Just before Christmas I had an interesting phone call from my cousin. He took a bag of his dad's second World War medals to show the boys at the Boys' Brigade he helps run. One of the other helpers there is a history teacher. Anyway amongst the medals were two they didn't recognise and when they looked closer one was a Waterloo Campaign medal and the other was from the American War of Independence both for a John Mills, First Battalion, 4th Regiment of Foot.
I then started to trace the family back and got back to an Edmund Mills born in Barbados in 1822, I think this may have been John's son as I believe the regiment were in the West Indies.
Can you help at all?
Jan
Perhaps I can field that one till Martin comes along.
Do you have a description of this mystery second medal?
Assuming it's to the same chap, John Mills, 1/4th F, it's most unlikely to be from the American War of Independence which was fully 40 years prior to Waterloo. If he was old enough to be fighting in America in 1775ish, he would be pushing 60 at the youngest at the time of Waterloo!! Most unlikely indeed
More plausibly it's something to do with the War of 1812 (which continued into 1814 and 1815 despite its name). The 1/4th Foot were on the Atlantic coast of the US in 1814 (battle of Bladensburg and other minor actions) and then in the New Orleans campaign in Jan 1815.
However (another fly in the ointment
), there was no campaign medal that covered those particular actions. The later Military General Service Medal covered some actions from the War of 1812, but not Bladensburg or New Orleans.
Just before going to the US though, the 1/4th were fighting their way through Spain in the Peninsular War (a busy time!). So my best bet it that it's an MGS for the Spanish campaigns, although if thats true there would be no immediately obvious American connection from looking at the medal itself
If you have a description I'm sure we can clear up the uncertainty.
