Bidspirit auction | An Indian Mutiny Medal 1857-58,

An Indian Mutiny Medal 1857-58, with one clasp Lucknow, named to: Jas Dickson 79th Highlanders. James Dickson was born on 7 September 1833 at Kirkmichael, near Dumfries. A labourer by trade, he enlisted into the 79th Foot at Edinburgh on 1 March 1855 aged 21, with the regimental number of 3870. He served in the Crimea, being rapidly promoted to the ranks of Corporal and Sergeant and was entitled to the Crimea Medal with the two clasps, Balaklava and Sebastopol and the Turkish Medal for Crimea. Unfortunately the present whereabouts of these medals is not known. The 79th (Cameron) Highlanders sailed for the Crimea from Portsmouth on board HMS Simoom on 4 May 1854 and landed at Calamita Bay on 14 September, although Dickson would have joined later as a reinforcement. They took part in the defeat of the Russian forces at the Battle of the Alma on 20 September (Dickson would not have been present at this engagement) and formed part of the defence of the port of Balaklava before finally participating in the capture of the main Russian naval base at Sebastopol, after heavy fighting on, 9 September 1855. The battalion sailed for home on the transport Victoria on 15 June 1856, arriving at Portsmouth on 5 July. At some stage, Sergeant Dickson was reduced to the rank of Private. The Battalion sailed from Dublin to India on 2 August 1857 on HMS Simoom to reinforce the British forces engaged against rebel Sepoy regiments of the Bengal Army. They arrived at Calcutta on 20 November and marched inland to take part in the capture of Lucknow, 2-21 March 1858. The medal roll records the death of Pte James Dickson on 26 April 1858; high rates of disease, particularly Cholera, plagued British troops due to unsanitary conditions during sieges and military campaigns and disease accounted for more deaths among British troops than combat during the Indian Mutiny of 1857–1859. With copies of attestation record and medal rolls confirming the entitlement to clasps. Extremely Fine (EF)