Distinguished Service Cross medal pin issued to Lewis Broadus
date: label: Date
content: Awarded 1906; issued 2006
name: label: Created by
content: J. Andre Smith, American, 1880 - 1959
label: Received by
content: Lewis Cunningham Broadus, American, 1875 - 1960
notes: label: Caption
content: Lewiston Cunningham Broadus (1875-1960) was veteran of the United States Army, who served his country with valor for over 32 years, from 1897 to 1923. As a Buffalo Soldier in the 25th Infantry, Captain Broadus was a veteran of the Indian wars, saw action in the Texas-Mexican border skirmishes, fought in the Spanish-American War with Theodore Roosevelt's "Rough Riders" at San Juan Hill, and served with Captain Young's troopers at the Presidio in San Francisco. In World War I, he fought in the 92nd Infantry with General Pershing in major European campaigns. On July 3, 1906 while Broadus was a first sergeant stationed at Fort Niobrara, NE, a disgruntled private attempted to shoot an officer who had reported him for abusive language. Broadus grabbed the rifle by the muzzle as the shot was fired, thereby protecting the officer and nearly being hit by the bullet himself. For this action, he was awarded a Certificate of Merit from President Theodore Roosevelt. The award was later converted to a Distinguished Service Cross on April 26, 1934. After lobbying efforts by the family, the Department of the Army issued the Cross to Lewis Broadus's surviving family members in 2006.
label: Description
content: Distinguished Service Cross medal pin issued to Lewis Broadus. The medal pin is gold painted into the colors of the Distinguished Service Cross medal with a large blue center and a small strip of white and red. The back of the pin has a manufacture's mark that reads, [G27 GI]. The lapel pinback is a military pin keeper, also known as a deluxe clutch. This uses a spring loaded locking mechanism to lock the pin post, it has a wide top that narrows into a smaller circle.
place: label: Place made
content: Tomball, Harris County, Texas, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Buffalo Soldiers
label: Topic
content: Military
label: Topic
content: Spanish-American War, 1898
label: Topic
content: World War I
label: Topic
content: World War II
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Awards, Medals, and Insignia
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Lewis Broadus Family
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2007.4.3ab
objectType: label: Type
content: medals
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: No Known Copyright Restrictions
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: metal and paint
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (ab): 3/8 × 9/16 × 3/8 in. (0.9 × 1.5 × 0.9 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (a): 1/8 × 9/16 × 3/8 in. (0.3 × 1.5 × 0.9 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (b): 3/8 × 3/8 × 3/16 in. (0.9 × 0.9 × 0.5 cm)