Date
Instituted: 1810.
Campaign: Peninsular War 1808-1814 and War of 1812.
Description: The obverse of this medal bears the image of Britannia with a shield holding a laurel wreath and palm branch while the reverse has the name of the battle for which the medal is first earned surrounded by laurel wreaths. The ribbon is attached via a wide curved suspender.
Metal: Gold.
Size: 54mm and 33mm.
Clasps: Clasps were issued for the second action (the first being engraved on the reverse of the medal) onwards that the recipient took part in (see below for a list of actions). No more that two clasps could be awarded since four actions or more earned the recipient the Army Gold Cross.
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Naming:
Comments: Introduced in 1810 the Army Gold Medal was awarded to officers of the rank of Major or above for participating in one or more battles in the Peninsular War. Generals and officers of field rank who took part in 4 or more battles received the Army Gold Cross. Generals received the larger 54mm medal while officers of field rank were awarded the smaller 33mm medal.
Awards of the Army Gold Medal ceased in 1814.
The actions for which this medal was awarded include:
- Roleia, 1808
- Vimiera, 1808
- Sahagun, Benevente, 1808-9
- Corunna, 1809
- Martinque, 1809
- Talavera, 1809
- Guadaloupe, 1810
- Busaco, 1810
- Barrosa, 1811
- Fuentes d'Onor, 1811
- Albuhera, 1811
- Java, 1811
- Ciudad Rodrigo, 1812
- Badajoz, 1812
- Salamanca, 1812
- Fort Detroit, 1812
- Vittoria, 1813
- Pyrenees, 1813
- St. Sebastian, 1813
- Chateauguay, 1813
- Nivelle, 1813
- Chrystler's Farm, 1813
- Nive, 1813
- Orthes, 1814
- Toulouse, 1814
Finally it should be noted that officers who were awarded this medal did not later receive the Military General Service Medal. This was because the Army Gold Medal covered the same actions as the MGS Medal.
See also: Army Gold Cross |
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