Part 1

THE MEMOIRS OF THE DUKE DE ST. SIMON

Newly translated and edited by FRANCIS ARKWRIGHT.

_In six volumes, demy 8vo, handsomely bound in cloth gilt, with illustrations in photogravure, 10/6 net each volume._

NAPOLEON IN EXILE AT ELBA (1814-1815)

By NORWOOD YOUNG, Author of "The Growth of Napoleon," etc.; with a chapter on the Iconography by A. M. Broadley.

_Demy 8vo, cloth gilt, with coloured frontispiece and 50 illustrations_ (from the collection of A. M. Broadley), _21/- net_.

NAPOLEON IN EXILE AT ST. HELENA (1815-1821)

By NORWOOD YOUNG, Author of "Napoleon in Exile at Elba," "The Story of Rome," etc.

_In two volumes, demy 8vo, cloth gilt, with two coloured frontispieces and one hundred illustrations_ (from the collection of A. M. Broadley), _32/- net_.

JULIETTE DROUET'S LOVE-LETTERS TO VICTOR HUGO

Edited with a Biography of Juliette Drouet by LOUIS GUIMBAUD; translated by Lady THEODORA DAVIDSON.

_Demy 8vo, cloth gilt, with many illustrations, 10/6 net._

THE NEW FRANCE

=Being a History from the Accession of Louis Philippe in 1830 to the Revolution of 1848, with Appendices.=

By ALEXANDRE DUMAS. Translated into English, with an introduction and notes, by R. S. GARNETT.

_In two volumes, demy 8vo, cloth gilt, profusely illustrated with a rare portrait of Dumas and other pictures after famous artists, 24/- net._

WAR MEDALS AND THEIR HISTORY

BY W. AUGUSTUS STEWARD

OFFICIER D'ACADÉMIE AUTHOR OF "FROM THE BREASTS OF THE BRAVE," ETC.

_With 258 Illustrations in Half-tone and Line_

LONDON STANLEY PAUL & CO 31 ESSEX STREET STRAND W.C.

_First published in 1915_

FOREWORDS

If any excuse were needed for penning this, it is to be found in the exceeding interest which was taken in my monograph "Badges of the Brave." Indeed, many readers have requested me to deal, at greater length, with a subject which not only opens up a great historical vista and awakens national sentiment, but, incidentally, serves an educational mission to those who collect and those who sell the metallic records of many a hard-fought field, which, when collated, form an imperishable record of our island story.

The War Medal is a comparatively modern institution, otherwise we might have learned the names of the common folk who fought so tenaciously in the old wars, as, for instance, the Welsh infantry and Irish soldiers who, with the English bowmen, comprised the army of 30,000 which at Crécy routed an army of 120,000; the followers of the Black Prince who captured the impetuous King John at Poitiers, or the English archers whose deadly volleys made such havoc at Agincourt, on that fateful day in October nearly five hundred years ago; the brave seamen who, under Lord Howard, Drake, Hawkins, and Frobisher, fought the "Invincible Armada"; and those who, under Raleigh, vigorously pursued the Spaniards on the high seas. We might have learned something of the men who composed the Royal Scots and the 18th Royal Irish, and helped to vindicate the reputation of the British soldier at Namur, and covered themselves with glory at Blenheim; the gallant Coldstream Guards who did such excellent service under Marlborough at Oudenarde and Malplaquet, as well as the Gloucesters and Worcesters who fought so well at Ramillies, or the Royal Welsh Fusiliers who served under George II at Dettingen.

When, however, war medals were designed for distribution among successful combatants, a means of decorating surviving soldiers and sailors was established, and at the same time a sentimental and substantial record of a man's labours for his country upon the field of battle. So that, if the veterans of Drake's historic fleet, or Marlborough's dauntless soldiers, were not possessed of badges to distinguish them from the soldiers of industry, we, at any rate, may hold in our hands the medals which were awarded to those who served the immortal Nelson, and be proud to possess the medals which shone upon the breasts of our great grandparents who defied the Conqueror of Europe on that memorable Sunday, and made his sun to set upon the battlefield of Waterloo.

Have you listened to the smart British veteran as he explains the disposition of the troops on that historic occasion--how the French cavalry "foamed itself away" in the face of those steady British squares? How he makes the Welsh blood tingle as he records the glorious deeds and death of Sir Thomas Picton, and the Scotsman's dance through his veins as he explains how, with the cold steel of their terrible bayonets, the Black Watch at Quatre Bras, and its second battalion, the Perthshires, at Waterloo, waited for the charge of the cuirassiers; and how Sergeant Ewart of the Scots Greys captured the Eagle of the 45th, and then, with the rest of the Union Brigade (the English Royals and the Irish Inniskillings), crashed through the ranks of the faltering French, and scattered the veterans of Napoleon's army! Have you seen how the mention of the Guards holding the Château of Hougomont brightens the eye of the Englishman? Yes! Then just think what it is to touch and possess the solid proofs of the deeds that those men did, and to feel that you have in your possession the only recompense those brave and daring men received from a grateful country.

