The Story of the Purple Heart

THERE IS A LEGEND surrounding the defeat and surrender of Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815 which describes how the Commander scornfully noted that the uniforms of the arresting soldiers lacked official decorations indicative of distinguished service or valor. Assuming that the British viewed him as an unworthy opponent, Napoleon voiced his indignation at what he perceived to be a deliberate insult. Later, when informed that military honors were not the prerogative of the enlisted man, he expressed disbelief that a country could so disregard the service of the common recruit as to deny him recognition for outstanding performance.

In his treatment of his troops, Napoleon was perhaps inspired by the actions of another great military commander - one whose patriotism and leadership brought victory to the Continental Army at Yorktown in October 1781. It is especially fitting that the first military decoration for the common man was created by one of the founders of the world's youngest democracy. General George Washington, appointed Commander-in-chief of the Continental Army by the Second Continental Congress, had served his country unremittedly since June of 1775, earning the respect and loyalty of the patriot army. After the war, his timely intervention at the Newburgh, New York encampment during the winter of 1783 prevented a mutiny by troops unpaid and unrecognized by a weak and faltering Congress. Washington's reasoned, emotional appeal in a tense meeting with the dissidents on the evening of March 15 thwarted a budding uprising against the interim government. His success that day was in due largely to a deeply felt respect based on common experience and shared history.

Perhaps the troops were also recalling Washington's actions of Wednesday, August 7, 1782. From Continental Army headquarters in Newburgh-on-the-Hudson, the general issued an order establishing two separate awards honoring the efforts and sacrifices of enlisted men. The first, the Honor Badge of Distinction, was presented to

…veteran Non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the army who have served more than three years with bravery, fidelity, and good conduct.

It consisted of a white, fabric chevron to be sewn on the left sleeve. For those who served more than six years two chevrons, to be fixed in a parallel arrangement on the sleeve, were granted. The second, more prestigious award, however, was the Badge of Military Merit, later known as the Purple Heart. The text of Washington's directive states:

The General, ever desirous to cherish virtuous ambition in his soldiers, as well as to foster and encourage every species of Military, merit, directs that whenever any singularly meritorious action is performed, the author of it shall be permitted to wear on his facings over his left breast, the figure of a heart in purple cloth, or silk, edged with narrow lace and binding. Not only instances of unusual gallantry, but also of extraordinary fidelity, and essential service in any way shall meet with due reward. Before this favor can be conferred on any man, the particular fact, or facts, on which it is grounded must be set forth to the commander-in-chief accompanied with certificates from the Commanding officers of the regiment and brigade to which the Candidate for reward belonged, or other incontestable proof, and upon granting it, the name and regiment of the person with the action so certified are to be enrolled in the book of merit which will be kept at the orderly office. Men who have merited this last distinction to be suffered to pass all guards and sentinels which officers are permitted to do.

The order ends with a brief, compelling statement by the Commander-in-chief:

The road to glory in a patriot army and a free country is thus opened to all.

Eligibility for the heart-shaped Badge of Military Merit was to be determined by a board of high ranking officers whose recommendations were made directly to Washington. The five member board met on two occasions in April 1783 and issued a report proposing two sergeants, Elijah Churchill of Enfield, Connecticut, and William Brown of Stamford, Connecticut, for the award and its accompanying certificate. These men were invested and received their decorations on May 3, 1783. A third and final badge was awarded to Sergeant Daniel Bissell of East Windsor, Connecticut in June 1783.

It was for two successful raids upon fortified encampments in enemy territory that Churchill received the Badge of Military Merit (fig.1l). The award, now on display at the New Windsor Cantonment in Vails Gate, New York (fig. 2), is the only extant Purple Heart with a secure Provenance. Kept for generations within the Churchill family, it was eventually donated to the museum in 1961. The decoration, whose design is attributed to Major Pierre Charles L'Enfant, is heart-shaped and fabricated from bias-cut, purple wool cloth with a hand-stitched metallic trim. Two sprigs and the word Merit are embroidered across the body.

The second recipient of the Badge of Military Merit, Sergeant William Brown, was twenty years old when he led an advance party of Captain Samuel Comstock's 5th Connecticut Regiment against a British contingent at Yorktown on the evening of October 14, 1781.

