The Washington herald., 1909-04-25

The reverse design represents an Auseri-
can officer st0rming a fort followed BY
his troops On the right ships are shown
and troops are to be seen marching along
the shore. Gatteaux also executed the
design Of this medal
Indian Queen a. Design
Qupre engraved the medal given to
Gen Daniel Morgan for the battle Of
Cowpens on January Il. I7Sl. The chief
design shows an Indian queen. wearing
a coronet Of feathers. and with quive-
at her back. placing wreath Of laurel
upon the head Of Gen Morgan. The medal
given to De Fleury was composed or
silver the design on the diverse showing
soldier III Roman costume standing
amid the ruins Of the fort al stony Point
On the reverse is a representation Of a
double-turreted fort. with the river below.
where vessels are sailing. A battery. on
an eninence 10 the right is IN the act
Of firing on vessel IN the stream De
Fleury. a French officer. was The first
20 mount the walls Of the fort In 1870
a medal in silver was found ar Prince
ton. X J.. which is thought 10 have been
the original made for presentation to De
Fiery II is supposed that the medal
had been sent TO Princeton while Con-
gress was in session there. and lHst by
Ile person having II in charge. De Fleury
is said 10 have returned To France before
the medal reached America. and never
received t.
The gold medal was given to MAJ
Henry Lee C'Light Horse Harry for his
gaIlantry IN attacking the British troops
al Fort Paulus Hook on September o.
i779. The diverse contains bust Of
Mai. Lee. with an inscription which
reads; notwithstanding rivers and ram
parts. with a small hand OF men he con
quered the enemy by his sagacity and
valor. and bound 20 him by his humanity
those whom he had overcome by arms"
On the trUncati0n OF the bust OF Mai
Lee are the tiny letters. j Wright.
for Joseph Wright. one OF the earliest 0f
the United States engTavers. who was the
first de sinker Of the United States Mint.
and who made the dies for what Is said
10 have been the best medalIic portrait
ever made Of Washington. TIE medal
given 10 Mai. Lee was the only medal
bestowed by Congress during the Rev0-
lEtiOnary period that was the work Of an
American engraver.
Medals to Naval Heroes.
In the mint are nineteen different
medals on sale. the originals Ct which
were given % our naval heroes Chief
among these is the medal given 10 John
Paul Jones BY Congress for the fight with
the Scraps. The design or tbs gold
medal shows naval combat between
an American and British vessel ard was
the work Of DUpre but il & said thar
HOu1on. the famous French sculptor
modelled the bust Of the great naval
commander. Il appears that Impressions
in gold Of this medal We're also presented
TO the King OF France ard The Empress
9f Russia
There are thirfy-nine medals which have
been given by Congress for uliscellan-
eOUs achievements and u commemorate
certain important eventq in the history
Of the United States Chief among these
is the medal that was given 10 cyrus "
Field for his work in connection witn the
laying of the Atlantic cable BY accident
two copies Of the Field medal in gold
were made. Tie story IS tod that the
original medal made for presentation 10
Mr. Field was forwarded 10 Washington
and placed in the Treasury vaults for
safe keeping President johnson occu-
pied the White House st the time and the
medal waz sent 10 him for examination
il seems II was returned 20 the Treasury
without the knowledge OF the CUS1odians
and the medal was temporarily lost 10
view The same dies were used 10 strike
another medal, and the original did not
come 70 light until some time afteTward.
The Field medal was = ponGeroUs affair
one Of the largest turned out by the
mint, and had a diameter OF four inches
Cost About IS Each.
\ namber of other medals given by
Congress are similar in size 20 the medal
given 10 3Ir- Field The Others are those
which were given 70 Maj Gen Grant TO
Capt Ingraham for his rescue Of Martin
KOszta and that bestowed upon Joseph
Francis. These can be procured al the
mint in bronze at a cost Of S each
The Pacific Railway medal among the
most interesting Of the mint series. was
the work OF William Barber. father Of the
present chief engraver Of the mint The
design shows q cross section Of the Conti-
nent in the latitude traversed by the road.
showing both oceans. the vast plains.
lofty range Of mountains and deep
canyons. In the foreground is a pioneer
locomotive and train Of cars emerging
from a mountain gorge. on a scroll
are the words. livery Mountain Shall Be
Laid Low On the other side IS a por-
trait CT President Grant and the inscrip-
ton. The Oceans United BY RaiIWay
May IT, 1855" Only one specimen Of this
medal vas struck in gold. which was
presented 20 President Grant L was
also originals struck In silver. but copies
in bronze only esn now be obtained, for
which charge of but 81 Is made
There are Only few gold and silver
medals 10 be obtained at the mint Or
the former metal there are but five-the
medal Of Washington. Time Increases
His PANE the medal Of Washington and
Jackson. the Commencement Of the
Cabinet medal. and those OF James A.
Garfield and Lincoln and Garfield These
range in price from $3.50 10 50
some Made in France.
The silver medals. which number about
fifteen. are mostly commemorative 0f
Washington and Lincoln. Jackson Grant.
and Garfield, and the Valley Forge Cen
tennial medal. The medals thar uere
made IN France also exist in silver. -Sst
there Is only one complete set known
The French mint authorities struck a
specimen in silver from each Of the dies
associated with the Continental heroes
and presented them TO Washington. After
his death they passed into the possession
Of Daniel Webster. and now are owned by
the Massachusetts Historical Society.
There are thirteen medals which have
been struck n bronze in honor OF former
supeTintendSHtS and directors Of the
mint. from the first -7irector. David Rit-
tenhouse. a most important f7gure Fl
Colonial times. down TO r. E. Preston.
Supts. a. Louden Snowden. Daniel n
Fox. Oliver c. Bosbvshell. and Herman
Kretz- are also perpetuated in bronze
medals. specimens Of which can be on
tanned from the mint At from S1-59 70 8
each
Each year a medal = made commemo-
ratiye OF the meeting Of the United States
ASSAY Commission and presented TO the