Baton ( symbol ) The ceremonial baton is a short , thick stick , carried by select high - ranking military officers as a uniform article . The baton is distinguished from the swagger stick in being thicker and less functional ( not used as a crop ) . Unlike a staff of office , a baton is not rested on the ground . Unlike a royal sceptre , a baton is typically flat - ended , not crowned on one end with an eagle or globe . Classical era . The origin of the command baton is remote but common to all pastoral societies and the ones in Egypt and Rome are manifest through art . In western Europe most are later variations of the ones consuls received and that represented the overall command of those tied to the " fasces " that represented the Roman tribes that composed the Roman people . With time they came to be extended to the commanders that held the supreme authority , civilian and military over the provinces of the Republic , and later under the dictatorships and finally the Emperor . A short , heavy , white baton was the symbol of the imperial mandate given to a Roman military legate . He held it high proclaiming " above your head and mine " to represent the Emperor . It is possible that the Spartan cipher rod , Scytale , also had a related military status , pre - dating the Roman baton , but the first detailed reference in Plutarch dates from the Roman period . Napoleonic era . Aping the Romans , the French kings and then Napoleon , provided their marshal s with ornate batons , sewn with stars or bees , respectively ( see Marshal of France ) . Other armies copied the practice for their marshals . The Duke of Wellington 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 ( see batons of Arthur Wellesley , 1st Duke of Wellington ) . 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 ( 1801 – 1825 ) presented five batons , one to the Duke of Wellington and four to Russian generals . Third Reich . During the Third Reich , marshals and grand admiral s carried ceremonial batons , specially manufactured by German jewelers . Seven styles of batons were awarded to 25 individuals . Hermann Göring earned two different - style batons for his Field Marshal and Reich Marshal promotions . All the batons , except Raeder ' s , were of similar construction : a shaft decorated with Iron Cross es and . Air Force ( Luftwaffe ) shafts added the Balkenkreuz ( " beam cross " ) , while Navy ( Kriegsmarine ) shafts added fouled anchors . Ends of the batons had ornate caps . Modern . The traditional baton of the Aymara Indians featured in an alternative inauguration ceremony for the first Indio president of Bolivia in January 2006 . In the United Kingdom and selected Commonwealth Realms and countries the tradition continues for those appointed Field Marshal ; However , since 1997 with the appointment of Baron Inge there have only been Honorary appointments to the role due to fewer armed conflicts . Historical Commentary . H . L . Mencken , " " ( 1930 ) The Earth Mother was limned , and her symbols were cherished , but it was apparently a long while afterward before man began to cherish the baton that was the symbol of kings . . . . the baton and phallus were one and the same . . . both came into the world with the greatest single discovery ever made by man , to wit , the discovery that babies have human fathers , and are not put into their mother ' s bodies by the gods .