Skip to main content

Punjab Campaign Medal: CM.1411-2009

An image of Punjab Campaign Medal

Terms of use

These images are provided for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons License (BY-NC-ND). To license a high resolution version, please contact our image library who will discuss fees, terms and waivers.

Download this image

Creative commons explained - what it means, how you can use our's and other people's content.

Alternative views

Object information

Current Location: In storage

Maker(s)

Mint: London
Ruler: Victoria (1837-1901)
Artist: Wyon, William
Ruler: Victoria regina (With the title of)

Entities

Categories

Description

The city of Multan in the Punjab province of India was taken over by the Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh in the early 19th century. It thus became part of the Sikh kingdom of the Punjab that was brought under British East India Company control in the First Anglo-Sikh War. It was also the site of considerable Sikh unrest after this defeat, which culminated in April 1848 with the murder of the British Resident in the city.
The ruler of the Punjab at this time was the eleven-year-old Maharaja Duleep Singh, around whom a rebellion rapidly coalesced. The British waited until November to respond but then advanced to recover the situation. Engagements were inconclusive and badly handled on both sides, and were insufficient to unseat the general resistance of the kingdom to British incursions. Moreover an army of Sikh reinforcements sent by the East India Company, under Shere Singh, instead joined the rebellion, and inflicted heavy losses on a British force sent to quell it at the Battle of Chillianwala on 13 January 1849. Only the recapture of Multan the same month allowed enough of a force to be concentrated to overwhelmingly defeat Sikh resistance at the Battle of Gujarat the following month. This was followed by the formal annexation of the Punjab to British India.
This medal was awarded to Private Charles Lenden of the 29th Foot, who was one of the survivors of the retreat at Chillianwala and also fought at Gujarat. He can have enjoyed his medal for no more than three months, as he died on 31 July 1849. Lester Watson acquired the piece at some point before 1928.

Notes

History note: Gift of L. Hoyt Watson; ex Lester Watson Collection, acquired before 1928

Legal notes

Given by Lester Watson through Cambridge in America, 2009

Measurements and weight

Diameter: 36 mm
Weight: 41.35 g

Place(s) associated

  • London

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (2009) by Watson, Lester

Dating

Production date: AD 1849

Materials used in production

Silver

Techniques used in production

Struck

Inscription or legends present

Inscription present: Bust of Victoria facing left

  • Text: VICTORIA REGINA
  • Location: Obverse
  • Type: Design

Inscription present: General on horseback receiving Sikhs' surrender before hill topped with palm tree

  • Location: Reverse
  • Type: Design

References and bibliographic entries

Related exhibitions

Identification numbers

Accession number: CM.1411-2009
Primary reference Number: 141505
Watson Catalogue: 323
Ordering: M-0294
Previous object number: LW.0294
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Monday 15 January 2024 Last processed: Monday 15 January 2024

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Coins and Medals

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Punjab Campaign Medal" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/141505 Accessed: 2024-11-22 01:20:48

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/141505 |title=Punjab Campaign Medal |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-22 01:20:48|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

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-141505

Bootstrap HTML code for reuse

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_0294_281_29.jpg"
        alt="Punjab Campaign Medal"
        class="img-fluid" />
        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Punjab Campaign Medal</figcaption>
    </figure>
</div>
    

Sign up for updates

Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...