=Historical Value.=--My collection of medals enables me to cover over a hundred years of history; takes me back to the stirring times when men yet met face to face in the Peninsula and at Waterloo; to the men who founded our Indian Empire. It enables me to keep in touch with sailors who fought in the battle of the Nile, at Trafalgar, and at Navarino, that last of all naval battles in which we British took part--our allies were then the French and Russians--until our battleships met those of the Germans in the great war now waging. It reminds me of the horsemen who made the world wonder ere, with deathless glory, they passed their little day, and of that "thin red line" of Scots, whose cool daring at Balaklava has only been bedimmed by the gallantry of the Light Brigade. It enables me to think more intimately of the men I know who faced the Russians in that terrible winter, and then, like heroes, plodded through the inferno of the Mutiny. It brings back vividly to my mind the days of the Zulu War and the heroism of Rorke's Drift. It reminds me of the daring march to Kandahar and the frontier wars so necessary to hold back the turbulent human surf which beats on the shores of our great Eastern Empire. It enables me to keep closely in touch with those who so quickly dealt with Arabi Pasha and later faced the fanatical hordes of the Mahdi; the young men of this generation who fought so stubbornly at the Modder River, and who stormed the Tugela Heights. It enables me to keep in touch with those "handymen" and scouts on the fringe of Empire who in Somaliland, Gambia, Benin, Matabeleland, and Bechuanaland uphold the dignity of Britain.

We sometimes read of a man or woman who has shaken hands, sixty, seventy, or eighty years ago, with some great person, or some one whose deeds have made him or her a name in history. The possession of war medals and decorations, or of medals of honour gained by brave deeds in time of peace, brings us in close touch with those who honourably gained them. That is an aspect of medal-collecting which appeals to me, and should to every one who admires pluck, grit, daring, and the willingness to personal sacrifice which these badges of the brave denote.

Finally there is an exceptional feature in the collection of war medals which will also appeal, for, as Sir James Yoxall has pointed out in "The A B C About Collecting," the collector of war medals "has concentrated upon a line which can be made complete." If, however, his inclinations or his means will not permit of the acquisition of a complete set he may specialise in either Military or Naval Medals, or those awarded to special regiments or ships, or to men of his own name, or those earned by boys or nurses.

In order to facilitate the search for bars issued with the various medals, the names inscribed thereon are printed in the text in small capitals: these, of course, must not be taken as representing the type used on the official bars; reference must be made to the illustrations, which, being the same size as the original medals, will materially assist the reader in recognising official lettering.

In conclusion I have to express my sincere thanks for the help afforded and the deep interest taken in my book by Dr. A. A. Payne, whose kindness in providing photographs of examples in his unique collection has enabled me to illustrate many interesting and rare medals; to G. K. J. and F. W. G. for clerical assistance; G. T. F. for sketches; and to Messrs. Heywood & Co., Ltd., for the loan of several of the blocks of medals which had been used in monographs I had written for publication by them.

W. AUGUSTUS STEWARD.

LONDON.

