Cheylesmore. In his monograph, Naval and Military Medals, Lord Cheylesmore mentions another “Culloden” medal in his collection, “a slightly larger one in white metal, which leads one to suppose that it was given in inferior metal to the more junior branches, probably officers; but whether this was the case or no I am unable authoritatively to state.” However, one thing is fairly certain, that the issue of the “Culloden” medal was in no sense “general,” as we now understand the term, nor as were the issues for “Dunbar” or the issues of the Honourable East India Company, which will next be dealt with.
No medal awards were made to either the naval or military services for the Seven Years’ War, and the American War of Independence. In fact George III. had been more than thirty years on the throne when the first medal award by the Crown was given, in the shape of the navy gold medals, first issued in 1794. It will however be more convenient to deal later with these medals and the army gold medals and crosses given for services in the long and arduous struggle of 1793–1815, and to describe here in sequence those medals which were issued by the Honourable East India Company, the issue of which was, with certain limitations, “general,” thus reverting to the precedent first established in the “Dunbar” award, namely an issue to all ranks. They are nine in number, and are described below in the chronological order of the military operations for which they were awarded.
1. The “DECCAN” medal. Authorized, first in 1784, and again 1785. Obverse: Figure of Britannia seated on a military trophy, with her right hand holding a wreath of laurel and extended towards a fortress over which the British flag flies. Reverse: Persian inscriptions—In centre, “Presented by the Calcutta Government in memory of good service and intrepid valour, A.D. 1784, A.H. 1199;” around, “Like this coin may it endure in the world, and the exertions of those lion-hearted Englishmen of great name, victorious from Hindostan to the Deccan, become exalted.” This medal was issued in two sizes, diameters 1·6 and 1·25 in. The larger medal was struck both in gold and silver, the smaller in silver only, and both were worn round the neck suspended from a yellow cord. This medal was awarded to two large detachments of the Bengal army, denominated the “Bombay Detachment” (authorized 1784), and the “Carnatic Detachment” (authorized 1785), which respectively fought in the west of India and Guzerat, 1778–84, and in the south of India, 1780–84. The medal was not given to any Europeans, only to natives; the larger medal in gold to Subadars, and in silver to Jemadars; the smaller silver medal to non-commissioned officers and sepoys. By a minute of council, dated the 15th of July 1784, a further boon was granted to the “Bombay Detachment,” inasmuch as it exempted all Hindus of that detachment from payment of the duties levied by the authorities on pilgrims to Coya in Behar. As the large majority of the troops were high caste Hindus, and Coya was, and is the Mecca of Hinduism, this favour must have been much appreciated by the recipients of the medal. This is the earliest Anglo-Indian example of a medal issued alike to all ranks.
2. The “MYSORE” medal. Authorized, 1793. Obverse: A sepoy holding in his right hand the British colours, in his left an enemy’s standard reversed, whilst his left foot rests on a dismounted cannon. A fortified town is in the background. Reverse: Within a wreath; “For Services in Mysore, A.D. 1791–1792.” Between wreath and rim is an inscription in Persian: “A memorial of devoted services to the English government at the war of Mysore. Christian Era, 1791–1792, equivalent to the Mahomedan Era, 1205–1206.” Like the “Deccan” this medal was in two sizes, diameters 1·7 in. and 1·5 in., the larger being struck both in gold and silver, the smaller in silver only, and both were worn suspended from the neck by a yellow cord. The medal was awarded for the operations against Tippoo Sultan, and was bestowed on the “Native Officers and Sepoys of the Infantry and Cavalry, and on the Artillery Lascars, who either marched by land, or proceeded by sea to the Carnatic and returned to Bengal.” The large gold medals were given to Subadars, the large silver to “Jemadars and Serangs,” the small silver medals to “Havildars, Naicks, Tindals, Sepoys and Lascars.” The award therefore, followed precisely the precedent set in the “Deccan” medal. One of the very rare gold specimens of this medal is in the collection of Captain Whitaker, late 5th Fusiliers, whose collection, and that of Lord Cheylesmore, are probably the two finest that have as yet been brought together.
3. The “CEYLON” medal. Authorized, 1807. Obverse: An English inscription: “For Services on the Island of Ceylon, A.D. 1795–6.” Reverse: A Persian inscription: “This Medal was presented to commemorate good services in Ceylon during the years of the Hegira 1209–10.” This medal was issued in only one size, 2 in. diameter, and was awarded to a small force of Bengal native artillery which formed a fraction of a large body of British and native troops (the rest did not receive the medal) which captured Ceylon from the Dutch in 1795–96. It is the only instance of a war medal that has merely a verbal design on both obverse and reverse, and moreover it sets a precedent that was destined to be followed only too often in that it was only granted twelve years after the services that had earned it had been rendered. Only 123 medals were struck, two in gold for native officers, and 121 in silver for other ranks. Like the two preceding, it was worn from the neck suspended from a yellow cord.
