Siege of Seringapatam.—The feeling of animosity on the part of Tippoo Sahib, the son of Hyder Ali, fed by the fact that the Directory in France had designs against British India, led him to make preparations for another conflict, but the Earl of Mornington, who afterwards became Marquis of Wellesley, smartly marched an army into Tippoo Sahib's territories, and on March 27th, 1799, advanced in battle array against the enemy, who, after losing about 10,000 men, retreated in disorder, followed by the British Army, which, pressing on to Seringapatam, reached the city on April 5th, and commenced the famous siege, which terminated on May 8th. Among the slain was Tippoo Sahib, and the British in a magnanimous manner interred his remains in the fine mausoleum which he had caused to be built over the resting-place of his father. Twenty-two officers were killed and 45 wounded; 181 men killed, 624 wounded, and 22 missing; 119 native soldiers killed, 420 wounded, and 100 missing.
The European regiments that took part in the storming were the 33rd Regiment (now the 1st Batt. West Riding Regiment), which, led by the Hon. Arthur Wellesley (afterwards Duke of Wellington), distinguished itself on the road to Seringapatam—on March 27th—by standing its ground in the face of an advancing body of 2,000 men, and then, after firing a volley, boldly charging upon them, and with the aid of cavalry driving them off. The other European regiments included the 19th and 22nd (late 25th) Light Dragoons (both disbanded), the 12th and 73rd Regiments, 74th Highlanders, 75th and 77th Regiments, the Scots Brigade, afterwards the 94th (disbanded in 1818), and the 103rd. For these excellent services the Honourable East India Company issued a medal, of which two kinds exist—one produced in the Soho Mint near Birmingham, the famous place established by Matthew Boulton, and the other from dies cut in Calcutta after strikings of the Soho medal.
HONOURABLE EAST INDIA CO.'S MEDAL FOR SERINGAPATAM, 1799.
HONOURABLE EAST INDIA CO.'S MEDAL FOR EGYPT, 1801.
Variety of Medals Struck.—Quite a variety were struck. Gold for His Majesty, the Governor-General of India—Lord Melville, the Marquis Cornwallis, certain Nizams, Nabobs, and Rajahs, the Commander-in-Chief and the General Officers on the Staff, and one for the Oriental Museum. (£15 to £20 has been paid at auction for one of these medals.) Silver gilt for the members of the Council of the three Presidencies, the Residents of Hyderabad and Poona, the Field Officers and the General Staff on Service. (£8 has been given for a fine specimen of the gilt medal.) Silver medals were awarded to the captains and subalterns. (As much as £5 and £6 has been paid for one of these.) Bronze for non-commissioned officers of the British Army, and tin for privates. The medals were issued unnamed in 1808, but it was not until August 29th, 1815, that the members of the British Army were permitted to wear them; issued without suspenders, this permission led to the addition of loops and suspenders, and the adoption of a ribbon for suspension, and while some used a dark orange ribbon suggestive of a tiger's skin, in allusion to the victory of the British arms over Tippoo Sahib—"the conquering tiger of God"—the claret-coloured ribbon with dark blue edges, as used with the Peninsular gold medals and crosses and the Waterloo medal, was the recognised ribbon, although some officers wore a watered yellow ribbon.
To the native commissioned officers and non-commissioned officers, sergeants, bandsmen, and trumpeters of European corps, and to others who might be ranked as non-commissioned officers, the bronze medal was also granted, while the tin medals were given to corporals, gunners, and European privates, and to native doctors, guides, and general-utility men with the Army.
The Soho Medal.—This, 11∕9 in. in diameter, bears on the obverse a representation of the British lion, with a defeated tiger beneath him, a long pennon flying above, and held erect by the lion's tail, bearing near the staff the Union Jack, and in Arabic the defeated Tippoo's title, "Assad Allah El Ghaleb," and in the exergue IV MAY MDCCXCIX. On the reverse is represented the storming of Seringapatam, with the meridian sun indicating that when the sun was in its full glory the successful assault was made and glorious victory was won. Underneath is the legend in Persian, "Seringapatam God conquered 28th day of the month Zikadah, 1213 of the Hegira." The Soho mint was responsible for the striking, in the years 1801 and 1802, of 30 gold, 185 silver gilt, 5,000 bronze, and 45,000 tin medals.