CONTENTS

MILITARY SECTION

PAGE

FIRST CAMPAIGN MEDALS 1

EARLY MEDALS GRANTED BY THE HONOURABLE EAST INDIA COMPANY 9

FIRST MEDAL FOR EGYPT, 1801 16

THE MAHRATTA WAR 20

FIRST OFFICIAL MILITARY OFFICERS' MEDAL 25

THE PENINSULAR WAR 26

CONTINENTAL PENINSULAR WAR MEDALS 66

WATERLOO AND QUATRE BRAS 70

BRITISH AND CONTINENTAL WATERLOO MEDALS 81

NEPAUL, 1814-15 86

FIRST BURMESE WAR 90

FIRST AFGHAN WAR 94

FIRST CHINESE WAR 98

SECOND AFGHAN WAR 100

THE GWALIOR CAMPAIGN 109

THE SIKH WARS 111

SECOND PUNJAB CAMPAIGN 119

FIRST NEW ZEALAND WAR 124

MILITARY GENERAL SERVICE MEDAL GRANTED 128

INDIA GENERAL SERVICE MEDAL GRANTED 133

FIRST KAFFIR WARS 134

SECOND BURMESE WAR 137

THE CRIMEAN WAR 139

PERSIAN WAR 155

INDIAN MUTINY 156

SECOND CHINESE WAR 178

SECOND NEW ZEALAND WAR 182

ABYSSINIAN WAR 189

ASHANTEE WAR 192

ZULU WAR 197

THIRD AFGHAN WAR 202

EGYPTIAN CAMPAIGNS 210

RIEL'S REBELLION 217

ANNEXATION OF BURMA 218

BLACK MOUNTAIN AND BORDER EXPEDITIONS 220

EAST AND WEST AFRICA 227

SECOND ASHANTEE WAR 229

CHITRAL 230

MATABELELAND AND RHODESIA 235

THE SUDAN 239

THIRD ASHANTEE WAR 244

THIRD CHINESE WAR 245

THE BOER WAR 248

NIGERIA 256

AFRICAN EXPEDITIONS 257

NATAL REBELLION 259

TIBET EXPEDITION 259

ABOR 261

SUDAN, 1910 262

NAVAL SECTION

ARMADA MEDALS 266

CHARLES I MEDALS 267

COMMONWEALTH MEDALS 268

THE DUTCH WARS 269

CHARLES II MEDALS 271

LA HOGUE 273

QUEEN ANNE MEDALS 274

GEORGE I AND GEORGE II MEDALS 276

"THE GLORIOUS" 1ST OF JUNE 279

NAVAL GOLD MEDAL INSTITUTED 280

ST. VINCENT 281

CAMPERDOWN 283

THE NILE 284

COPENHAGEN 287

TRAFALGAR 288

TRAFALGAR MEDALS 290

BARS ISSUED WITH NAVAL GENERAL SERVICE MEDAL 293

BARS ISSUED FOR BOAT ACTIONS 305

ALGIERS 306

AVA 307

NAVARINO 308

SYRIA 309

CHINA, 1840-2 310

SCINDE, 1843 310

PUNJAB, 1848-9 311

CHINA, 1856-60 311

PEGU 311

CRIMEA 312

NAVAL BRIGADE IN CRIMEAN WAR 315

INDIAN MUTINY 316

NEW ZEALAND, 1845-6-7 317

CREWS ENGAGED IN ABYSSINIA, ASHANTEE, PERAK, AND SOUTH AFRICA 318

EGYPTIAN WARS 319

AFRICAN EXPEDITIONS 329

BOER WAR 333

MERITORIOUS SERVICE MEDALS 336

LONG SERVICE MEDALS 348

HOW MEDALS ARE NAMED 352

SOME CONTINENTAL AND FOREIGN WAR MEDALS 357

PISTRUCCI'S WATERLOO MEDAL 374

REGIMENTAL DESIGNATIONS 377

SALE PRICES 382

INDEX 401

ILLUSTRATIONS

V.C. AND MEDALS AWARDED TO QUARTERMASTER WOODEN _Frontispiece_

FACING PAGE

ROYALIST BADGES 1

DUNBAR MEDAL 4

MEDAL FOR OUDENARDE 4

H.E.I. CO.'S MEDAL FOR SERINGAPATAM, 1799 12

H.E.I. CO.'S MEDAL FOR EGYPT, 1801 12

PENINSULAR GOLD MEDAL 16

GOLD MEDAL FOR MAIDA, 1806 20

H.E.I. CO.'S MEDAL FOR AVA, 1824-6 20

PORTUGUESE GOLD CROSS (COMMANDER'S) FOR THE PENINSULAR 28

PORTUGUESE OFFICER'S CROSS FOR THE PENINSULAR 32

SPANISH CROSS FOR ALBUHERA 36

SPANISH CROSS FOR CIUDAD RODRIGO 36

SPANISH GOLD CROSS FOR VITTORIA 36

ALCANTARA MEDAL, 1809 40

MILITARY GENERAL SERVICE MEDAL 40

PENINSULAR GOLD CROSS 44

PENINSULAR GOLD MEDAL WITH BARS 44

LIEUTENANT-COLONEL BRACKENBURY'S DECORATIONS 48

