 The Royal African Corps. Gift for Valor, 1818. Silver. 73.7 mm. Looped as presented. Extremely Fine. Cleaned. Ballmer R586 (this medal). An 1814 George III Indian Peace Medal, Jamieson 24, reused in an entirely novel way. In a line beginning around the obverse rim, continuing around the reverse rim, moving to the left obverse field, ending in the right obverse field and inscribed in a very neat hand: The Gift of Colnl McCarty Governor of the West Coast of Africa. To Sergt. John Harris of the Royal African Corps. For his valiant behaviour in capturing a Spanish brig of 18 guns. With only one gun and eleven men in a gun-boat. This victory was achieved on the 7th of April 1818. As Balmer notes, the medal was a private gift and the action it remembered was probably against a slaver. @ A unit named the Royal African Corps was in service in British West Africa as early as 1804. In that year its strength was increased to 10 companies. In the following year African men were recruited for the Corps, first from the disbanded York Rangers, later from freemen in Sierra Leone. In 1808, the Corps was divided, six companies being detached and sent to the West Indies as the Royal York Rangers. By 1809 the Royal African Corps had three companies at Goree, three in Senegal, and one in Sierra Leone. By 1817, three of the companies were composed almost entirely of Africans. By 1819, the Corps was disbanded.
The last colonel of the Royal African Corps was Charles Lyragh McCarthy (1764-1824), later Brigadier General Sir Charles McCarthy. He was governor of Sierra Leone 1812-24. He fell in battle against the Ashanti, who took his head and made a cup of his skull.
Ex Spink & Son, Ltd. on December 1, 1968; said by Spink ex Sir Alvary Gascoigne and John Barnet. Ballmer pedigrees it to the Eaton Collection.
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