There had been troubles on the Hinterland and in the West Coast settlements as far back as 1824 and 1826, and again in 1863; but the more serious outbreak of hostilities occurred in 1873, when the Ashantees crossed the River Prah, and, attacking the Assims and Fantees, opened a road for themselves to Elmina and Cape Coast Castle, and in company with the Elminas attempted to capture Fort Elmina, but were beaten off. A force of 20,000 Ashantees, however, sat down before Mampon, 10 miles from the British forts, and there they remained until the advent of Sir Garnet (afterwards Viscount) Wolseley in October 1874, when they abandoned their camp, and fell back behind the Prah. A small force was sent to Elmina to disperse the natives, which it did, while the main force, composed of the 23rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers, the 42nd Black Watch, and 2nd 60th Rifles, pressed forward over the Prah—which the Ashantees asserted no white man could cross—over the Adansi Hills, and across the Bahrein River on to Amoaful, where 20,000 Ashantees under General Amanquatia stubbornly fought for five hours before giving way, and then desultory fighting continued for at least six hours more before the enemy actually retreated, having lost their General and considerably over 2,000 men. In this stubborn fight the 42nd, which had led the attack, and repeatedly charged the enemy, lost Major Baird, who was mortally wounded, and had 7 officers and 104 men placed hors de combat by wounds.

Hewing their way through the dense bush, constantly assailed on all sides by the natives, the army pushed on in three columns, and after passing the village of Egginassie encountered considerable opposition, and later stormed the village of Bequah, where Lord Gifford earned his Victoria Cross. In effecting the bridging of the Ordah, severe skirmishing took place, and at Ordah-su a lengthy battle was fought, the village being ultimately carried and held by the Rifles. In this battle the ill-fated Wauchope, who later met his death at Magersfontein, was severely wounded when serving with the 42nd. Forcing its way onward, with the pipers of the Black Watch playing at its head, the army entered Commassie practically unopposed, and the reign of the barbarous King Koffi Calcali came to an end, a reign in which "murder, pure and simple, monotonous massacre of bound men," was the "one employment of the King, and the one spectacle of the populace."

In the march on Commassie 80 European officers and men were killed, and 261 officers and men wounded, but the number of deaths from disease was very great. The grim spectre of disease is always more to be feared than the bullets of an enemy. In this war Captain (afterwards Lieutenant-Colonel) Reginald Sartorius, who had accompanied the column from Accra in the advance on Commassie, but did not reach there until it was abandoned, earned the V.C. for a daring ride of 55 miles across country in order to communicate with the General Commanding, and at Abogov, under a heavy fire, carrying a wounded Houssa soldier into cover. For his services Sir Garnet Wolseley was offered a baronetcy, which he declined, but accepted a grant of £25,000.

The troops engaged were the 23rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers; 42nd Black Watch; 2nd Batt. 60th Rifles; 150 Royal Engineers; 2nd West India Regiment; Houssa Artillery and a Naval Brigade.

The Ashantee Medal.—By a general order dated June 1st, 1874, Her Majesty granted a medal to her naval and military forces who had been employed on the Gold Coast under Sir Garnet Wolseley during the operations against the King of Ashantee from June 9th, 1873, to February 4th, 1874, with a bar inscribed COMMASSIE to those who were present at Amoaful, and the actions between that place and Commassie, including its capture, and to those who during the five days of those actions were engaged on the north of the Prah in maintaining and protecting the communications of the main army. This medal has since been given for a number of expeditions in Central Africa, and on the East and West Coast. The recipient's name and regiment, or ship, and the date 1873-4, are engraved in square Roman capitals on the edge of the medal, and blacked in for the campaign 1873-4, but after that date the names are found impressed as well as engraved. On the obverse is the diademed head of Queen Victoria facing left, with plain veil falling over the back of the crown behind, surrounded by the legend VICTORIA REGINA. On the truncation L. C. WYON. The reverse, by Sir Edward Poynter, P.R.A., represents British troops fighting natives in the bush, and while it may be alleged to pictorially represent something of the difficulties met with by the troops—which I do not consider it does—it cannot be said to fulfil the requirements of a decoration for personal wear. The medal, which is 1? in. in diameter, with a straight clasp and claw clip arrangement, fastened by a rivet through the medal, is suspended from a ribbon 1¼ in. wide, yellow with black borders, and two narrow black stripes. The bars are plain, with a raised straight border.