PRUSSIAN MEDALS FOR NAPOLEONIC WARS 52

BRONZE MEDAL TO BRITISH GERMAN LEGION 52

SILVER MEDAL TO HANSEATIC LEGION 52

WATERLOO MEDAL 56

ARMY OF INDIA MEDAL, 1799-1826 56

NASSAU MEDAL FOR WATERLOO 60

HANOVERIAN MEDAL FOR WATERLOO 60

PRUSSIAN JUBILEE MEDALS FOR WATERLOO 64

"ST. HELENA" MEDAL 64

BRUNSWICK MEDAL FOR WATERLOO 72

SAXE-GOTHA-ALTENBURG WATERLOO MEDAL 72

PISTRUCCI'S WATERLOO MEDAL 80

GOVERNOR-GENERAL'S MEDAL FOR GHUZNEE, 1839 88

MEDAL FOR GHUZNEE, 1839 88

MEDAL FOR KELAT-I-GHILZIE, 1842 96

FIRST JELLALABAD MEDAL, 1842 96

SECOND JELLALABAD MEDAL ("FLYING VICTORY"), 1842 100

CHINA MEDAL, 1842 100

MEDAL FOR CABUL, 1842 100

MEDAL FOR CANDAHAR, ETC. 108

BRONZE STAR FOR MAHARAJPOOR 108

BRONZE STAR FOR PUNNIAR, 1843 112

MEDAL FOR SUTLEJ, 1845 112

MEDAL FOR PUNJAB, 1849 112

FIRST INDIA GENERAL SERVICE MEDAL, 1854 120

FIRST SOUTH AFRICA MEDAL, 1853 120

CRIMEA MEDALS 128

FIRST MÉDAILLE MILITAIRE 132

SARDINIAN CRIMEA MEDAL 132

SECOND CHINESE WAR MEDAL 132

VICTORIA CROSS 136

INDIAN ORDER OF MERIT 136

MERITORIOUS SERVICE MEDAL 136

DISTINGUISHED CONDUCT MEDAL 140

CONSPICUOUS GALLANTRY MEDAL 140

INDIAN MUTINY MEDAL 144

NEW ZEALAND MEDAL 144

ABYSSINIAN MEDAL 148

CANADA MEDAL 148

ASHANTEE MEDAL 148

ZULU WAR MEDAL 148

AFGHAN MEDAL, 1878-9-80 156

ROBERTS STAR FOR KANDAHAR 156

HONG-KONG PLAGUE MEDAL 160

EGYPTIAN WAR MEDAL 160

KHEDIVE'S STAR 160

INDIA MEDAL FOR FOUR CAMPAIGNS 164

EGYPTIAN MEDAL FOR THREE CAMPAIGNS 164

AFRICA MEDAL FOR FIVE EXPEDITIONS 164

JUMMOO AND KASHMIR MEDAL 168

HUNZA NAGAR BADGE 168

MEDAL FOR MATABELELAND 172

CAPE OF GOOD HOPE MEDAL 172

QUEEN'S SUDAN MEDAL (REVERSE) 172

KHEDIVE'S SUDAN MEDAL (OBVERSE) 172

QUEEN'S SUDAN MEDAL (OBVERSE) 176

KHEDIVE'S SUDAN MEDAL (REVERSE) 176

QUEEN'S SOUTH AFRICA MEDAL (OBVERSE) 176

KING'S SOUTH AFRICA MEDAL (REVERSE) 176

BOER WAR MEDALS FOR COMPARISON 180

MAJOR CROOPER'S DECORATIONS 184

MEDALS ILLUSTRATING PHASES IN THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA 188

BRONZE STAR FOR ASHANTI, 1896 192

INDIA 1895 MEDAL 192

MAYOR'S STAR FOR DEFENCE OF KIMBERLEY 192

MEDAL FOR ASHANTI, 1900 198

MEDAL FOR TIBET, 1903-4 198

MEDAL FOR NATAL REBELLION 198

INDIA GENERAL SERVICE MEDAL, 1908 204

INDIA GENERAL SERVICE MEDAL FOR ABOR, 1911-12 204

MEDAL FOR SUDAN, 1910 204

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS 208

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE ORDER 208

CONSPICUOUS SERVICE CROSS 208

ROYAL NAVAL RESERVE MEDAL 224

H.E.I. CO.'S MERITORIOUS SERVICE MEDAL 224

KING EDWARD'S ARMY LONG SERVICE MEDAL 224

VICTORIAN VOLUNTEER OFFICER'S DECORATION 240

EDWARDIAN COLONIAL AND AUXILIARY FORCES DECORATION 240

KING EDWARD'S MILITIA LONG SERVICE MEDAL 244

KING GEORGE'S TERRITORIAL EFFICIENCY MEDAL 244

VICTORIAN MILITARY LONG SERVICE MEDAL 252

KING GEORGE'S NAVAL DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDAL 252

EGYPTIAN MEDAL FOR BRAVERY 256

THE MILITARY CROSS 256

ELIZABETHAN NAVAL MEDAL 266