Campaign Groups and Pairs 68
The Notable Small Army Gold Medal and M.G.S. pair awarded to Captain, later General, Sir John Michell, Royal Artillery, a skilful commander of foot and rocket artillery who distinguished himself during the final battles of the Peninsula and Second American Wars; frequently praised by superior officers for exploits which included “valorous conduct” at the Battle of Toulouse, commanding the artillery at the Capture of Washington D.C. and making an assault crossing of the Mississippi River to fire salvos of Congreve rockets during the Battle of New Orleans, Michell is remembered by the officers of the modern Royal Regiment of Artillery as ‘The Man who Burned Down the White House’
Field Officer’s Small Army Gold Medal for Orthes, one clasp ‘Toulouse’ (Captn. I. Michell, Rl. Arty.), with original gold ribbon buckle and replacement obverse lunette; Military General Service, 3 clasps, St. Sebastian, Nivelle, Nive (John Michell, Captn., R. Arty.) both extremely fine or better (2)
£24,000-£28,000 Provenance: Spink, November 1998.
Sir John Michell was born on 25 September 1781 at Huish House, Huish Episcopi, Langport, Somerset. His father, the Reverend Dr. John Michell, was vicar of Huish and domestic chaplain to Hester Pitt, Lady Chatham, the widow of former Prime Minister Pitt the Elder and mother of the current Prime Minister (Pitt the Younger). Michell attended Langport Grammar School, where he built the foundations required to become an educated professional artillery officer. It was a time of great upheaval: The King of France had been publicly executed, Britain was at war with the French republic and Government was attempting to rapidly modernise the military and arouse it from decades of torpor.
The British army had a Commander-in-Chief, but only for its infantry and cavalry. The Board of Ordnance controlled the ‘more technical and scientific’ artillery and engineering branches, separately and independently of the army C-in-C. Commissions and promotions in units reporting to the Board of Ordnance could not be obtained by purchase. To become an officer in the artillery, a youngster had first to obtain a place at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, and then pass competitive exams in subjects which included maths, fortification, drawing, mapping, chemistry and skill-at-arms. It was not easy to get into the Royal Military Academy, which in 1793 had just 30 places for artillery Gentlemen Cadets.
On 18 March 1794 Lady Chatham informed Dr Michell that she had written to her son Mr Pitt (the Younger). She had asked the Prime Minister to request the Duke of Richmond (an energetic reformer who was Master-General of the Ordnance) to arrange “the giving of a commission for making a youth which she is much interested in for a cadet at the R.A. Woolwich.”
John Michell became a Gentleman Cadet on 3 November 1794, and graduated as Second Lieutenant on 1 March 1798, aged 16. This date is important, because his future regimental promotions would be governed not by merit but by his seniority on the List of Artillery Officers (Michell was number 1,004 on the List, which had been started in 1716).
War
Michell was included in the Expedition to Holland in 1799, where he fought in the battles of Zyp and Egmont-on-Zee. Artillery tactics were changing, and in these two battles British artillery first demonstrated how it was adapting to new habits and practises. Traditionally, artillery Companies had to hire locally and on an ad hoc basis the animals and drivers to pull their guns and wagons. The gunners marched alongside (hence the term Foot Artillery). If local transport failed or was unavailable, the gunners slowly hauled along their guns by means of drag ropes. Each infantry battalion thought itself entitled to be allocated two “battalion guns” which would move with it at all times when it was on active service and which were placed in the centre of the companies whenever they formed up in a battle line. However, the Board of Ordnance under the Duke of Richmond was championing a more effective mobile concept, whereby each unit had its own permanent transport and deployed in batteries in the places where they could have the greatest impact on the battle, independently of the infantry, rather than be split into penny-packets as “battalion guns”.
Expansion of the Ordnance led to Michell being promoted to First Lieutenant on 2 October 1799. His Company was allocated to the Expedition to Egypt, but when it arrived in Gibraltar in 1800 it was ordered to remain there as part of the fortress garrison. In September 1805 Michell was promoted to Second Captain and transferred to the Channel Islands. Jersey and Guernsey were well-garrisoned and important parts of Britain’s frontline defences, being much closer to the coast of France than the coast of England. Their proximity and the harbours they offered to British men-of-war and privateers irked Napoleon considerably. During a previous Anglo-French war, the French had twice invaded Jersey, seeking to capture it. Major ordnance works were undertaken on Guernsey and a network of Martello Tower artillery forts was built, overlooking the main anchorages and beaches across the Islands. The Board of Ordnance approved the construction of a mighty fortification, larger in scale than any other on the Islands, to protect Jersey’s main town and harbour. Construction of Fort Regent began in 1806 and took eight years to complete.
www.dnw.co.uk all lots are illustrated on our website and are subject to buyers’ premium at 24% (+VAT where applicable)
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186 |
Page 187 |
Page 188 |
Page 189 |
Page 190 |
Page 191 |
Page 192 |
Page 193 |
Page 194 |
Page 195 |
Page 196 |
Page 197 |
Page 198 |
Page 199 |
Page 200 |
Page 201 |
Page 202 |
Page 203 |
Page 204 |
Page 205 |
Page 206 |
Page 207 |
Page 208 |
Page 209 |
Page 210 |
Page 211 |
Page 212 |
Page 213 |
Page 214 |
Page 215 |
Page 216 |
Page 217 |
Page 218 |
Page 219 |
Page 220 |
Page 221 |
Page 222 |
Page 223 |
Page 224 |
Page 225 |
Page 226 |
Page 227 |
Page 228 |
Page 229 |
Page 230 |
Page 231 |
Page 232 |
Page 233 |
Page 234 |
Page 235 |
Page 236