Perak.—Perak, on the western side of the Malay Peninsula, had been independent of Siam since 1882, but the sovereignty of the State had been in dispute. In order to put an end to the constant feuds, the offer of Ismail, one of the claimants, to surrender the sovereignty to Britain was accepted, and Mr. Birch was appointed British Resident in Perak city. Ismail a few months later, desirous of securing the throne, attacked the Residency and murdered the Resident. The neighbouring Rajahs joined with him, and it became necessary to dispatch a punitive expedition. A party of troops and a Naval Brigade therefore proceeded up the Perak River, destroyed the village of Passir Sala, and captured 6 guns, while General Colbourne's column marched through the jungle, so "dense and dark that during all the time not a vestige of sun or sky was visible overhead," and during the advance (on Kintra) the troops—1,300 men of the 80th and a naval brigade from the "Modeste" and "Ringdove"—"were without cover of any kind, and slept in the damp dewy open." On the capture of Kintra, the Maharajah Lela and Ismail fled into the jungle; meantime Brigadier-General Ross, with a detachment of the Buffs and some Goorkas, stormed Kotah Lama and burned it. On January 19th Ismail was decisively worsted, and on March 22nd he was captured and sent to Singapore, and the districts which had been the scene of constant conflict became, under British rule, prosperous and contented.

The troops engaged were: 1st Batt. 3rd; detachments of the 10th and 80th; Royal Artillery and Engineers; a Naval Brigade, and detachments of Indian troops.

An issue of the India General Service Medal 1854 was authorised with a bar for PERAK on September 1st, 1879, for the campaign from November 2nd to March 20th, 1875-6, and by a general order issued in 1881 to those who had been engaged between November 27th and December 10th, 1874.

Jowaki.—Living on the hills of the Afghan frontier, the Jowakis, a branch of the Afridis, long had a bad reputation as marauders, disturbing, robbing, and slaughtering the inhabitants of the Peshawar Valley; finally they attacked a British outpost, and it became necessary to teach them a serious lesson. A force composed of the 9th and 51st Regiments, and two companies of the 4th Rifle Brigade, with Royal Engineers, Artillery, and Indian regiments, was therefore sent against the hillmen under the command of Generals Keyes and Ross. The Jowaki villages, fortified Sangars and crops, were destroyed, and on December 1st, 1877, the stronghold of Jummoo was taken with little opposition. By the end of January 1878 the Jowakis sued for peace; unwilling, however, to accept the terms imposed, the hostilities were resumed, but after a crushing charge by the Bengal Cavalry, on February 15th, their spirit was damped, and they unconditionally accepted the terms laid down for peace.

By another order dated March 1st, 1879, a medal with bar for JOWAKI was awarded to the troops who took part in the operations between November 9th, 1877, and January 19th, 1878.

The troops engaged were the 9th and 51st; two companies 4th Batt. 60th; two companies Royal Engineers; a battery of Field and a battery of Royal Horse Artillery; 20th, 22nd, and 27th Punjab Infantry; 14th Sikhs; 17th Bengal Cavalry.

Campaign against Galekas and Gaikas.—On September 25th, 1877, the Galekas attacked the old allies of the British, the Fingoes, and a party of mounted police at Guadana, but were repulsed. Troops were immediately sent to the scene of hostilities, Kreli's country was invaded and his kraal burnt, and a stiff fight was made at Umzintzani before crossing the Krei. The Connaught Rangers then proceeded to the front, with 50 mounted men of the 24th, and the bandsmen of that regiment as gunners with a 7-pounder gun and Naval Brigades from the "Active" and "Florence." The Galekas, who had joined forces with the Gaikas under Sandilli, were badly beaten at Nynnuxa, but rallied in the Chickaba Valley, where the British column attacked them on January 14th, 1878, and drove them off with considerable loss in men and cattle. On February 25th General Thesiger (later Lord Chelmsford) took over the command from Sir Arthur Cunningham, and Sandilli's force was defeated in the Amotala Mountains by the column under Colonel (now Field-Marshal Sir Evelyn) Wood. In succeeding skirmishes Sandilli was killed; then the Galeka chief, Kreli, surrendered, and an amnesty was proclaimed on June 28th, 1878, for all who had taken part in the war except the sons of Sandilli.

The Griqua Campaign.—Meanwhile an outbreak in Griqualand West had to be suppressed, and this was done by the colonial troops, without the assistance of the regulars, but not until several sharp engagements between the Griquas and the Colonials had been fought between June 11th and July 20th, 1878, when an amnesty was declared and the war was at an end.

The Basuto War.—Following closely on the suppression of the rising in Griqualand came the Basuto War, occasioned by the refusal of Morosi and his son Dodo, chief of the Baphutis, to pay the hut tax. Morosi had fortified an almost inaccessible mountain near the Orange River, and thither, after a skirmish with the Cape Mounted Rifles, he gathered his people, and for nine months defied the forces and artillery ranged against him in his mountain fastness, which with only one accessible side he had, with considerable skill, fortified and loopholed for musketry fire. After many futile attempts to storm the place Morosi was killed, and what was considered to be an impregnable mountain fortress was taken, and the fortifications blown up. Then it was decided to disarm the natives, and some hard fighting took place against the rebel chief Letherodi, and the rising was not stamped out until the Imperial and Colonial forces in the field totalled 15,000 men. In April 1878 an amnesty was proclaimed, and although the Basutos had been badly defeated they gained practically all they asked for prior to the rising.