Military General Service Medal 1793-1814, Sose Sononsese

Silver campaign medal with, on the obverse, a bust of Queen Victoria, and on the reverse, the Duke of Wellington receiving a laurel wreath from the Queen. The medal is suspended from a crimson ribbon, edged in blue. One clasp bearing the battle honour, 'Chateauguay'.

The Military General Service Medal commemorates the battles of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815). It was not issued until 1847 when many of those that would have been entitled to it were dead.

The War of 1812, fought between Britain and the United States primarily on the frontiers of Canada, is today little known in the United Kingdom. Its heroes too are largely forgotten. But the successful defence of Canada helped initiate a new sense of Canadian identity, including even the North American Indians who lived there.

When, in 1813, a United States army first advanced on Montreal, it was defeated by 400 Canadian militia and Canadian Indians at Chateauguay. A second attempt, by 1600 US troops, was also defeated by a mixed force of 800 British soldiers, Canadian militia and Canadian Indians at Chrystler's Farm.

The North American Indians and British soldiers who fought on the British side during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815), had to wait until 1848 before they finally received campaign medals. Sose Sononsese and John Pegeon Omeme were two of only 103 surviving Canadian Indian 'Warriors' to receive their medal. Nevertheless, with this award it might be said that the North American Indians who fought for Canada and the British Empire had at last been remembered.