Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research 99/397

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ARMY HISTORICAL RESEARCH

be presented with for our late hot work – it is very handsome – a medal with part of a Maltese cross attached at the bottom, and gold slides on the ribbon, with the names of the different actions on them. All men were eager for a medal as a symbol of their service. It is uncertain where this description of the design originated; the actual medal does not correspond, being the more usual silver disc suspended from a coloured ribbon. It was only awarded to those who had taken part in at least one of the four major battles; the first being named on the medal, with any subsequent battles being carried on clasps or ‘slides.’ The men of the 16 th were awarded the medal for Aliwal, with clasp for Sobraon (if they survived to take part in the latter battle). Therefore the two men killed at Buddawal received no medal. 5 Letter 13: From Corporal Edwin Cowtan or Lance-Sergeant Fred Cowtan, River Ganges, off Cawnpore, 10 April 1846. We arrived here this morning. I am afraid we shall not reach Calcutta before the end of next month, or beginning of June. It is very hot now, but still pleasant on the river, as we catch what little breeze there is from one side or the other, as we pass down. Everything seems very quiet at present in the parts we have left. The army is broken up and posted in all the stations in the upper provinces, whilst a force of 10,000 is left at Lahore to keep the Sikhs in subjection. In my opinion there will be another outbreak there before long, but if there is they must look out for squalls . 6 We shall be glad to get your next letters, as they will contain some account of the opinions of the press on what has been done in the Punjab. I am afraid we will have to remain at Calcutta until October or November next, as there are very few ships leave for England at this season of the year. Letter 14: From Lance-Sergeant Fred Cowtan(?), River Ganges, Benares, 7 3 May 1846. Here we are thus far on our voyage. Our boats are very much like coal barges, with a covering of straw scarcely sufficient to keep the sun from us – this, however, could not be avoided, for the order was so unexpected, that better accommodation could not be procured, and you may be sure we would put up with any inconvenience rather than remain another season in this country. Ours has been a more trying affair than any one not present could have imagined – many days we were without bread or meat, and nothing but dry grain and a little arrack, without you were 5 Rumsby, “Discipline, System and Style,” pp. 215-219; the correspondence relating to the issue of the Sutlej Medal is printed in John Horsley Mayo, Medals and Decorations of the British Army and Navy (Westminster, 1897) Vol. 1, pp. 270-278. 6 An interesting prediction: the Second Anglo-Sikh War broke out in 1848. 7 Now Varanasi. It will be seen that this and the following letter have a number of sentences in common, although they are distinct letters. Presumably Fred wrote them to different people, on the same day.