An interesting Army of India Medal 1799-1826, long hyphen reverse, 2 Clasps: Nagpore, Ava with officially engraved naming in upper and lower serif capitals awarded to Sub Assistant Surgeon J. King, 11th Madras Native Infantry who would be present during the actions around Nagpore in December 1817 and January 1818 before later taking part in the Ava Campaign during the First Burma War. He is later noted as an Apothecary at the Native Infirmary in Madras in 1833, and then as part of the garrison at Trichinopoly in 1834, he retired in 1837.
Army of India Medal 1799-1826, long hyphen reverse, 2 Clasps: Nagpore, Ava with officially engraved naming in upper and lower serif capitals; (Sub Asst. Surg. J. King, 11th N.I.)
Condition: minor contact wear and edge-bruising, Very Fine
John King saw service as a Sub Assistant Surgeon with the 11th Madras Native Infantry and was present during the Third Anglo-Maratha War and in particular at the Battle of Nagpore
The events of Nagpore:
Mudhoji Bhonsle, also known as Appa Saheb, consolidated his power in Nagpur after the murder of his cousin, the imbecile ruler Parsoji Bhonsle, and entered into a treaty with the British on 27 May 1816. He ignored the request of the British Resident Jenkins to refrain from contact with Baji Rao II. Jenkins asked Appa Saheb to disband his growing concentration of troops and come to the residency, which he also refused to do. Appa Saheb openly declared support for the Peshwa, who was already fighting the British near Pune. As it was now clear that a battle was in the offing, Jenkins asked for reinforcements from nearby British East India Company troops. He already had about 1,500 men under Lieutenant Colonel Hopentoun Scott. Jenkins sent word for Colonel Adams to march to Nagpur with his troops. Like other Maratha leaders, Appa Shaeb employed Arabs in his army. They were typically involved in holding fortresses. While they were known to be among the bravest of troops, they were not amenable to discipline and mostly armed with only matchlocks and swords. The total strength of the Marathas was about 18,000.
The British Residency was to the west of the Sitabuldi Fort located close to Nagpur. The British East India Company troops occupied the north end of the hillock associated with the fort. The Marathas, fighting with the Arabs, made good initial gains by charging up the hill and forcing the British to retreat to the south. British commanders began arriving with reinforcements: Lieutenant Colonel Rahan on 29 November, Major Pittman on 5 December, and Colonel Doveton on 12 December. The British counterattack was severe and Appa Saheb was forced to surrender. A force of 5,000 Arabs and Hindustanis however remained secured within the walls of Nagpur with the British laying siege to the city from 19 December. Attempts by the British to breach the walls failed with the loss of over 300 men, of which 24 were Europeans. The British agreed to pay the defenders 50,000 rupees to abandon Nagpur, which they did on 30 December. A treaty was signed on 9 January 1818. Appa Saheb was allowed to rule over nominal territories with several restrictions. Most of his territory, including the forts, was now controlled by the British. They built additional fortifications on Sitabuldi.
A few days later Appa Saheb was arrested. He was being escorted to Allahabad when he escaped to Punjab to seek refuge with the Sikhs. They turned him down and he was captured once again by the British near Jodhpur. Raja Mansingh of Jodhpur stood surety for him and he remained in Jodhpur, where he died on 15 July 1849 at 44 years of age
King would later also be present during the Ava campaign of the First Burma War. He is noted as an Apothecary, Native Infirmary, Madras in 1833 and thus is almost certainly an Anglo-Indian. He is then noted as present with the Garrison of Trichinopoly in 1834, before retiring in May 1937. India Records indicate the medal was sent to Madras on 4th August 1854.
