War Medals and Their History

by William Augustus Steward

Medal for Peninsular War.—It would appear strange that although a medal was so readily awarded for Waterloo, no recognition was given to the veterans of the Peninsular, and that they should have to wait until 1847 before a medal was issued as a record of, and reward for, their services against the veteran troops of France. That they ultimately received a decoration was due to the efforts of the veteran Duke of Richmond, who, on July 21st, 1854, presented a petition in the House of Lords, "requesting their Lordships' recommendation of them to their Sovereign, that they may receive a decoration for the services they had performed." The gallant Duke urged the claims of the junior officers, non-commissioned officers, and men in simple but powerful terms, while the Duke of Wellington, who had previously refused to present a petition to King George, opposed the grant to the survivors of over sixty battalions of the army who had, as he admitted, served under him in six campaigns.

He appeared, according to the record of the debate, to have thought only of the senior officers. "Have no rewards been bestowed upon these officers?" he asked. "New modes were discovered and adopted of distinguishing and rewarding the officers." Medals had been struck and distributed to 1,300 officers, special brevets were issued, and 7 officers raised to the peerage, as the Duke of Wellington pointed out; but he had no word of remembrance, no word of support for the thousands of officers and men whose only rewards had been hardship and scars. No word of commendation for the men who kept "grim Busaco's bloody ridge," and ultimately hurled the veterans of Marengo and Austerlitz into the ravine below; or for those who added laurels to Britain's fame at Fuentes d'Onor (Fountain of Honour); the Fusiliers and their brave companions in arms who fought so splendidly and so fiercely on the heights of Albuera, where the 57th—the first battalion of the Middlesex Regiment—gained their coveted nom de guerre, "Die Hards," for, as Napier states, "nothing could stop that astonishing infantry," which turned the day in the bloodiest battle of the war. It was indeed a soldiers' battle, but the senior officers, as usual, received the gold medal. What a case the Duke of Richmond had if only by stating the result of this one battle, after which "1,800 unwounded men, the remnant of 6,000 unconquerable British soldiers, stood triumphant on the fatal hill." The Iron Duke must have forgotten the gallant storming of the breaches at Ciudad Rodrigo, the success of which gained for him his viscountcy; the storming of Badajoz, which caused him to weep at the cost of the victory, and Orthes, where Picton's men climbed the rough, rocky bank, and Colborne's 52nd undauntedly pressed forward knee-deep in the marshy swamp and up the hill to the victory which practically determined the Peninsular campaign.

In his efforts, however, to oppose and belittle the claims of the petitioners for the Peninsular medal he incidentally and unconsciously brought forward the claims of those who had fought in Egypt and on the high seas, and at the battle of the Nile and Trafalgar, from the "Glorious First of June" to the blockade of France and the Bay of Biscay during the Peninsular War. As a result, we may assume, of his arguments against the issue of what is known as the "Military General Service Medal," when the claims came to be considered it was felt that justice must also be done to the sister service, and the "Naval General Service Medal" was likewise instituted on June 1st, 1847, when by a General Order it was commanded that medals be struck and conferred upon every officer and soldier who was present at any battle or siege for which gold medals had been awarded. The medal was given to those who had taken part in the Peninsular Campaign, Egypt, Italy, North America, and in the East and West Indies; and although thirty-four years had elapsed since the last battle, Toulouse, in 1814, over 30,000 applicants made good their claims to the medal. Only six applied for fifteen bars, and of these two made good their claims, Private Talbot of the 45th, and Private Loochstädt, formerly of the King's German Legion. This medal is in Lord Cheylesmore's collection.

The Military General Service Medal.—The medal, 1⅖ in. in diameter, bears on the obverse the diademed head of Queen Victoria, with VICTORIA REGINA on either side of the head, and the date of issue, 1848, underneath. On the reverse is depicted Queen Victoria, robed and crowned, standing on a daïs in the act of placing a laurel wreath on the head of the Duke of Wellington, who kneels on his left knee and holds his field-marshal's baton in his right hand. By the side of the daïs is the British Lion dormant; above is the inscription TO THE BRITISH ARMY, and in the exergue 1793-1814. In the left-hand corner of the exergue is the letter "w," the initial of W. Wyon, R.A., the medallist. The medal depends from a straight clasp, which is attached to the medal by a swivelled four-claw clip. The ribbon is 1¼ in. wide, of dark crimson with blue edges. The recipient's name, rank, and regiment are impressed in Roman capitals. It is noteworthy that the bars, which are 1³∕₁₀ in. by ⅒ in., are arranged in sets of three, where the number warrants, the earliest date being nearest the medal. Those awarded to the infantry are arranged ³∕₄₀ in. apart until the number exceeds six, when they are arranged, like those issued to the cavalry, closely together.

The following regiments received the medal with bars—the bar for EGYPT being granted by General Order dated February 11th, 1850; and as an indication of the depletion of the ranks of those who fought in 1801, I might mention that only three officers—Hill, Beaven, and Deane—of the 18th Royal Irish Regiment were alive to receive the Military General Service Medal with the bar for Egypt.

English Crimea.	Turkish Crimea.
MEDALS FOR CRIMEAN WAR.

Egypt, 1801.—The 2nd and 3rd Foot Guards; 1st, 2nd, 8th, 10th, 13th, 18th, 20th, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th, 30th, 40th, 42nd, 44th, 50th, 54th, 58th, 61st, 79th, 80th, 86th, 88th, 89th, 90th, 92nd, and 96th Foot; 11th, 12th, and 26th Light Dragoons; Hompesch's Hussars; De Rolls and Dillon's Regiments; Corsican Rangers; and the 2nd and 13th Bombay Infantry.

Maida, July 4th, 1806.—20th, 27th, 35th, 58th, 61st, 78th, and 81st Foot; 20th Light Dragoons.