War Medals and Their HistorySteward, William Augustus
History
War Medals and Their History
Steward, William Augustus
Great Britain. Army -- Medals, badges, decorations, etc.; Great Britain. Royal Navy -- Medals, badges, decorations, etc.
Various medals were struck during the Civil War by the Royalists, and
engravings are extant illustrating medals variously bearing on the
obverse the portraits of King Charles I, Prince Rupert, or one or
other of his leading supporters and generals, including the Earl of
Essex and Sir Thomas Fairfax. The reverse bore either a representation
of the Parliament or the arms of the person depicted on the obverse.
The victory of Naseby (June 14th, 1645) is commemorated by a silver
medal--gilt--with ring for suspension, upon the obverse of which is a
portrait of Sir Thomas Fairfax, and the inscription THO: FAIRFAX MILES
MILIT PARL DUX GEN, and on the reverse with a circle meruisti and POST
HAEC MELIORA 1645.
During the reign of Charles II (when the foundation of a standing army
was established) and James II, there is no record of military medals
being struck, although during the reign of the former, as I shall
presently describe, naval medals were issued to commemorate victories
over the Dutch, and in the reign of the latter a large silver medal,
apparently for presentation to naval men, was issued.
During the reign of William III and Mary, naval medals only were
struck, and, as far as is known, only one such during the reign of
Queen Anne, for there is no record of any being issued for the famous
battles of Blenheim, Ramillies, and Oudenarde (where, as "Prince
Elector of Hanover," George III distinguished himself), or the
sanguinary battle of Malplaquet, although commemorative medals were
struck.
The reign of George I is also barren of military campaign medals,
while there were apparently only two issued during the reign of George
II--one for the Battle of Culloden (April 16th, 1746), where the Duke
of Cumberland well earned the sobriquet of "The Butcher," and the other
for the taking of Louisbourg, in Canada (July 27th, 1758), where,
after a seven weeks' siege, the French garrison surrendered to General
Amherst.
=The Culloden Medals.=--The Culloden medal was struck to commemorate
the crushing of the Jacobite rebellion at the battle of Culloden on
April 16th, 1746, when the Scots under Prince Charles Edward and Lord
George Murray were defeated by the Duke of Cumberland. The medal, oval
in shape, and 1·75 in. by 1·45 in. in size, had on the obverse the head
of "The Butcher," with CUMBERLAND above, surrounded by an ornate ribbed
border and suspender; a nude figure of Apollo, with a wounded dragon at
his feet, occupies the ground of the reverse, with the words ACTUM EST
ILICET PERIIT, and in the exergue PRŒL · COLOD · AP · XVI · MDCCXLVI.
The medal, by Richard Yeo, was struck in gold, silver, and bronze,
and was suspended from a red ribbon with green edges. This is a very
rare medal, and few specimens now exist, and it is assumed it was only
given to regimental commanders, although as Mr. Grueber, of the British
Museum, pointed out there is no evidence of an order that it should be
granted.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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