War Medals and Their History

by William Augustus Steward

The cross (see facing page [44]), Maltese in form, is 1½ in. square, with a bright lapped double border framing a laurel mount. In the centre in bold relief is the British Lion statant, and on the four arms of the cross are arranged the names of the battles the recipient was engaged in. The name of the first battle is arranged in the space above the Lion. The obverse and reverse are similar; the cross was suspended from a crimson ribbon with blue edges—the regulation ribbon at this time—1⁷∕₁₀ in. wide, by means of a gold swivel and laureated ring, connected to the cross by means of a gold loop and ornamentation. The names and regiments of recipients were engraved on the edges of the arms of the cross.

Number Issued.—The Duke of Wellington received the only cross with 9 bars, representing 13 engagements; two were issued with 7 bars; three with 6 bars; seven with 5 bars; eight with 4 bars; seventeen with 3 bars; eighteen with 2 bars; forty-six with 1 bar, and sixty-one the cross alone. Eighty-five large gold medals were issued, and 599 small gold ones. One hundred and forty-three bore 1 bar, and seventy-two 2 bars, leaving four hundred and sixty-nine medals without bars or clasps.

Nivelle.—For nearly six cold and inclement weeks after the fall of San Sebastian, Wellington remained inactive in the Pyrenees, the troops suffering considerably in the bleak situation. Then began the operation which has been described as one of the boldest of the war. Wellington determined to seize the great La Rhune mountain, 2,700 ft. high, which stood between the Nivelle and Bidassoa valleys and the dependent heights; by so doing he could menace the centre of the French line, and cross the border. Soult lost his head, and called upon the French peoples of the provinces to take up arms and war "to the knife." Wellington coolly responded by informing the inhabitants that England did not make war upon the people, but upon their ruler, who did not allow others to remain at peace, and impressed upon his soldiers that any acts of violence or marauding would be punished by death. Early on the morning of October 7th, 1814, the British made their first movement by crossing the mouth of the Bidassoa River—a feat classed among the ablest and boldest of Wellington's operations; the enemy were taken by surprise, and the British carried everything before them. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon the famous exploit of Lieutenant William Havelock, "El Chico Blanco," took place. He had been sent by General Baron Alten to see the progress that Marshal Giron's Spaniards had made, and finding them irresolute, despite their previous successes, his fiery spirit could not brook the check. Taking off his hat, he called upon the Spaniards to follow him, set spurs to his horse, and cleared the abattis at a bound. "Then," wrote Napier, "the soldiers, shouting for 'El Chico Blanco' (the fair boy)—so they called him, for he was young and had light hair—with one shock broke through the French, and at the very moment when their centre was flying under the fire of Kempt's skirmishers from the Puerto de Vera." (Lieutenant-Colonel Havelock, elder brother of Sir Henry Havelock, was born on January 23rd, 1793, and killed while leading the 14th Light Dragoons—"450 sabres against an army amounting to more than 15,000 men with heavy cannon"—at Ramnuggur, November 22nd, 1848.) In three days the allies lost 814 men, and the French 1,400, but the victorious allies were now on French soil, and working well together, the Spaniards rising to the occasion as success succeeded success. For some days the armies were inactive; Wellington was getting ready to resume the offensive, while Soult was preparing to attack. The enemy, however, attacked, and carried a redoubt in the camp of Sarre held by the Spaniards. They then attacked, on the morning of the 13th, the advance posts of the army of Andalusia, under the command of Marshal Giron, but were easily repulsed. Ultimately the French retreated in confusion towards the bridge of Nivelle, and on November 10th the battle of La Nivelle was fought. It was a beautiful morning, and it must have been a grand sight to see the army of 90,000 men descend to the battle. "Three guns pealed from the mountain heights of Achubia ... and the battle of the Nivelle commenced." Driven from the centre, many of the French troops crossed the Nivelle at St. Pè, while Major-General Colville, with the 3rd division, and General Le Cor with the 7th, drove off those who held the heights above, and established the allied army on the rear of the enemy's right. Night ended the battle, and under cover of the darkness Soult withdrew his army and abandoned the position he had been fortifying for three months. On the 12th he took up his position in front of the camp at Bayonne. In this engagement the allies took 1,400 prisoners, 51 pieces of cannon, and 6 tumbrils of ammunition. The French also lost 2,000 men killed and wounded.

In his dispatch Wellington particularly referred to the gallant conduct of the 51st and 68th Regiments in the attack on the heights above St. Pè. The allies lost 26 officers, including Lieutenant-Colonel Lloyd of the 94th, 28 sergeants, 289 rank and file; 155 officers, including Major-General Kempt, and 2,146 men wounded; 3 officers and 70 men missing.

The following regiments were present in the engagements leading up to the battle of Nivelle. 1st and 2nd Batts. Foot Guards; 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 20th, 23rd, 24th, 27th, 28th, 31st, 32nd, 34th, 36th, 38th, 39th, 40th, 42nd, 43rd, 45th, 47th, 48th, 50th, 51st, 52nd, 53rd, 57th, 58th, 59th, 60th, 61st, 62nd, 66th, 68th, 71st (did not take active part), 74th, 76th, 79th, 82nd, 83rd, 84th, 85th, 87th, 88th, 91st, 92nd, 94th, and 95th; the Rifle Brigade; 12th, 13th, 14th, and 18th Light Dragoons, and the 1st and 2nd Light Battalions, also the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Line Battalions of the King's German Legion.

Chrystler's Farm.—The day following the battle of Nivelle in France saw a victory for British arms in Canada at Chrystler's Point, commonly called Chrystler's Farm. This battle was a sequel to that at Chateauguay. I have referred to the fact that the American General Wilkinson, with his army of 10,000 men, had failed to combine with Major-General Hampton, but by November 3rd he landed a portion of his troops near Point Iroquois, to which place the British General dispatched a force of 800 regulars and militia, under Colonel Morrison, to stop the advance. Meeting 3,000 men who had been landed under Major-General Boyd at Chrystler's Farm, Colonel Morrison's little army routed them after a fight lasting two and a half hours, with a loss of 250 killed and wounded, besides 100 prisoners and one gun. The effect of the action at Chrystler's Farm was to compel the enemy to evacuate Lower Canada.

Men of the 49th and 2nd Battalion 89th Regiments, the Royal Artillery, Canadian Militia, Fencibles and Voltigeurs, likewise a few Indians, were engaged in this battle. As comparatively few regulars took part in the American battles, Fort Detroit, Chateauguay, and Chrystler's Farm, and because they were awarded so many years after, medals to British regiments bearing these bars are very rare, as indeed are those of the Colonials who took part.

NASSAU MEDAL FOR WATERLOO.