A Medal of Honor is an award for valor on the battlefield. Such awards were uncommon in the U. S. military before the Civil War and were even frowned upon in some quarters. During the Revolutionary War, a few officers were awarded medals for leadership or received decorations from foreign powers. Late in the war, when morale was flagging, George Washington created the Purple Heart to recognize bravery among his troops, but the commendation was given only three times before 1800. In later wars, officers were sometimes given brevet promotions in recognition of meritorious service or political connections, while enlisted men were occasionally awarded extra pay. Nonetheless, when the Civil War started, there was no standard means by which exemplary military service was recognized.
Shortly after the war began, several congressmen proposed creating a medal for valor in combat, but General in Chief Winfield Scott stopped their efforts because he felt that such a measure was unnecessary. Once Scott retired, however, medal proponents were able to proceed without serious opposition. Iowa senator James W. Grimes, chairman of the Senate Naval Affairs Committee, quickly moved a bill through Congress instructing that the Medal of Honor be presented to enlisted personnel in the navy and marines who “most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action.” Abraham Lincoln signed the bill into law on December 21, 1861. On July 12, 1862, he signed a similar bill, sponsored by Massachusetts senator Henry Wilson, establishing the Medal of Honor for army enlisted personnel. A later act extended eligibility to army officers, although navy officers had to wait until World War I for inclusion.
The actual medal was designed by a private firm, Philadelphia silversmith William Wilson & Son Company, and struck by the U. S. Mint. The front of the medal was a five-pointed star depicting images of the Union defeating secession. The reverse had space to be engraved with the recipient’s name and unit and date and place of action. A red, white, and blue ribbon was attached to the medal, enabling it to be worn by the recipient.
The first Medals of Honor were awarded by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton on March 25, 1863, to six surviving members of Andrews’s Raid. The first African American to win the medal was Sgt. William H. Carney of the 54TH Massachusetts Regiment. Lt. Tom Custer, the brother of Gen. George Armstrong Custer, was the only person to win two Medals of Honor during the Civil War. There was also one female recipient, surgeon Mary Edwards Walker, whose medal was eventually rescinded in 1917 and then restored by President Jimmy Carter in 1976. A total of 1,527 Medals of Honor were awarded during and after the Civil War, five times more than any war since. Of these, 1,195 were presented to army soldiers, 307 were given to navy sailors, and 17 were presented to marines. A handful were also presented to nonmilitary personnel.
There was no corollary to the Medal of Honor in the Coneederate army. For a while, a “Roll of Honor” system was tried, but it failed due to lack of support in the ranks. Medals were ordered struck for the famous Stonewall Brigade, but they were never awarded. The only Confederate soldiers to actually receive decorations were 43 members of the First Texas Heavy Artillery, who were given special “Davis Guard” medals by President Jeeeer-son Davis in recognition of their defense of the Sabine Pass in Texas in 1863.
After the Civil War, several changes were made to the Medal of Honor. It was redesigned in 1904, and eventually different versions were created for the army, the navy, and the marines, and, in 1956, the air force. The rules for awarding the Medal of Honor were clarified so as to make the award much more selective. In addition, a review board composed of five retired generals was convened in 1916 and instructed to review every Medal of Honor that had been awarded to that date. They eventually revoked 911 of them, mostly those that had been given for lesser acts of bravery not deemed worthy of America’s highest military decoration.
Further reading: Joseph B. Mitchell, The Badge of Gallantry; Recollections of Civil War Congressional Medal of Honor Winners (New York: Macmillan, 1968); R. J. Proft, ed., United States of America's Congressional Medal of Honor Recipients and Their Official Citations (Columbia Heights, Minn.: Highland House II, 1994).
—Christopher Bates
World History
