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Mint:
London
Artist:
Wyon, William
Artist:
Wyon, Benjamin
Ruler:
Victoria (1837-1901)
Ruler:
Victoria regina
(With the title of)
Rivalry between Britain and Russia over India, and between Russia and France over the protection of Christians under Ottoman rule, led in the 1850s to a focus of diplomatic attention on the ailing Ottoman Empire. British diplomatic successes led to a Russian attempt to annexe the Danubian principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia from the Ottomans, as well as the Russian destruction of the Ottoman Black Sea fleet when Turkey went to war in retaliation. Britain and France moved in support of the Ottomans and although the Danubian provinces were returned the allies' conditions for peace far exceeded this. The Russian refusal to meet these conditions led to full-scale international war in late 1854.
The war was mainly composed of allied attempts to reduce Russian fortresses on the Black Sea (and also on the Baltic), of which only the lengthy siege of Sevastopol was successful, but Russian attrition there and elsewhere was so heavy and the Russian ability to force withdrawal on the allies so inadequate that Tsar Nicholas I made peace in 1856.
Between the fall of Sevastopol and the peace negotiations the main occupation of British forces was in the Sea of Azoff, where the Navy engaged in a number of inconclusive bombardments intended to lead up to the capture of Taganrog. This medal bears a bar for participation in this unsuccessful campaign, and also for action during the long siege of Sevastopol. It was awarded to Leading Stoker Richard Carter of the brig HMS Wrangler. Wrangler took part in the actions in the Sea of Azoff, where his shipmate Boatswain Joseph Kellaway earnt the Victoria Cross that he received in the first ever award of these decorations, but did not serve at Sebastopol, so to earn this bar Carter must have either fought ashore in the Naval Brigade, or else been on Wrangler only 'on loan' while his parent unit fought ashore. Lester Watson purchased his medal at some point before 1928.
The Museum gratefully acknowledges the help of Mr G. M. Stein in tracking the recipient of this medal.
History note: Gift of L. Hoyt Watson; ex Lester Watson Collection, bt before 1928
Given by Lester Watson through Cambridge in America, 2009
Diameter: 35.7 mm
Weight: 42.92 g
Method of acquisition: Given (2009) by Watson, Lester
1855 - 1856
Inscription present: Bust of Victoria facing left
Inscription present: Roman warrior being wreathed by flying Victory
Accession number: CM.1185-2009
Primary reference Number: 141279
Watson Catalogue: 72
Ordering: M-0068
Previous object number: LW.0068
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Coins and Medals
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Crimean War Medal" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/141279 Accessed: 2024-11-05 08:32:03
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/141279
|title=Crimean War Medal
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-05 08:32:03|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:
https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-141279
To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:
<div class="text-center">
<figure class="figure">
<img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0068_281_29.jpg"
alt="Crimean War Medal"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Crimean War Medal</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
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