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.
=Chrystler's Farm.=--The day following the battle of Nivelle in
France saw a victory for British arms in Canada at Chrystler's Point,
commonly called Chrystler's Farm. This battle was a sequel to that at
Chateauguay. I have referred to the fact that the American General
Wilkinson, with his army of 10,000 men, had failed to combine with
Major-General Hampton, but by November 3rd he landed a portion of
his troops near Point Iroquois, to which place the British General
dispatched a force of 800 regulars and militia, under Colonel Morrison,
to stop the advance. Meeting 3,000 men who had been landed under
Major-General Boyd at Chrystler's Farm, Colonel Morrison's little army
routed them after a fight lasting two and a half hours, with a loss of
250 killed and wounded, besides 100 prisoners and one gun. The effect
of the action at Chrystler's Farm was to compel the enemy to evacuate
Lower Canada.
Men of the 49th and 2nd Battalion 89th Regiments, the Royal Artillery,
Canadian Militia, Fencibles and Voltigeurs, likewise a few Indians,
were engaged in this battle. As comparatively few regulars took part in
the American battles, Fort Detroit, Chateauguay, and Chrystler's Farm,
and because they were awarded so many years after, medals to British
regiments bearing these bars are very rare, as indeed are those of the
Colonials who took part.
[Illustration: NASSAU MEDAL FOR WATERLOO.]
[Illustration: HANOVERIAN MEDAL FOR WATERLOO.]
=Nive.=--Soult, having lost the Nivelle, withdrew his army to Anglet,
and formed a line of defence with his unfinished fortified camp in
front of Bayonne. Wellington, owing to the bad weather--the 12th
was very foggy, and rain fell in torrents from the 11th until the
20th November--was unable to move, and was consequently constrained
to maintain the allied army in very close quarters. The bad weather
abating, the British commander determined to enlarge the productive
area for his army by forcing the line of the Nive, and taking up a
position on the left bank of the Adour, where reasonable subsistence
could be found for the allied army. The time had not passed tamely, for
in pressing the posts slowly forward, Generals Wilson and Vandeleur
were wounded, while the light division alone lost 100 men. On December
8th the troops made a forward movement, and on the 9th the Nive was
crossed near Cambo by the right of the army under Lieutenant-General
Sir Rowland Hill, while the 6th division, under Lieutenant-General Sir
H. Clinton, successfully passed at Ustaritz, and by this manœuvre the
enemy were driven from the right bank of the river, and retired towards
Bayonne by the great road of St. Jean Pied de Port. Those opposite
Cambo were nearly intercepted by the 6th division, one regiment being
driven from the road and compelled to march across country.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account