Hornby Medal and Chain.—By a decision of the King given at the Court held at Kensington on September 18th, 1744, a gold medal and chain of the value of £100 was granted to Captain Richard Hornby, of the "Wrightson and Isabella" of Sunderland, and a bounty of £5 to each of his five men, and 40s. to each of his three boys, for having engaged a French privateer armed with ten carriage and eight swivel guns, and manned by 75 seamen, and, after a contest renewed again and again over a period of five hours, sinking the French vessel. A gold medal of the value of one hundred guineas was also awarded to Captain Phillips of the "Alexander" privateer for the capture of a large French vessel in St. Martin's Road off the Isle of Rhe. There were 230 men on board the ship of 22 guns, and Phillips's crew numbered 150, but he successfully boarded the vessel and brought her into port, when it was discovered that she was H.M.S. "Solebay," which the enemy had captured a couple of years previously.
Louisbourg, 1758.—For the taking of Louisbourg on July 26th, 1753, a medal was awarded to those who distinguished themselves upon land under Generals Amherst and Wolfe, and at sea under Admiral Boscawen. The Navy's participation in the affair was to attack and cut out the two ships, the "Bienfaisant" of 64 guns, and "La Prudente" of 74 guns, which had been left for fighting purposes after some others had been sunk to obstruct the entrance to the harbour. The boats from the British fleet set out on their task at midnight on July 25th, cut the cable under a heavy fire, and having boarded the ships proceeded to tow them out. "La Prudente" grounded and had to be burned; but the smaller vessel was successfully got out and added to the British fleet. The medals, by T. Pingo, with rings for suspension, were struck in gold, silver, and bronze. Four specimens of the gold medal are known to exist—one which was in the Montague collection, another which was sold at Sotheby's in 1895, and those awarded to Sir Alexander Schomberg, great-grandfather of Lieutenant-Colonel Schomberg, R.M.L.I., and to Senior Midshipman (afterwards Sir George) Young.
"The Glorious" 1st of June.—The reign of George III produced a long record of brilliant achievements by the British Navy. When he ascended the throne, in October 1760, Britain was still at war with France and continued to be so almost the whole time he reigned; but it was not until "The Glorious" 1st of June 1794, when Admiral Lord Howe gained his great victory off Ushant, that medals were awarded, and a regulation medal instituted for naval services. Hearing that the French fleet had sailed for Brest, Howe put to sea to meet it, and having sighted the enemy on the morning of May 28th, gave chase. A smart action ensued which was renewed next day; but heavy fog put an end to fighting until the 31st. On June 1st both fleets prepared for battle: the engagement commenced, and the French line was soon broken in several places; but the French seamen fought with great courage. The furious nature of the British attack, however, was too determined, and the enemy sailed away, such of the ships as could, having 10 dismasted and 7 taken by the English fleet, the "Vengeur" going down with 200 of her crew as she was being towed away. The British Admiral's flagship, the "Queen Charlotte," was badly injured, also the "Brunswick," "Defence," and "Marlborough." It is understood that the 2nd and detachments of the 25th and 69th Foot served as Marines on board the ships which fought on that glorious 1st of June.
The vessels engaged were H.M. ships "Queen Charlotte," "Royal Sovereign," "Royal George," "Barfleur," "Bellerophon," "Impregnable," "Queen," "Cæsar," "Culloden," "Defence," "Glory," "Gibraltar," "Invincible," "Majestic," "Leviathan," "Marlborough," "Montague," "Ramillies," "Russell," "Orion," "Thunderer," "Tremendous," "Audacious," "Alfred," "Brunswick," and "Valiant," the frigates "Aquilon," "Latona," "Phæton," "Niger," "Southampton," "Venus," "Charon," and "Pegasus," the sloops "Comet" and "Incendiary," and the cutters "Ranger" and "Rattler."
Naval Gold Medal instituted.—On June 13th Lord Howe reached Spithead, and the King and Queen at a levee held on the Admiral's flagship presented him with a sword set with diamonds in the hilt and a gold chain with a gold medal attached thereto. At the same time gold chains were presented by His Majesty to the two vice-admirals, three rear-admirals, and the captain of the fleet with the intimation that gold medals for suspension would be distributed to the principal officers when they had been struck. These were distributed on November 9th, 1796. The obverses of both medals are the same as illustrated facing this page; but whereas on the larger medal the name of the recipient and the event for which the medal was awarded are encircled by a struck wreath of laurel and oak, the reverse of the smaller one is plain except for the inscription. The larger medal was worn by the admirals suspended from the neck by the gold chain referred to, and the other flag officers hung theirs by means of a white ribbon with dark-blue edges, which became the ribbon for the N.G.S. medal when issued in 1847. The captains' medals, the smaller size, were dependent from a ring and bar made from wire and suspended by the white, blue-edged ribbon through the third or fourth button-hole on the left side of their coats. Although Lord Howe's fleet consisted of twenty-five ships of the line, as well as frigates, only fourteen medals were awarded to his captains, i.e. to those whom he had particularly mentioned in dispatches.
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WILLIAM III SILVER MEDAL FOR LA HOGUE, 1692.