rendered to the Allied Army. I have therefore the honour, by order of his Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief to signify to your Lordship his Majesty's pleasure that the above-mentioned officers shall be permitted to wear the said medals constantly with their uniforms, as an honorary badge of their bravery in the field of action, and an inducement to all others to imitate, on every favourable occasion, their glorious example.
I have, etc.,
Wm. Fawcett, Adjutant-General."
[16] D. H. Irwin, "War Medals," p. 17.
From this time until the Peninsular campaign almost all the medals which we have to record—many of them of a highly interesting nature—were awarded to native troops by the Honourable East India Company.
The first, dated 1807, reminds us of the gradual expansion of the British Empire. It was struck to commemorate the capture of Ceylon from the Dutch, 1795-6. The medal was made in gold and silver in Calcutta and was given, probably exclusively, to the Bengal Native Artillery—one of those sections of the native Indian Army of which the East India Company was justly proud. The medal was unusually plain, there being no pictorial design, but merely the inscription, "For Service at the Island of Ceylon, A.D. 1795-6," on the obverse, and a Persian inscription on the reverse. It may be said that questions were asked by those in authority as to how so severe a pattern came to be chosen, and the reply was given that as no exceptional feats occurred during the campaign, a simple design was deemed most suitable. The reason seems unconvincing.
THE GENERAL SERVICE MEDAL, 1793-1814.