4. The “SERINGAPATAM” medal. Authorized, 1799, for services in Lord Harris’s campaign of that year, and the storm of Seringapatam. Obverse: A representation of the storming of the breach at Seringapatam, with the meridian sun denoting the time of the storm. In the exergue is a Persian inscription: “The Fort of Seringapatam, the gift of God, the 4th May 1799.” Reverse: A British lion overcoming a tiger, the emblem of Tippoo Sultan. Above is a standard, with, in the innermost part of the hoist immediately contiguous to the staff, the Union badge, and, in the fly, an Arabic legend signifying “The Lion of God is the Conqueror.” In the exergue: IV. MAY, MDCCXCIX. (the date of the assault). It was in one size, 1·9 in. but of five different kinds. Although the medal was authorized in 1799, it was 1801 before orders for the preparation of 30 gold medals, 185 silver-gilt, 850 silver, 5000 copper bronzed, and 45,000 pure tin, were given, the artist being C. H. Kuchler, and the medals made by Matthew Boulton at the Soho Mint, Birmingham. It was 1808 before they came out to India for distribution, and it was not till 1815 that the Company’s European officers had the prince regent’s sanction to wearing them on public occasions. For the first time the issue was absolutely “general,” to Europeans as well as natives, to Crown troops as well as to those of the H.E.I. Co., but it was not till 1851, when the First India G.S. Medal was awarded, that official sanction was given to their being worn by Europeans in uniform. The medal was given in gold to general officers, in silver-gilt to field officers, in silver to captains and subalterns, in copper bronzed to non-commissioned officers, and in pure grain tin to privates and sepoys. With regard to this medal there is an incident that is worth recording. The bulk of the troops engaged at Seringapatam were Crown forces, or belonged to the Madras and Bombay presidencies; the only Bengal troops taking part being five battalions of infantry, and artillery detachments. On their return to Bengal no steps were taken with regard to medals till 1807, when medals copied from the Soho Mint one, but 1·8 in. only in diameter, were made at the Calcutta Mint. Following the Bengal precedents as set in the “Deccan,” “Mysore” and “Ceylon” medals, the medals were struck in gold for officers, and in silver for the other ranks. A Bengal native officer therefore wore just the same medal as a general officer of any of the other forces, and similarly a Bengal sepoy wore the same medal as a British captain or subaltern of the Crown. The Bengal medal can easily be distinguished from the others, for in the reverse the artist’s initials C.H.K. are rendered “C.ꓘ.H.” Some officers, amongst them Lord Harris himself and his second-in-command Sir David Baird, wore the medal with the red, blue-bordered ribbon, which is the same as that worn with the Army Gold Medal (see below) and was in fact the only authorized military ribbon then in use; but though no ribbon was issued with the medal, recipients were given to understand that the ribbon would be of a deep maize colour and watered, the shading on the ribbon symbolizing the stripes in the fur of the tiger, Tippoo Sultan’s favourite emblem. The duke of Wellington’s medal (silver gilt), has the maize (or yellow as it is often termed) ribbon, and the medal was undoubtedly more generally worn with this ribbon than with the red and blue one. There are also apparently occasional instances of it having been worn with a plain red ribbon.
5. The “EGYPT” medal. Authorized, 1802. Obverse: A Sepoy holding the Union Flag in his right hand; in the background a camp. In exergue, in Persian: “This medal has been presented in commemoration of the defeat of the French Army in Egypt by the victorious and brave English Army.” Reverse: A British ship sailing towards the coast of Egypt. In the background, an obelisk and four pyramids. In the exergue, MDCCCI. This medal was only awarded to native officers and men of the small force of Bengal and Bombay troops which formed part of the expeditionary force from India, that co-operated in Sir Ralph Abercromby’s descent on Egypt in 1801 (see Baird, Sir David). This was another case of a belated issue (1811 for the Bengal troops and two years later for the Bombay troops). The medal was issued in only one size, 1·9 in. in diameter. For the Bengal troops 776 medals were struck, 16 in gold for commissioned officers, 760 in silver for other ranks. The Bombay government obtained the approval of the court of directors for the issue of the medal to their troops in 1803, but apparently did nothing till 1812, when they asked the Calcutta Mint for a copy of the medal to enable them to prepare similar ones. The Bombay Mint would not however appear to have been equal to the occasion, for the sample was returned to Calcutta with the request that 1439 medals might be struck there. This was accordingly done, but all of these medals were made of silver, and so the medal went to the Bombay troops in all ranks alike. As in the case of the “Deccan” medal, Hindu sepoys, who had volunteered for Egypt, were exempted from the duties levied on pilgrims. This medal was worn suspended from the neck by a yellow cord.