This medal was instituted in 1847 and issued to surviving claimants in 1848. It was originally intended to cover engagements of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815) but was almost immediately extended to cover all naval actions from 1793-1840.

Note that this reproduction facsimile bears the Trafalgar clasp which was awarded only to those men that participated in that battle in 1805.