IDENTIFIERS ----------- id: 141240 accession number: CM.1146-2009 DATE AUDIT ---------- created: Saturday 6 August 2011 updated: Monday 15 January 2024 DESCRIPTIVE DATA ---------------- object type: After the deposition of King Prempeh I of the Ashanti in the campaign of 1896, considerable ill-feeling in the country towards the British led to a decision to capture the Golden Stool which symbolised Ashanti royal power. This attempt, carried out in early 1900, was thwarted by the Ashanti chiefs and the people promptly rose against the British, besieging the Governor in the capital of Kumase, now in Ghana. After a month, relief forces got through to the starving British garrison, but due to shortage of available troops had to leave another garrison to stand a further month's siege shortly afterwards, and another after that relief force too had to depart in July. The rising was eventually finally suppressed in December 1900. Because of the simultaneous Boer War, the campaign was fought almost entirely by local African troops, very few of whom were officially considered soldiers, such troops only making a total of around 750 enrolled men of all nations. Unofficial forces were rather larger, but the casualty list of the campaign still numbered 62 European officers and no fewer than 800 Africans. This medal was awarded to participants in the campaign as a whole, but the bar for Kumassi indicates that the recipient was either one of the defenders in the several sieges of Kumase, or a member of one of the relief expeditions, or as was quite possible both. Two versions of this medal were struck, one in higher relief than the other; this is the low-relief version. It was awarded to Private Mandi of the 2nd West African Rifles. Lester Watson purchased it at some point before 1928. title: Ashanti Medal NOTES ----- type: history note value: Gift of L. Hoyt Watson; ex Lester Watson Collection, bt before 1928 LICENSING --------- text license status: CC0 image license status: CC-BY-NC-SA OWNERSHIP --------- instutition: The Fitzwilliam Museum department: Coins and Medals collection: Lester Watson Collection creditline: Given by Lester Watson through Cambridge in America, 2009 STABLE URL ---------- url: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/141240 TECHNIQUES ---------- struck CATEGORIES ------ category: medal DATING ------ creation date: 1901 - 1901 creation date earliest: 1901 creation date latest: 1901 CREATORS -------- maker: London maker: Edward VII (1901-10) maker: Saulles, George W. de maker: Edwardvs VII rex imperator DIMENSIONS ---------- dimension: Diameter units: mm value: 36.4 dimension: Weight units: g value: 37.99 EXHIBITIONS HISTORY ------------------- title: Images of Empire: The British Empire on 19th century medals title: Imagery of War CITATIONS -------- British Battles and Medals 7th edn British and other Campaign and Gallantry Medals From the Collection of Lester Watson (d. 1959) --- IMAGES surrogate: large format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0029_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 147 pixels surrogate: mid format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0029_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 147 pixels surrogate: original format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0029_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 147 pixels surrogate: preview format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0029_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 147 pixels surrogate: large format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0029_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 147 pixels surrogate: mid format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0029_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 147 pixels surrogate: original format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0029_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 147 pixels surrogate: preview format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0029_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 147 pixels