Franco-Prussian War Medal of J.A. Smyth. During the Franco-Prussian War a large group of Irish medical volunteers embarked for France. Organised as the Ambulance Irlandais, they collected wounded soldiers from the battlefields, returning them to the Irish casualty station, where doctors treated their wounds and operated if necessary. The Irish Ambulance left for home on January 5th 1871, having earned a good reputation for their battlefield medical treatment. NMIHA:1954.5 (no. on object HA:1941.78) (displayed in “Soldiers & Chiefs” exhibition at National Museum of Ireland – Decorative Arts & History)