Indian Mutiny Medal

 

The Indian Mutiny 1857 - 1858.

 

Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.

 

 

The Indian Mutiny Medal was a British Empire campaign medal presented for service during the Indian Mutiny. The medal was instituted in 1858 and was awarded to officers and men of British and Indian units who served in operations in suppression of the Indian Mutiny.

 

The medal was initially awarded to those troops who had been engaged in action against the mutineers. However, in 1868 the award was extended to all those who had borne arms or who had been under fire, including such people as members of the Indian judiciary and the Indian civil service who were caught up in the fighting.

 

This was the last of the Honourable East India Company's medals issued on behalf of the British Government and some 290,000 medals were awarded.

 

 

The medal is circular, 36mm in diameter and was struck in silver. The obverse of this medal bears the head of Queen Victoria and the inscription; 'VICTORIA REGINA'.

 

The reverse depicts Britannia holding a shield covered with a Union Jack over her left arm while holding a wreath in her outstretched right hand.

 

Behind her is a lion with the inscription; ‘INDIA’ above and the dates; ‘1857-1858’ below. The designer’s name; ‘L. C. Wyon’ can be seen next to Britannia’s left foot.

 

The ribbon suspender is of an ornate horn shaped swivelling style attached to the medal by a claw mount.

 

The recipient's details can be found on the medal's rim, naming is generally impressed in the style of the Military General Service Medal, however engraved running script or irregularly aligned impressed letters are encountered for native troops. Privates often have their rank omitted with just their name and regiment.

 

 

 

The ribbon is 32mm wide and is white in colour with two red stripes.

 

 

This medal was issued with the following bars:-

 

 

Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.

 

 

 

* It should be noted that the values quoted above reflect the average price that a medal dealer may expect to sell this medal for - please see the ‘things you should know’ web page for more details about valuing medals.

 

** The individual medal value will vary considerably based on the recipient’s details.

 

 

This section contains information on:-

 

- The Indian Mutiny.

- The British Siege Of Delhi.

- The Siege And Relief Of Lucknow.

- The Campaigns In Central India.

- The Honourable East India Company.

- The Army Of The Honourable East India Company.

 

The Indian Mutiny - The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the cantonment of the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to present-day Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, northern Madhya Pradesh, and the Delhi region.

 

The rebellion posed a considerable threat to East India Company power in that region, and was contained only with the fall of Gwalior on 20 June 1858.

 

The rebellion is also known as India's First War of Independence, the Great Rebellion, the Indian Mutiny, the Rebellion of 1857, the Uprising of 1857, the Sepoy Rebellion and the 'Sepoy Mutiny'.

 

The Mutiny was a result of various grievances. However the flashpoint was reached when the soldiers were asked to bite off the paper cartridges for their rifles which were greased with animal fat, namely beef and pork. This was, and is, against the religious beliefs of Hindus and Muslims, respectively.

 

Other regions of Company-controlled India - such as Bengal, the Bombay Presidency, and the Madras Presidency - remained largely calm.

 

In Punjab, the Sikh princes backed the Company by providing soldiers and support. The large princely states of Hyderabad, Mysore, Travancore, and Kashmir, as well as the smaller ones of Rajputana, did not join the rebellion.

 

In some regions, such as Oudh, the rebellion took on the attributes of a patriotic revolt against European presence. Maratha leaders, such as Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi, became folk heroes in the nationalist movement in India half a century later; however, they themselves 'generated no coherent ideology' for a new order.

 

The rebellion led to the dissolution of the East India Company in 1858. It also led the British to reorganize the army, the financial system and the administration in India. The country was thereafter directly governed by the crown as the new British Raj.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.

 

The British Siege Of Delhi - The Siege of Delhi was one of the decisive conflicts of the Indian rebellion of 1857. The rebellion against the authority of the Honourable East India Company was widespread through much of Northern India, but essentially it was sparked by the mass uprising by the sepoys of the units of the Army which the company had itself raised in its Bengal Presidency (which actually covered a vast area from Assam to Peshawar).

 

Seeking a symbol around which to rally, the first sepoys to rebel sought to reinstate the power of the Mughal Empire, which had ruled much of India during the previous centuries. Lacking overall direction, many who subsequently rebelled also flocked to Delhi.

 

This made the siege decisive for two reasons. Firstly, large numbers of rebels were committed to the defence of a single fixed point, perhaps to the detriment of their prospects elsewhere, and their defeat at Delhi was thus a very major military setback.