After the war Brown moved to Ohio where he died in 1808. The whereabouts of his badge is unknown, reportedly lost in the 1920s. In their recommendation to Washington, the board stated that

…in the assault of the enemy's left redoubt at Yorktown, Virginia…(Brown) conducted a forelorn hope with great bravery, propriety and deliberate firmness…

The third Revolutionary Badge of Military Merit was presented to Sergeant Daniel Bissell, 2nd Connecticut Regiment, for an act of intelligence within the British stronghold established in New York City.

The fate of Sergeant Bissell's badge remains controversial. While the soldier's military records were lost in a house fire in Richmond, New york in 1813, his Badge of Military Merit was purportedly found in the 1920s in a Deerfield, New Hampshire barn by captain William L. Willey (fig. 3). Willey donated the heart to the New Hampshire Society of the Cincinnati located in the Ladd-Gilman House, American Independence Museum, Exeter, New Hampshire. The decoration remains on view to the public.

Purpleheart

It may be that the color and form of the Badge of Military Merir had its origins in purpleheart, a highly valued Revolutionary War material. A dense, smooth-grained wood, purpleheart belongs to the genus Peltogyne (especially P. purpurea). It is stronger than oak and highly resistant to wood-destroying fungi and termites. Its principal source is tropical America, from Mexico to Brazil. In Washington's time, purpleheart referred to the wooden carriage in which certain guns were mounted. It was especially adaptable for use with firearms and artillery. By virtue of its strength, resilience, and durability, it symbolized those qualities most esteemed in a soldier.

In 1918 Clement T. Gleason (1900-1995), an 18 year old resident of Reading, Massachusetts, enlisted as a private in the 104^th Infantry Regiment of the 26^th or Yankee Division. He and his fellow servicemen were deployed to France where they participated in the Engagement at the Aprement Sector (April 1918), the Aisne-Marne Offensive (July 1918), the Advance on St. Mihiel (September 1918) and the 5^th Battle of Verdun (November 1918). It was on July 17, during the Aisne-Marne Offensive, that Gleason was gassed by the enemy and hospitalized for several weeks. For his injuries, he received the wound chevron. When the Badge of Military was reinstated as the Purple Heart in 1931, the award was made retroactive and presented to those veterans previously honored with a wound chevron.

The Purple Heart of Clement T. Gleason, part of the permanent collection of the Museum of our National Heritage, Lexington Massachusetts, retains its original purple box with a Bailey, Banks and Biddle label. An American maker and retailer of fine silver, medals, and jewelry with origins in the first part of the nineteenth century, Bailey, Banks and Biddle is also known as the producer of the Order of the Society of the Cincinnati, a decoration that shares a Revolutionary War history with the Purple Heart.

Caleb Kendall of Belmont, Massachusetts was a Harvard junior when he enlisted in the Navy on December 1, 1941, one week before the bombing of Pearl harbor and U.S. entry into the war. Trained as a fighter pilot, he served on the carriers, Enterprise and Intrepid, which saw action in the Pacific, including the Gilbert and Marshall Islands and Truk.

In January 1945 Lt. Kendall was assigned to the USS Bunker Hill as a Corsair pilot with Squadron 84. As Task Force 58, their field of operations included Tokyo, Iwo Jima, the Inland Sea, Ryukyus, and Okinowa. On May 11, as Kendall and his team of pilots were being briefed for take off in the ship's readyroom, the ship was bombed and then hit by a kamikaze pilot. All fifty pilots in the readyroom were killed instantly.

For his achievements and heroism, Lt. Kendall was awarded numerous citations and medals including the Gold Star, the Victory Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Purple Heart with its accompanying certificate. The medals were presented to his wife, Rosamond Brown Kendall, and infant son, Timothy.

The controversy surrounding the badge arises from uncorroborated facts associated with its discovery. Neither the Continental uniform on which the heart was supposedly attached nor the barn where it was found have been located. Equally disturbing is the fact that Bissell's heart is made of silk and lacks the embroidered Merit. It is possible, however, that Bissell's badge, awarded a month after the investment of Churchill and Brown, was fabricated from a different stock of cloth and the text omitted for expediency.

