The times., 1898-06-26
War Medals Won by Women

Since the beginning Of time women
have nobly shouldered their share of bur-
den and responsibility when wardcgs
have been let loose. Long before any
claims for special rights were set up.
they were accorded war medals. and
other orders of merit and distinction won
in home. hospital or on the battlefield.
The order OF the loren was one of the
earliest conferred exclusively upon wom-
en-. 1t was created in 114s at the Siege OF
Tortosa by the Moors So hard pressed
were the men that women plunged into
| the fray and fought shoulder to shoulder
with their husbands and sweethearts,
their courage shining like torch-hence
the name of the order.
| Napoleon. never too liberal in his es-
| innate of women, made special proyi-
| sion when the Cross of the Legion of
Honor was founded In 1902. that they
should be debarred from the right of
winning it; but when informed of the
| remarkable exploits of a young girl. Vir-
| ginie Ghesquire. who disguised her sex,
and enlisting in the place OF her invalid
| brother, distinguished herself on the bat
| tlefeld, he was induced to revoke his de-
cision and since that sfme women as
well as men in France have aspired to
| this badge of honor.
| Nor was Virginie Ghesquire the only
| woman to win the Cross OF the Legion
! OF Honor in Napoleon's time. Marie
| Schelling, a Belgian girl. fought with the
| French armies at JemaDpes. Jena and
AusterlitZ and was wounded again and
! again. She rose to the rank of sublieu-
| tenant, when her sex being accidentally
| discovered she was retired with the
Cross of the Legion and a considerable
pension.
One of the most interesting stories 10
| Americans. however. in connection with
| the Legion of Honor, is its having been
| conferred upon a little ten-year-old
| American girl in 1892. the year of the
| Worlds Fair. This child. Jeanne Carey
of Muckford, H., noticed one day while
| walking along a country road that a rail
| road bridge was on fire and that a pas
| Senger train was rapidly approaching.
| Doffing her little red cap for signal. she
| rushed madly forward just in time tc
| save the train. II was full of passenger
| bound for the Chicago Exposition and
| among them were several French people
Their gratitude and enthusiasm were un-
| bounded and not long after Jeanne was
| decorat ted with the Cross of the Legion ot
| Honor by order of President Carnot
Among the possessors of the order In
| France are several Sisters OF Mercy Tht
| Teresa of Tonquin. She was wounded
at Balaelara in the Crimean war -hi,.
looking after the wounded on the battle
field. She was also wounded on the from
of the line of battle at Magenta in tht
Italian war of 1859. She has also nurseC
in Syria, China and Mexico. On one oc
casion she picked up a shell which haC
fallen into an ambulance in her charge
and carried it away nearly eighty yards
when it burst and severely wounded her
Her decoration followed later in Ton
qun, where she was nursing troop3 tht
| general in command performing the in.
vestiture in the presence of the assembled
troops-a rare mark of distinction.
One would hardly expect to find in Tur
key an order exclusively for women, We
such is the case 1t was founded in 1SS
by Sultan Abdul Hamid of Turkey ant
is perhaps the youngest Of the orders fo
women. Among it's distinguished pos
SCISSORS is a simple Turkish girl, who en-
listed in the army instead of her brother
the sole support of the family, and serv
ed three years with distinction. The or
der is a five-pointed star borne upon
wreath. In the center of the star is a cir
cular band, containing the words il
Turkish. Love of Man." Help anC
Charity"