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Auction: 23002 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 9

The Military General Service Medal awarded to Private J. White, 4th (King's Own) Regiment of Foot, who was twice wounded in action, on one occasion during the campaign in North America; they were present at the Battle of Bladensburg on 24 August 1814 and he would surely have shared in the Burning of Washington and the failed assault on New Orleans

Military General Service 1793-1814, 2 clasps, Badajoz, Salamanca (J. White, 4th Foot.), very fine

Provenance:
Sotheby's, June 1983.

Joshua White, a native of Caversham, Berkshire, was born in 1789 and joined the 4th Regiment of Foot in 1809. He served with the Regiment from 1 April 1809-4 June 1816, thence serving with the 3rd Garrison Battalion for 87 days before his discharge at Chatham Barracks on 31 March 1816.

He was with his regiment in the Iberian Peninsula and went on to see action at the Siege of Badajoz. When this fortress-town was stormed on 6 April 1812, the 4th were prominent in the capture of the San Vincente Bastion; this success enabled them to fall upon the rear of the enemy ramparts, assisting the other British assaults and White was wounded by a gun shot to the leg on this bloody occasion.

On 4 May 1814, following Napoleon's first abdication, the 1st Battalion 4th Foot joined a Royal Navy convoy at Garonne and were transported across the Atlantic to join the British army under Major-General Robert Ross in the War of 1812. Within a few months Ross achieved a notable victory at the Battle of Bladensburg on 24 August: with just over 4,000 men Ross defeated an American force twice that size. Specifically, the battle-hardened 4th Foot managed to outflank the U.S. Marines, taking over 100 prisoners and capturing ten guns: had it not been for this manoeuvre, the British would have suffered far higher casualties in a frontal assault. 'Bladensburg' consequently became a regimental Battle Honour - one of the few British units to earn this accolade. Meanwhile the Americans - including President Madison, who had ridden down from Washington to observe the engagement - fled in panic after putting up very little serious resistance. This retreat, forever known as 'The Bladensburg Races', has been described by an American historian as 'the greatest disgrace ever dealt to American arms,' and 'the most humiliating episode in American history' (Howe 2006, 67).

Entering Washington, just eight miles away, Ross and his officers enjoyed a civilised dinner in the White House before setting it aflame; numerous other government buildings were torched in retaliation for the American damage to York in Upper Canada the previous year. A heavy storm then saved the city, and within 24 hours the British had returned to their ships. General Packenham's needless assault on New Orleans, on 8 January 1815, was rather less successful. The 4th Foot were in the front line, almost reaching the Rodriguez Canal before withering American fire forced them to withdraw. The assault took place after peace had already been concluded with the United States under the Treaty of Ghent; the news had not yet reached the combatants. White was again wounded in action during the campaign, this time by gun shot to the thigh; sold together with copied research and discharge document.

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Sold for
£2,300

Starting price
£1200