OF THE

BRITISH ARMY,

AND

HOW THEY WERE WON.

BY

THOMAS CARTER.

REVISED, Enlarged, and cONTINUED TO the present time

BY

W. H. LONG,

EDITOR OF

"The Oglander Memoirs," "Memoirs of Lady Hamilton," &c.

"What is a ribbon worth to a soldier?

Everything!-Glory is priceless!"

Sir E. B. Lytton, Bart.

"He wears her like her medal, hanging
About his neck."-Winter's Tale.

LONDON:

NORIE AND WILSON, 156, MINORIES.

1893.

C3

1893

PREFACE.

WHE

HEN Napoleon proposed the institution of
the Legion of Honour, he
of Honour, he was met by

the assertion that: "Crosses and ribbons were the pillars of an hereditary throne, and that they were unknown to the Romans, who conquered the world." In his reply to this objection-after showing that Rome rewarded the achievements of her citizens by all kinds of distinctions - he added: "For the soldier, as for all men in active life, you must have glory and distinction; recompenses are the food which nourish military virtue."

For many years a similar antagonistic feeling to the granting of Medals to all ranks prevailed in this country, although the propriety of rewarding the victors of a hundred fights with some decoration was warmly advocated by the press, and the result eagerly expected by the veterans who had survived.

It remained for her present Majesty the Queen to carry out the foregoing maxim of a great military genius, in her Army and Navy; for with M 8820

the exception of the Medal given for Waterloo, the soldiers who won the fields of Assaye, Salamanca, and Vittoria, and the gallant seamen who conquered at St. Vincent, the Nile, and Trafalgar, remained undecorated till the year 1847, without even a piece of ribbon to show for the many actions in which they had risked their lives in the service and defence of their country.

The following Work, besides describing the Medals, aims at giving a concise account of the Campaigns and Actions for which Medals and Clasps have been conferred, drawn from the most authentic sources; interspersed with notes and anecdotes of regimental and individual acts of bravery. The engravings have been executed from the Medals themselves, so as to ensure their exact representation; and it is hoped the narratives of "How they were won," will be found equally trustworthy, as no pains have been spared to secure accuracy.

The accounts of the Wars in New Zealand and South Africa, and of the numerous Expeditions for which the Indian General Service Medal has been granted, will be found in a more detailed and collected form than hitherto published in a single volume.

The first edition of this Work, by the late Mr. T. CARTER, described the Medals of the British