Henry MacDonald VC

Victoria Cross

The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....

 (28 May 1823 - 15 February 1893) was a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 recipient of the Victoria Cross

Victoria Cross

The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....

, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and Commonwealth

Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...

 forces.

Details

MacDonald was 31 years old, and a colour sergeant

Colour Sergeant

Colour sergeant or colour serjeant is a non-commissioned title in the Royal Marines and infantry regiments of the British Army, ranking above sergeant and below warrant officer class 2....

 in the Corps of Royal Engineers, British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

 during the Crimean War

Crimean War

The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...

 when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

On 19 April 1855 at Sebastopol, Crimea

Crimea

Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...

, Colour-Sergeant MacDonald acted with great gallantry when engaged in effecting a lodgement in the enemy's rifle-pits in front of the left advance of the Right Attack. Subsequently when the Engineer officers were badly wounded Colour-Sergeant MacDonald took command and he determinedly persisted in carrying on the sap notwithstanding the repeated attacks of the enemy.

The medal

This medal is now in the care of Glasgow Museums and is in open storage at the Glasgow Museums Resource Centre, 200 Woodhead Road, Glasgow. These stores are open to the public with daily tours and the medal can be viewed on request.

External links

• Royal Engineers Museum Sappers VCs
• Location of grave and VC medal (Glasgow)
• Glasgow Museums Resource Centre