War Medals and Their History

by William Augustus Steward

GOLD MEDAL FOR "THE GLORIOUS FIRST OF JUNE."

Awarded to Captain James (later Admiral Rt. Hon. Lord) Gambier.

This medal bears on the obverse an antique galley on the prow of which Victory is represented in the act of alighting and placing a wreath upon the head of Britannia, who stands with her right foot on a Greek helmet; she holds in her left hand a spear; beside her is an oval shield whereon is depicted the Union Jack. The larger medal is 2 in. in diameter and the smaller one 1·3 in. Both sizes were struck in gold, and the medal became a general award to naval officers who had distinguished themselves in great naval victories until 1815, and it is noteworthy that the only officers below the rank of post captain who earned the captains' medal were Lieutenant Pinfold of the "Ajax" and Lieutenant Stockham of the "Thunderer," who in the absence of their captains commanded their ships at Trafalgar; but they were not given the medal until they had reached the rank of post captain. It was ultimately awarded to Captain Mounsey of the "Bonne Citoyenne" for the capture of "La Furieuse" on July 16th, 1809. The total number of gold medals issued was 140, of which eight were admirals' medals awarded with chains; flag officers' were issued with broad ribbons for suspension from the neck, and 117 of the captains' size, as illustrated, for suspension between the third and fourth buttonholes of their coats. Gold chains were only given with the admirals' medals for June 1st.

The vessels engaged were H.M. ships "Queen Charlotte," "Royal Sovereign," "Royal George," "Barfleur," "Bellerophon," "Impregnable," "Cæsar," "Culloden," "Defence," "Gibraltar," "Glory," "Invincible," "Leviathan," "Marlborough," "Majestic," "Montague," "Orion," "Ramillies," "Russell," "Tremendous," "Thunderer," "Valiant," "Alfred," "Audacious," "Brunswick," and the frigates "Aquilon," "Charon," "Latona," "Phæton," "Southampton," "Niger," "Pegasus," the sloops "Incendiary" and "Comet," and the cutters "Rattler" and "Ranger."

St. Vincent, 1797.—On St. Valentine's Day, 1797, the battle of St. Vincent was fought between the Spanish fleet of 27 ships of the line and 8 frigates under Admiral Don Josef de Cordova, and 20 British ships of the line, 2 sloops, and a cutter which had been cruising off the coasts of Spain and Portugal to prevent the fleets of France, Spain, and Holland—which countries had entered into an alliance against Great Britain—from combining. Sir John Jervis commanded; his flagship was the "Victory." Passing through the two divisions of the Spanish fleet, he cut off nine of the enemies' vessels: the Spaniards then attempted to break the British line; but the effort was frustrated, two of the enemy's ships striking their colours. This action, which only lasted four hours, resulted in the loss of four ships to the enemy, Commodore Horatio Nelson of the "Captain," 74 guns, having taken the "San Josef" of 112 guns, and the "San Nicolas" of 80 guns.

In this battle Nelson by his intrepid action placed himself in the front rank of commanders, and his bravery and dash were rewarded by the Order of the Bath, and his advancement to the rank of Rear-Admiral. In the fight off Cape St. Vincent he not only attacked at close quarters the "Santissima Trinidad," a great galleon of 112 guns, but with the aid of the "Culloden" (Captain Trowbridge), which gallantly began the fight, he fought for nearly an hour this great ship and four other galleons which had come to her assistance, until the "Blenheim" (Captain Frederick) and the "Excellent" (Captain Collingwood) came to assist the English, when Nelson ran the "Captain" alongside the "San Nicolas," quickly sprang through one of the stern cabin windows, and leading his men across the Spaniard's deck, boldly boarded the "San Josef," on the quarter-deck of which he soon received the swords of the conquered officers. By 5 o'clock the Spaniards were in retreat, having lost to their enemy four of their finest vessels, and, besides receiving a blow to their naval power, had considerably minimised their value to the French in their effort to command the Channel, and upset the calculations of the Dutch. For the victory Sir John Jervis was created Earl of St. Vincent, and awarded a pension of £3,000 per annum, while the unfortunate Spanish Admiral was dismissed in disgrace.

The vessels engaged were: H.M. ships "Victory," "Britannia," "Barfleur," "Blenheim," "Prince George," "Captain," "Goliath," "Excellent," "Egmont," "Culloden," "Colossus," "Diadem," "Namur," "Orion," "Irresistible," and the frigates "Dido," "Lively," "Minerva," "Niger," and "Southampton," sloops "Bon Citoyenne" and "Raven," and the cutter "Fox."

Camperdown.—When the battle of Camperdown was fought on October 11th, 1797, Great Britain was in the unfortunate position of standing isolated among the nations of Europe, and still concerned with the series of mutinies which had broken out in her fleet owing to the poor pay and bad food meted out to the seamen who had served their country so well. As a consequence Britain was, had her enemies but realised it, in a very precarious position. Fortunately Admiral Duncan had "a way with him," which enabled him, by a combination of firmness and reasoning power, to get his men into such a frame of mind as to state in writing that there was not a man on board the "Venerable" "but would lose the last drop of blood in his body before they (the enemy) should obtain any victory over us, therefore, honoured sir, we once more implore your gracious pardon." Fortunately Duncan's ability to deal with the mutineers enabled him, at least, to have a fleet of some pretensions wherewith to meet the enemy. Meanwhile the mutiny at the Nore had been suppressed, "Admiral" Richard Parker, the leader, hanged, and some effort made to remedy the grievances of the seamen while Duncan had been hoodwinking the Dutch.