The Abyssinian Expedition, 1868. Robert Cornelis Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala (1810-1890), British soldier, leading the attack on the Abyssinian fortress of Magdala, April 1868. Napier commanded a punitive expedition sent to Abyssinia by the British government in 1867. He succeeded in decisively defeating the Abyssinians as well as liberating a number of captured British diplomats. He was granted a peerage, taking the title First Baron of Magdala, and was made a Field-marshal in 1883. Cover of sheet music composed by John Pridham.