page_title: Baton (military)
section_title: Middle ages to early modern period
hierarchical_section_title: Baton (military) / Middle ages to early modern period
caption_attribution_description: Español: La obra representa el momento en que Justino de Nassau rindió la ciudad de Breda, en 1625, a las tropas españolas al mando del general Ambrosio Spínola, que aparece recibiendo las llaves de la ciudad de manos de su enemigo. Français&#160;: L'œuvre représente le moment où Justin de Nassau, en 1625, se rend au général commandant les troupes espagnoles Ambrogio Spinola, après le siège de Bréda, ville située au sud de l'actuel Pays-Bas. Huile sur toile peinte entre 1634 et 1635 par Diego Vélasquez, exposée au musée du Prado à Madrid.
context_page_description: The ceremonial baton is a short, thick stick-like object, typically in wood or metal, that is traditionally the sign of a field marshal or a similar high-ranking military officer, and carried as a piece of their uniform. The baton is distinguished from the swagger stick in being thicker and effectively without any practical function. A staff of office is rested on the ground; a baton is not. Unlike a royal sceptre that is crowned on one end with an eagle or globe, a baton is typically flat-ended.
context_section_description: Batons were given to top commanders in most European armies from at least the Renaissance, as a revival of classical practice.  They were typically presented by the monarch, and latterly were often elaborate pieces of metalwork, though earlier portraits show plain batons of wood, often longer and thinner than later examples. They were also typically carried by monarchs when portrayed in military dress. The French kings, and Napoleon, provided Marshals of France with ornate batons, typically of blue velvet with metal fleurs-de-lys before the French Revolution, then stars or Napoleonic eagles.
  The Duke of Wellington possessed multiple batons, since he held the rank of field marshal or equivalent in eight European armies each of which presented him with a baton. In addition to his English baton he was presented with two British batons. Nine of the batons (along with some staffs of office) are displayed at his former home, Apsley House (the Russian baton was stolen on 9 December 1965 and has not been recovered).
  Tsar Alexander I presented five batons, one to the Duke of Wellington and four to Russian generals.
  Crossed batons may appear as the distinctive uniform rank insignia on (epaulettes or shoulder boards) of field marshals. The Third Reich-era Generalfeldmarschall's insignia is an example of this, as is that of the Field Marshal of the United Kingdom. In any event, while doing their routine work, modern-day field marshals often carry simpler batons, keeping more elaborate ones for ceremonial occasions.
caption: Ambrogio Spinola, 1st Marquess of Balbases holds a baton while accepting the surrender of Justinus van Nassau in 1625
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