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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  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 
  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._

[Illustration: MEDALS AWARDED TO SERGEANT-MAJOR, LATER QUARTERMASTER,
CHARLES WOODEN, 17TH LANCERS, ONE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE.

_Frontispiece_]




                              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