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National Geographic : 1919 Dec
Contents
THE ROMANCE OF MILITARY INSIGNIA class who participated in the battles of St. Vincent, Camperdown, the Nile, Tra falgar, and other famous naval victories between 1794 and 1815; to battalion and higher commanders in the Battle of Maida, 1806; and finally the Peninsula gold medal of 1810, given to higher offi cers who took part in the victories in Spain during 1808 and 1809. THE ORIGIN OF CLASPS WITH MEDALS The Peninsula medal is worthy of further comment, as it established an other precedent, just adopted by the United States-the system of clasps. As first authorized, a medal wvas given for each battle, all being the same, except that the name of the battle was on the reverse. The authorization was gradu ally extended to include the entire Penin sula war, and the number of medals pos sessed by some of the officers became so large that in 1813 it was directed that one medal only should be worn by each officer, and that for each other battle a bar bearing the name of the battle should be placed on the ribbon of the medal. The number of these bars (or clasps, as they are now called) was limited to two, and as one engagement was inscribed on the medal this was equivalent to three battles. When an officer had been present in four battles the medal was replaced by a gold cross having the names of the four. battles thereon, one on each arm of the cross, and subsequent engagements were again shown by clasps placed on the rib bon of the cross. This is the origin of the system of clasps which has been in use by the British since that time and which we have just adopted in the case of the Vic tory Medal. The East India Company continued its practice, giving a silver medal* to the native troops of the campaign of 1795-6 which captured Ceylon; to its troops who took part in the Battle of Alexandria against the French in 1801, and to those who took part in the capture of Java in 1811. Still the British Government did noth ing for the rank and file, and private in dividuals began to bestow medals. Thus General Eliot, the commander at Gibral- tar, personally gave a medal to all the members of the Hanoverian brigade who took part in the famous defense of that fortress, 1779-82; the British troops got nothing. In 1798 a Mr. Davison, friend of Nelson, presented medals to every officer, seaman, and marine in the Battle of the Nile. Admirals and captains received a gold medal, lieutenants and warrant offi cers one in silver, and the men one in bronze. They were worn from a blue ribbon around the neck. This was fol lowed by a similar presentation on the part of a Mr. Boulton to all who took part in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. This was worn from a dark-blue ribbon. WATERLOO INAUGURATED A UNIVERSAL PRACTICE Notwithstanding these examples, it was not till Waterloo that the British Government returned to the Dunbar precedent. In 1816 the Waterloo Medal was authorized "to be conferred upon every officer, non-commissioned officer, and soldier present upon that memorable occasion," and this definitely inaugurated the present custom of granting the same medal to officers and men alike, which has been followed by the British since that time and has now spread to all the nations of the world. It is truly a uni versal custom; so it is hoped that this survey of its development will not be amiss. In later years the British tried to rem edy the results of previous neglect by authorizing medals for campaigns prior to Waterloo, the most notable of these being the Peninsula Medal, given to all the survivors of the engagements between 1793 and 1814, including not only those in the Peninsula War, but also in Egypt and the West Indies. However, as this was not done until 1848, the survivors were not very numerous. There were 28 clasps with this medal, 15 being the great est number awarded to one man. FIRST AMERICAN MEDAL GIVEN TO WASHINGTON The British Navy General Service Medal of 1847, issued to all who saw service in the naval engagements between 1793 and 1815, is remarkable in the num- 471
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