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Auction: 26001 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 36

Army of India 1799-1826, short-hyphen reverse, 3 clasps, Assye, Argaum, Gawilghur (C. McGregor, 78th Foot.), officially impressed naming, heavy contact wear, edge bruising and minor verdigris, nearly very fine

22 Medals with these 3 clasps to the 78th Highlanders, of a total of just 51 to European recipients.

Charles McGregor is confirmed upon the Medal Roll for participating in some of the hardest-fought actions of the Second Anglo-Maratha War. At the Battle of Assaye (23 September 1803) in particular, the 78th were one of only two British infantry regiments in Major-General Arthur Wellesley's (later to become, of course, Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington) Anglo-Indian army and formed the left flank of the line. Advancing steadily towards the Maratha position (being under fire from both artillery and musketry all the while), the regiment were the first to reach the enemy position and, halting a mere 50 yards from the Maratha gunners, they unleashed a terrific volley of musket fire before following up with a bayonet charge which forced the enemy to flee in disorder. Maintaining their cohesion, the 78th then reformed to face a Maratha cavalry charge before continuing the advance: they were lucky not to share the fate of the 74th Foot on the right flank, where resistance was much stronger and the regiment consequently suffered horrendous casualties.
For their part in this bloody but decisive victory, the 78th were presented with a special third Colour by the East India Company and adopted the symbol of an elephant as their regimental badge; they later acquired a real elephant as a mascot, which eventually returned home to Scotland with the regiment and lived out the rest of its life in Edinburgh Zoo.

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Estimate
£4,000 to £6,000

Starting price
£3000