 

Secondly, the British recapture of Delhi and the refusal of the aged Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II to continue the struggle, deprived the rebellion of much of its national character. Although the rebels still held large areas, there was little co-ordination between them and the British were inevitably able to overcome them separately.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.

 

The Seige And Relief Of Lucknow - The Siege (and subsequent releif) of Lucknow was the prolonged defence of the Residency within the city of Lucknow during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. After two successive relief attempts had reached the city, the defenders and civilians were evacuated from the Residency, which was then abandoned.

 

Lucknow was the capital of the former state of Awadh. The prolonged defence there by the British proved to be one of the key episodes in this uprising. Mainly there were issues of prestige and morale involved, but Lucknow also became the point at which the main forces of both the British and rebels were concentrated.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.

 

Campaigns In Central India - Hugh Henry Rose, (later Field Marshal and 1st Baron Strathnairn) was given command of the Poona division following the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny. He took command in September 1857, and shortly after took command of the newly created Central Indian Field Force made up mostly of loyal sepoys and elements of the army maintained by the Nizam of Hyderabad.

 

He marched from Mhow in January 1858, captured Rahatgarh after a short siege, defeated the Raja of Banapur near Baroda, relieved the City of Saugor, captured the fortress at Garhakota and then defeated the rebels in the Madanpur Pass.

 

Rose arrived at Jhansi on 10 March 1858 and during the siege defeated a relieving force under Tatya Tope at the Betwa on 1 April 1858. Most of Rose's force was locked up in the siege and so he could only field 1,540 men against Tatya Tope's army of 20,000 troops and 28 guns.

 

With the advantage of Punjabi-Afghan sepoys he was able to rout the enemy, inflicting a total loss of 1,500 men and all of their stores. Jhansi was stormed and the city taken on 4 April 1858. The entire civilian population of the city was massacred. However the Queen, Rani Lakshmibai, known as the 'Rani of Jhansi', who had defended the fort made an escape to Kalpi. Rose went on to capture Lahore, Konch and Kalpi in May 1858.

 

Rose then obtained sick leave and Sir Robert Napier was appointed to succeed him. However before Napier could arrive the forces of the Maharaja of Gwalior joined the mutiny. Rose at once resumed command and moved on Gwalior capturing the city in June 1858.

 

Rose was promoted to lieutenant-general for his 'eminent services' on 28 February 1860 and the next month was appointed commander-in-chief of the Bombay Army. He was promoted to the local rank of general on 18 May 1860 and on the departure of Lord Clyde from India in November 1860 Rose succeeded him as Commander-in-Chief, India.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.

 

The Honourable East India Company - The East India Company, originally chartered as the Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading into the East Indies, and more properly called the Honourable East India Company, was an English and later (from 1707) British joint-stock company formed for pursuing trade with the East Indies but which ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent, Qing Dynasty China, North-West Frontier Province and Balochistan.

 

Commonly associated with trade in basic commodities, which included cotton, silk, indigo dye, salt, saltpetre, tea and opium, the Company received a Royal Charter from Queen Elizabeth in 1600, making it the oldest among several similarly formed European East India Companies. Shares of the company were owned by wealthy merchants and aristocrats.

 

The government owned no shares and had only indirect control. The Company eventually came to rule large areas of India with its own private armies, exercising military power and assuming administrative functions. Company rule in India effectively began in 1757 after the Battle of Plassey and lasted until 1858 when, following the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the Government of India Act 1858 led to the British Crown assuming direct control of India in the era of the new British Raj.

 

The company was dissolved in 1874 as a result of the East India Stock Dividend Redemption Act passed one year earlier, as the Government of India Act had by then rendered it vestigial, powerless and obsolete. Its functions had been fully absorbed into the official government machinery of British India and its private presidency armies had been nationalised by the British Crown.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.

 

The Army Of The Honourable East India Company - The presidency armies were the armies of the three presidencies of the East India Company's rule in India, later the forces of the British Crown in India. The presidency armies were named after the presidencies: the Bengal Army, the Madras Army and the Bombay Army. Initially, only Europeans served as commissioned or non-commissioned officers. In time, Indian Army units were garrisoned from Peshawar in the north, to Sind in the west, and to Rangoon in the east.

 

The army was engaged in the wars to extend British control in India (the Mysore, Maratha and Sikh wars) and beyond (the Burma, Afghan, First and Second Opium Wars, and the Expedition to Abyssinia).

 

The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the Company until the Indian Rebellion of 1857, when the Crown took over the Company and its three armies. In 1895 the three presidency armies were merged into a united Indian Army.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.