This medal, the design of which is extremely chaste and beautiful, has
on the obverse the Queen’s head, with the inscription VICTORIA REGINA,
similar to the Crimean and other medals. The artist, the late William
Wyon, Esq., R.A., was the chief engraver to the Royal Mint until his
decease in 1851. On the reverse of the medal is a figure of Victory
seated, holding in her right hand a laurel branch, in her left, a
victor’s laurel-wreath. A lotus flower, emblematic of India, is by her
side, a trophy of Oriental arms and a palm-tree in the background. Above
are the words, “To the army of India”: in the exergue, “1799–1826.” The
various services are commemorated by clasps, and the medal is worn with
a pale blue ribbon.
The glorious achievements of the army of India, from the decisive
victory of Assaye to the capture of Bhurtpore, were not commemorated by
a medal till the year 1851, and the few survivors who took part in the
first-named battle did not receive the decoration until _forty-eight_
years after the event.