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Auction: 23113 - Orders, Decorations and Medals - e-Auction
Lot: 2

The Military General Service Medal awarded to Private J. Fulcher, 4th (King's Own) Regiment of Foot, who served during the campaign in North America; his regiment was 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, Vittoria, St. Sebastian (James Fulcher, 4th Foot.), very fine

James Fulcher enlisted into the 4th Foot at Bury St Edmunds on 14 January 1811 and joined the 1st Battalion in Portugal in December 1811.

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.

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Sold for
£1,900

Starting price
£950