Evening star., 1921-07-31

tinguish himself conspicuously by gal
lantry and intrepidity at the risk Of h.s
life above and beyond the call Of duty:
OF the seventy-nine congressional med:
ais awarded as result Of the world
Hses spssks ~ess Of the
hazardous nature Of the service rem
dered by the medal Of honor man.
Fifty-eight Of the medals went to en-
listed men. seventeen to junior officers
higher rank than a lieutenant colonel
appears in the list.
In 1861 Congress authorised decora-
ton for the first time in its history.
That decoration. however. applied only
law was amended In the following year
to include enlisted men of the Army.
and In March. 1858. 1t was still further
extended to include officers Of the Army.
The act Of 1851 did not limit the be-
deeds of heroism, but provided 1t should
be given to such men Of the Navy as
"shall most distinguish themselves by
their gallantry in action and other sea-
manlike qualities during the present
war
The act Of the following year. which
extended the honor to enlisted men of
the Army. likewise contemplated the
award Of the medal for reaions other
ineiudsd @ s a provision W '1 Tor % granting t the s
distinction to those who demonstrated
heroism in battle ''and other soldier
like qualities in the present insurrec-
tion." 1t will be noted. however. that
hnth a0ta 1Svrnft tA1 thA tan thA
civil war, and II the legislation had
not been amended the congressional
medal of honor would have passed out Of
existence with the termination Of that
war.
IN this connection. It may be OBJ
served that the purple heart au-
thorized by George Washington also
was to be awarded for services which
did not necessarily involve deeds Of
bravery. The generals order, issued
from Newbursh. reads:
''The general. ever desirous to cherish
virtuous ambition in his soldiers. as
well as to foster and encourage every
species of military merit. directs that
whenever any singularly meritorious ac-
tion Is performed the author Of 1t shall
ose! ss 5 Se Se surs ss taes': o
heart in purple cloth or silk. edged with
narrow lace or binding. Not only in
stances Of unusual -gallantry. but also
Of extraordinary fidelity and essential
due reward "a Any Before this this favor ser c.n 9h BE-
conferred on any man the particular
fact or facts. on which it is to be
grounded must be set forth to the COM
mander-in-chie accompanied with GER
Of the regiment and brigade to which
the candidate for reward belonged. or
other incontestible proof: and, upon
granting 1t. the name and regiment Of
the person. with the action SO certified.
which viii be kept at the orderly once.
Men who have merited this distinction
to be suffered to pass all guards and
senlinels which Officers are permitted
to do. The road to glory in a patriot
to all. This order is also to have retro
spect to the earliest stages Of the war.
and to be considered as a permanent
Under der, the congressional acts Of 1861
order Of Gen. Washington, distinction
was accorded to many men for services
which had nothing to do with actual
hostilitiss. On March 3, 1858. however.
Congress passed a third act. which not
medal Of honor, but also confined it to
deeds Of heroism in battle. Henceforth
the medal was to be awarded to off,
GERS as well as enlisted men, the text
commissioned oficers and privates as
have most distinguished or who may
hereafter most distinguish themselves in
action"
Even under this more definite state
ment Of the law there was considerable
a n
tatton of the words most distinguish"
and during the civil war it frequently
happened that man would be awarded
the medal for capturing an enemy nag.
in e}fectirg the capture.
The consistent tendency has been.
however. constantly to increase the
standard Of the congressional medal of
honor. and every ruling Of the War De-
view. An Army board considering rec
concentrations for the medal Of honor
for men who participated in the Gus
tor massacre at the Little Big Horn
in 1875 laid down the rule ''that the
tion should not be the simple discharge
of duty, but such acts beyond this that
II omitted or refused to be done should
not Justly subject the person to censure
for 1ssn sa1.teomSE 10 iSs or ,,s ss
crystallized. it's policy with regard to
the medal Of honor in the following ex-
ecutive order:
"ln order that the congressional
medal OF honor may be deserved. service
must have been performed in action Of
such a conspicuous character as to
clearly distinguish the man for sallantry
and intrepidity above his comrades-I
service that involves extreme Jeopardy
OF life or the performance Of extraor-
dinarily hazardous duty. Recommends
tions for the decoration will be judged
by this standard Of extraordinary merit,
and incontestible proof Of performance
Of the service will be exacted.
SOLDIERS Of the Union have ever dis
played bravery In battle, else victories
could not have been Gained; but. al
courage and sslf-sacrifice are the char
acteristics Of every true soldier. such
a badge Of distinction as the congress
sional medal is not expected as the re-
ward Of conduct that does not clearly
the soldier above other men
whose bravery and gallantry have been
proved in BATTLE
+ i
THE distinguished service cross and
the distinguished service medal.
established in January. 1913, also did
much to raise the standard Of the con-
sressional medal by providing recogni.
ftov, for aer,ziena.vhich thoURh ~ nm.