Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-03-24


country the rival of any other medal wear
ing nation on earth. Indeed, 10 paraphrase
the words of a conservative vet shrewd OBJ
server, never before in the history of this
or any other republic have there been so
many orders societies, badges. ribbons ana
decorative stars as now flourish in tire
United States.
While there are but four species OF med
ment, namely. special medals awarded by
Congress, medals of honor under the act Of
1S62-G3, medals for excellence in military
craftsmanship and life-saving me- tails, t:iele
are numerous others authorized by Con-
gress to be worn on all offic,al or ceremo.
NAL occasions. which, added to The several
governmental medals. certificates Of merit
and chevron marks of the federal military,
constitute as great variety of decorations
can be found in many of the aristocratic
nations of Europe. Indeed, to he more g. e.
cific. it may be stated that IN all there are
upward of fifty-two medals issued either
directly by the government or by rrccs-
nizei military societies Endorsed by federal
laws, which. compared to the - Of
ferent orders of medals Of the various coun-
tries of Europe, including Russia AMI r'ur-
key. insures to the United States Ire dis
tinction of coun tenancing at Ieast the Issue
and wearing of nearly one-sixth as many
medals as all Europe combined.
Authorized by Congress.
The military societies whose medals and
badges are authorized by act of September
), 1890. to be worn on all occasions of GER
eTnony" are as follows: Order of the Gin
cinnati." Society of Colonial Wars so
ciety of the Sons of the Revolution" 49,
ciety of the Sons of the American Revolu-
tion." Society of the War of 1872" Aztec
Club of 1S47,'' Loyal Legion Society"
Grand Army of the Republic" and the
twenty-five army corps societies of The last
war. Excepting the two last named, all the
societies above referred to provide for men,
bership by lineal descent on either the male
or female side of ancestry. So mat the
young officer of the army who entered the
service in 1864 or 80, and had the nonor to
be descended from ancestors on either the
father or mothers side vho had served in
any military capacity in the colonial and
other previous wars, might begin his mill
tary career with at least seven medals.
Then. if he himself served in two or more
corps of the Union army in the civil war,
he might get a medal for each corps, which,
together with the three other war badges or
medals cbtainable by him, would make five
and worn by inheritance. If he then en-
tered the regular army establishment, he
could in time by devotion to rifle practice,
become a skilled shot, and win from live to
ten gold and silver medals before retiring
from the target field, with the beautiful
gold distinguished marksman medal"
making in all a possible twenty-five medals.
or enough to cover his body front from cnm
to belt plate before his soldierly breast had
been exposed to a hostile bullet
In Former Times.
In earlier times in this country medallic
decorations were rare. and yet The IA
triotic Washington was the first American
to be decorated, and that too, by the
earliest act Of the Continental Congress.
From military standpoint even Wash
ington realized the virtue and necessity of
awarding military medals to men who by
risking life in the performance OF heroic
acts set an example to others which should
not go unnoted.! Indeed, has there ever
been a period in history when reward Of
military merit has not been practiced In
one way or another? The Greeks it IS true.
awarded no insignia of valor, and the Spar
tan who did his best to be killed in battle
gained no reward, for nothing less than val
orouS courage was at all times expected.
The Romans, on the contrary, INDUCED in
the widest sort of ceremonial rumpuS
when they welcomed victor from the
wars, whereas he who had simply saved
another's life was crowned with a chaplet
of oak, which guaranteed certain political
privileges, extending back to all male an
cestors on the fathers side.
1t was doubtless this sentiment, common
to all people in all ages, of rewarding the
valiant soldier, that prompted Gen. Wash
ington, as far back as 1IS2 to establish the
Honorary Badge of Military Merit" When
it was proposed to award medals of honor
to certain heroes of the revolution, Ben.
Franklin. being at that time in France. was
charged with the delicate duty of having
designs made by the best Partisan artists.
The father of electricity, however. seemed
to have been in favor of adopting one of the
ways the anCients had of honoring their he
roes by striking off a medal, and making 1t
the model standard of money. This IDEA,
though not adopted then. prevailed latterly,
when we put the vignette pictures of states
men and other great men on our postage
stamps. greenbacks and bank notes.
Changes I'm the Reward System.
From the time when the military merit
badges created by Washington were first is
sued the reward system in this country has
assumed different forms. The brevet method
which was among the earliest and most
popular of all. was started in 1776 and yet
at the beginning of the war of 1872 not a
single officer of our army held a brevet, as.
indeed, up to the civil war no officer of the
United States army or navy had the right to
wear on official occasions any medal what
soever The brevet system was developed
more fully in the Mexican war, and after
ward assumed huge and elastic proper
tions in 1863. From 1885 to 1867, 1t may be
remembered. brevets became so general
and promiscuous in this country, like the
Legion of Honor badges in France, that
some very gallant but sensitive men declined
to receive them. Nevertheless, thousands and
thousands of brevets were bestowed, and
IL the United States army should feel
in need of any official record to demonstrate
to the world the extent to which its valor
and merit in the civil war were appreciated
by a grateful government it need point
only to the endless lists of brevets award
ed But brevets applied only to the COM
missioned element. The private soldier who
fought like a lion, and lay wounded nigh
unto death in some heroic effort, could only
be promoted outright-there was no brevet
for him--and. alas, commissions were, after
all, but limited in number.
For All Heroes.
Finally, the fact was recognized that to
whatever extent the medal or merit system
is developed for favored classes, there
comes a time in the common experience of
all countries when some distinctive medal
must be provided for all alike-as a sort Of
common level for all heroes. from king to
vassal or general to privaae-a common
goal of ambition to which all brave men
might aspfre-a common reward for hero
ism and valor wherever 1t be found. For
example, although England had her Order
Of the Garter, whose medals kings and
emperors often sought in vain, well as
he 20, nr,la Of ha