A rare piece of forgotten Napoleonic history: the Rutland Legion Riflemen

One period of history in which I have become particularly interested is the Napoleonic era. I began by reading Andrew Roberts' excellent biography Napoleon: A Life; currently I’m working through Will & Ariel Durant’s The Age of Napoleon. Along the way, I’ve also enjoyed listening to Bernard Cornwell’s Richard Sharpe series in audio format.

So naturally I was intrigued when I saw an unusual silver medal come up for sale in a recent auction, undated, although apparently struck during the Napoleonic wars. The obverse showed a standard portrait of King George III with his titles, but it was the reverse that was really interesting, featuring a target with the legend “RUTLAND LEGION RIFLEMEN” around.

Some quick searching didn’t come up with much additional information on either the medal or the Rutland Legion Riflemen. Such an opportunity for deeper research was enough to entice me to place a bid and win the medal.

GREAT BRITAIN. Time of George III (1760-1820)
Rutland Legion Riflemen AR Medal (32.0mm 11.38g, 12h)
Minted c. 1803-1813 by (or after) John Milton, medallist
Obverse: GEORGIVS · III · DEI · GRATIA · , laureate bust of King George III right
Reverse: RUTLAND LEGION RIFLEMEN around target with hatched center
References: Unpublished; see Noonan’s 3/8/2022 lot 1474 (hammer £360)​

The first interesting thing about this piece is that it was struck for a rifleman unit. Of course, how could that not touch a chord after listening for hundreds of hours to the adventures of Richard Sharpe of the 95th Rifles?

The use of riflemen in the British army was a relatively new idea at this time, the main weapon of the infantry being the tried-and-true smoothbore musket, nicknamed “Brown Bess”. The musket was too inaccurate to aim individually; indeed, they were not even equipped with sights. Rather, the standard military tactic of the time was to fire massed volleys at close ranges and hope to achieve victory through sheer mass of firepower.

The one great advantage the musket had over the rifle was that it was much easier and faster to load because the bullet did not need to fit as tightly into the bore as with a rifle – and speed was essential since the side which could throw the most lead the fastest unusually won.

The rifle, on the other hand, while being more cumbersome to load, was not only much more accurate but also had a longer effective range.

It was around 1800 that riflemen units were first organized as light support troops and skirmishers in the British army. Such riflemen were nicknamed “greenjackets,” because of the dark green uniforms they wore as opposed to the red uniforms of the regular infantry.

Green jacketed British Army rifleman aiming a Baker rifle, c. 1803 [By Ezekiel Baker (1758-1836) - 22 Years Practice and Observation with Rifle Guns, E Baker, 1803, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24651863]​

It was also around the year 1800 that the threat of a Napoleonic invasion of England began to loom ever larger. The traditional enmity between France and England, always simmering beneath the surface, reached new levels of intensity after the French Revolution and the execution of Louis XVI. Napoleon himself despised the British and their ability to influence Continental affairs while remaining aloof and secure on their island.

He began to plan an invasion. Thousands of French soldiers massed along the Channel coast in various locations in preparation for the assault. By 1805, some 200,000 men had been assembled and were training for the invasion.

To meet this growing threat, the British raised tens of thousands of local militiamen for the defense of the homeland, and to help supply the regular army with new recruits. Every corner of England was touched – including the tiny county of Rutland in the East Midlands.

Location of the ceremonial county of Rutland within England. [By Nilfanion - Ordnance Survey OpenData:County boundaries and GB coastlineNational Geospatial-Intelligence AgencyIrish, French and Isle of Man coastlines, Lough Neagh and Irish border, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12131918]
​

According to Britannica, Rutland is the smallest historic county in England. During the Napoleonic era it was presided over by one George Finch – 9th Earl of Winchilsea, Lord Lieutenant of Rutland, veteran of the American Revolutionary War, first president of the Royal Institution – and a mad keen cricketer.

George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea (1752-1826). [By Nathaniel Dance-Holland - http://clutch.open.ac.uk/schools/twomileash99/Images/People/GeorgeFinch.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3809664]​

In 1794 Finch raised a local regiment of cavalry known as the Rutland Yeoman Cavalry. In 1803, as tensions mounted, he raised a rifle company to be attached to the cavalry regiment, which together formed a single unit called the Rutland Legion.

The rifle company likely consisted of around 100 men, possibly less. Presumably, it was for this body of soldiers that these medals were struck. Did Finch himself request this issue of these medals?

After the stunning British naval victory at Trafalgar in 1805, Napoleon abandoned his plans for a cross-Channel invasion, and the Rutland Legion was never needed to fend off an invading French army. Eight years later, in 1813, the rifle company was disbanded. The cavalry regiment was disbanded in 1828.

Since there were (presumably) only a hundred or so of these medals minted, it’s no surprise that very few have survived to the present day. Searching online, I was able to find only two others. The first one was sold by Noonan’s in March 2022 (hammer £360):

https://www.noonans.co.uk/auctions/archive/lot-archive/results/417560/

“RUTLAND, Rutland Legion Riflemen, silver, by [or after] J. Milton, laureate bust of George III right, rev. rutland legion riflemen around concentric circles resembling an archery target, centre hatched, 32mm, 12.23g (Stainton, BNJ 1983, – [17 for obv.]; DH Middlesex 192 obv.). About extremely fine, extremely rare; no other specimen known to the cataloguer £150-£200 [emphasis added]

“This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Tickets and Passes from the Collection formed by Philip Jones.

“Provenance: Bonhams Auction, 9 December 1997, lot 230 (part).

“The Rutland Legion Riflemen were a mixed force of volunteer cavalry and infantry, disbanded in 1825”​

(As an aside, if anyone has easy access to the above Bonhams Auction catalog, I’d love to see if it gives any additional information.)

Noonan’s traditionally specializes in historic and military medals, so if one of their cataloguers couldn’t find any other specimens it must be rare indeed!

The second specimen I found was actually still attached to what I presume was the original green ribbon. I found this on WorthPoint, but since I didn’t feel like signing up for a paid subscription, I don’t know the details of the sale (seller, date, price, etc.) But here it is with the relevant description:

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/great-britain-regiment-rutland-legion-254053235

“GREAT BRITAIN-MEDAL FOR THE RUTLAND LEGION REGIMENT-SILVER-OBVERSE GEORGE III-This a semi-official medal awarded to this militia regiment, typical of many established during the Napoleonic Wars, to combat the possibility of a French invasion-unit was established in 1796, but no further information-Rutland was/is a small English county-it is well struck of excellent quality-rare”​

* * * * * * * * * *​

There are many unanswered questions, and I’d love to know more: details about the unit; the names of the individual riflemen; exactly how many there were; who commissioned these medals; and how many others might still exist. I feel privileged to be the current custodian of this small, unusual piece of Napoleonic history, and I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments on any of these questions, or on the subject in general!