War Medals and Their History

by William Augustus Steward

Suakin, 1884.—Undaunted Osman Digna still managed to preach his holy war, and secure thousands of adherents to his banner. Within four miles of the disastrous defeat which he had suffered he successfully got together, at Tamanieb, about 2,000 fighting men, but General Graham did not give him much rope, and immediately set out to meet him. Leaving Suakin on March 25th, he marched with a force which included marines to meet the Mahdists. To guard Suakin in the absence of General Graham and his troops, a force of 200 seamen was landed; the enemy did not, however, come to close grips, and after driving them off on March 27th, and destroying their camp, the troops returned to Suakin, after a very trying time, in which owing to the intense heat many fell victims to sunstroke. Suakin was then garrisoned with a small body of troops, including a battalion of marines, and after the rest of the troops had retired to Cairo, or returned to England, they had to defend the place for several months, during which time the officers and crews of the "Albacore," "Briton," "Coquette," "Myrmidon," "Sphinx," "Tyne," and "Woodlark" were kept busy in assisting the defenders. For these services a clasp inscribed SUAKIN 1884 was issued.

The Nile, 1884-5.—The valiant defence of Khartoum by General Gordon ultimately forced upon the British Government the task of attempting to relieve him, and his few European comrades. The expedition was organised to take the field under General Wolseley; and as special efforts were to be made to use the Nile as a water road for the troops, 300 boats of a special type were built, and 500 Canadian boatmen (Voyageurs) and 300 Kroomen were recruited to navigate them. It is said of the Voyageurs that some of them "hardly knew the stern of a boat from the bow," and "when they saw the Cataracts went sick."

It will be remembered that Lord Wolseley offered a prize of £100 to the first regiment to reach Debbeh in boats, and the 1st Royal Irish won it.

In this expedition a naval brigade composed of men from the Mediterranean fleet commanded by Captain (afterwards Admiral) Lord Charles Beresford was prominently engaged. Of the difficulties that had to be encountered in navigating the Nile much could be written, for the work was not accomplished without considerable loss of life, and before the expedition reached Dongola 10 of the Canadians and 40 of the troops had been drowned.

SECOND CLASS PRUSSIAN ORDER OF MERIT.

HESSIAN MEDAL FOR 1814-15.

AUSTRIAN CROSS FOR 1813-14.

Abu-Klea.—At the beginning of January 1885 Lord Wolseley, becoming apprehensive for the safety of General Gordon, ordered General Sir Herbert Stewart to press forward across the desert with about 1,600 men to Metammeh on the Nile, and from there to make for Khartoum—about 100 miles up the river—in Gordon's steamers. After a march of 100 miles the force rested on January 12th at Jadkul; refreshed, the troops marched on until on January 16th they fell in with the enemy about 4 miles from Abu-Klea. A zareba was formed, and the men lay down to rest, which intermittent firing made almost impossible. At 9 o'clock on the morning of January 17th, leaving the camels and wounded inside the zareba, the force advanced towards the enemy's position; the naval brigade under Lord Charles Beresford formed the centre of the near face of the square: they had with them a Gardner gun. After a march of 2 miles the skirmishers were forced back on the square by the rush of thousands of Mahdists, horse and foot, who came up to within 400 feet of the partly formed square. "The terrible rain of bullets poured into them by the mounted infantry, and the Guards, stayed them not," for, as Lord Charles Beresford relates, "they were tearing down upon us with a roar like the roar of the sea, an immense, surging wave of white-slashed black forms brandishing bright spears and long flashing swords; and all were chanting, as they leaped and ran, the war song of their faith.... These things we heard and saw in a flash, as the formidable wave swept steadily nearer."

Meanwhile Lord Charles had ordered the Gardner gun to be run outside the square to the left flank, and he laid the gun himself to make sure. As he fired, he states, "I saw the enemy mown down in rows, dropping like ninepins.... I was putting in most effective work on the leading ranks, and had fired about thirty rounds, when the gun jammed." Then Lord Charles, with the captain of the gun, William Rhodes, chief boatswain's mate, "set to work to try and unscrew the feed-plate in order to clear the barrel, or to take out its lock. The next moment the enemy were on top of us. The feed plate dropped on my head, knocking me under the gun and across its trail." Rhodes was instantly killed by a spear thrust, as was also the armourer, Walter Miller. On struggling to his feet, Lord Charles was "carried bodily backwards by the tremendous impact of the rush, right upon the front rank of the men of No. 4 Company, who stood like rocks." So great was the pressure that the front ranks could not use rifle or bayonet for a few moments; then the pressure forcing the white men back enabled the rear rank to fire over their heads into the mass of the Arabs. "The Arabs fell in heaps, whereupon the front rank, the pressure upon them relaxing, fired, and fought hand to hand with the bayonet, cursing as the rifles jammed and the shoddy bayonets twisted like tin." The men of the naval brigade joined in the furious hand-to-hand fighting—indeed, all round this was the feature of the fight at Abu-Klea, the heavy Camel Regiment, Scots Greys, Royals, and 5th Dragoon Guards desperately fighting in the square, while the Royal Sussex kept the enemy at bay with their steady fire. Every Arab who penetrated the square was killed; outside their comrades wavered, and then sullenly retired, until at half-past 2 the battle was won.

Of the naval brigade 8 were killed and 7 wounded out of the 40 who went into action. Among the killed were Lieutenants Alfred Piggott and R. E. de Lisle. Every man handling the Gardner gun outside the square was killed excepting Lord Charles Beresford, whose providential escape has enabled us to learn the graphic details of the desperate battle of Abu-Klea, which, as Colonel the Hon. Reginald Talbot (who commanded the heavy Camel Regiment at the battle) wrote, "was an Inkermann on a small scale." I have already described the fight towards the river, and the fact that the expedition had been undertaken in vain—for Khartoum had fallen. The bar for ABU-KLEA was issued to all the survivors.