George Rodgers VC (January 1829 – 9 March 1870) was a Scottish recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

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

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and

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forces.

Details

Rodgers was about 29 years old, and a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

in the 71st Regiment (later The

Highland Light Infantry The Highland Light Infantry (HLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881. It took part in the First World War, First and World War II, Second World Wars, until it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1959 t ...

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

during the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form ...

when the following deed took place on 16 June 1858 at Marar,

Gwalior Gwalior (Hindi: , ) is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; It is known as the Music City of India having oldest Gwalior gharana, musical gharana in existence. It is a major sports, cultural, industrial, and political c ...

for which he was awarded the VC: Rodgers returned to Glasgow and died in a domestic accident. He visited his sister in order to get an alcoholic drink but was refused and told to lie down in her flat. Some time later Rodgers got up and found a bottle of

sulphuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen, and hydrogen, with the molecular formu ...

and thinking it was alcohol, drank it, causing his death. He was buried in a common grave in Glasgow's

Southern Necropolis The Southern Necropolis is a cemetery in the Gorbals district of southern Glasgow, Scotland. It was opened in the year 1840 to provide an affordable and respectable place of burial for the people of Gorbals and the surrounding areas of the city ...

The medal

His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Museum of The Royal Highland Fusiliers,

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland.

References

*''

Monuments to Courage David Charles Harvey (29 July 1946 – 4 March 2004) was a British historian and author. He is notable for his seminal work, ''Monuments To Courage'', which documents the graves of almost all recipients of the Victoria Cross, a task that took ...

'' (David Harvey, 1999) *''

The Register of the Victoria Cross ''The Register of the Victoria Cross'' is a reference work that provides brief information on every Victoria Cross awarded until the publication date. Each entry provides a summary of the deed, along with a photograph of the recipient and the f ...

'' (This England, 1997) *''Scotland's Forgotten Valour'' (Graham Ross, 1995)

External links

Location of grave and VC medal
''(Glasgow)'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodgers, George British recipients of the Victoria Cross Highland Light Infantry soldiers Military personnel from Glasgow 1829 births 1870 deaths Indian Rebellion of 1857 recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army personnel of the Crimean War British military personnel of the Umbeyla Campaign Accidental deaths in Scotland Deaths by poisoning Burials at the Southern Necropolis British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross