Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A Naval General Service Medal for Algiers awarded to Lieutenant Lewis Dunbar Tate, R.N., who was severely wounded in the action when serving as a Midshipman on H.M.S. Granicus

Naval General Service 1793-1840, 1 clasp, Algiers (L. D. Mitchell, Midshipman) good very fine £2000-2500

Lewis Dunbar Mitchell was born on 3 December 1796. He entered the Royal Navy as a 1st Class Volunteer on board the Theseus (74) on 28 March 1811. He served on board the ship for over two years in the North Sea, mostly in the capacity of a Midshipman. On board the ship he sailed to St. Helena for the purpose of conveying home a large China fleet and in December 1813 he removed to the Granicus (36). The ship was at first employed off the coasts of Portugal and Spain, where he had charge of signals. On 2 December 1814 the Granicus captured the U.S. privateer Leo (6) with 76 men. On the same vessel he served at the bombardment of Algiers, 27 August 1816, being severely wounded in the leg. The ship in total suffered 16 men killed and 42 wounded in the action. In January and April 1917 he successively joined, at Portsmouth, the Impregnable (104) and Lee (20). In September he joined the Primrose (18) in the West Indies. Mitchell was promoted to Lieutenant in October 1817 when serving on the Larne (20). He then returned to the Primrose, October-December 1818 and then the Ramillies (74) November 1825-December 1828. Service with the Coast Guard followed, December 1828-October 1831 after which he was placed in command of the Greyhound revenue cruiser, October 1831-October 1834. In December 1837 he was appointed an Admiralty Agent on board a contract mail steam vessel. However, in June 1842 he was obliged to resign his position due to the lingering effects of the wounds he received at Algiers.

With a quantity of copied research.