The story of the Purple Heart would have ended with the Revolutionary War were it not for the efforts of Generals John J. Pershing, John L. Hines, Charles P. Summerall, and Douglas MacArthur, all Army Chiefs of Staff after WWI. In 1921 Pershing attempted to establish a Third Decoration for those who did not meet the stringent criteria required for the Distinguished Service Medal or the Distinguished Service Cross. While his primary goal was the recognition of meritorious service in WWI, it was also his intention to extend the award to peace time service as well as making it available

His proposal, the source of endless debate, was presented to the Advisory Board of Legislation. While eventually rejected, it was not forgotten. Shortly thereafter, artist C. S. Gifford created a simple medallic design for the War Department. His drawing, labeled The Decoration of the Purple Heart, consisted of an undecorated heart-shaped design for the obverse (the front) and the text Founded by / Genl George Washington / August 7, 1782 / Restored February 22, 1922 / by President Harding above the space reserved for the recipient's name on the reverse (the back). Gifford's design illustrates a clear attempt to resurrect Washington's Badge of Military Merit. That the drawing also included suspension bars with the Army shield, Navy anchor, Marine Corps globe and Air Force wings demonstrates that the award was envisioned as a multi-service one.

Pershing's successor, Major General John L. Hines, continued the campaign to revive the heart-shaped decoration. A study by the Army War College for the War Department in 1925 also recommended its restoration by Executive Order based on the need

…for a decoration to be awarded for heroic acts not performed in actual combat with an armed enemy…(to be) open in time of peace and war…and limited to members of the Army of the United States.

For some reason, the study and its recommendations were shelved. When Charles Summerall became Army Chief of Staff in 1926, he requested that Congress consider an award along the lines of Washington's badge with the intention that it be awarded on the basis of military merit. A Congressional bill, while drafted, was not enacted.

Several years later, a patriotic society undertook the revival of the Badge of Military Merit in the form of a medal based or on the original design. This time the recommendation received the full support of the War Department, although a decision was made to postpone reenactment. Finally, Douglas MacArthur, who succeeded Summerall in 1930, achieved positive results. His efforts were no doubt aided by government preparations for the bicentennial celebration of Washington's birth in 1932. MacArthur expanded the definition of meritorious service, however, to include wounds inflicted by an enemy. He would later describe his reasons for the badge's restoration and its new meaning in his autobiography Reminiscences:

First, it is the oldest in American history, and antedates practically all the famous military medals of the world; second, it comes from the greatest of all Americans, George Washington, and thereby carries with it something of the reverence which haloes his great name; and third, it is the only decoration which is completely intrinsic in that it does not depend upon approval or favor by anyone. It goes only to those who are wounded in battle, and enemy action alone determines its award. It is a true badge of courage and every breast that wears it can beat with pride.

MacArthur submitted two designs for the revived medal to A. A. Weinman, sculptor advisor at the Commission of Fine Arts. These designs, both variants of an inscribed metal heart, were based on recommendations by J. C. Fitzpatrick, then serving as assistant chief in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress.

The actual sketches submitted to the Commission were prepared by Elizabeth Hill, an artist employed in the Heraldic Division, Office of the Quartermaster General. Her credits at the time included the 1926 design for the Distinguished Flying Cross. Ms. Hill's initial drawing for the revised badge (fig. 4a) was based on the heart purportedly awarded to Sergeant Daniel Bissell and included in the exhibition plans for the upcoming bicentennial celebration. Weinman, however, approved the artist's second sketch whose obverse consisted of a profile bust of Washington in Continental uniform set in a heart-shaped field (fig. 4b). The heart itself is surmounted by Washington's coat of arms flanked by sprigs of oak and laurel. On the reverse is the text For Military Merit with a space left for the recipient's name. The final design called for a purple enameled heart with a gilt bronze border measuring 4.25 cm. H. x 3.5 cm. W. Superimposed on the enamel was the gilt bronze relief bust of Washington. The shield and leaves were to be enameled red, white and green while the medal was to be suspended from a white-edged purple ribbon with a rectangular hoop attached to the bale.

The plaster model for the Purple Heart, based on Ms. Hill's design, was fabricated by sculptor John R. Sinnock, an engraver at the Philadelphia Mint. Sinnock's model was approved by the Fine Arts Commission and this version was subsequently made official on February 22, 1931 by General order No. 3 of the War Department. The decoration, now called the Purple Heart, was made retroactive and presented to eligible Army veterans. Included were hundreds who had served in Europe during WWI and had demonstrated "singularly meritorious acts of extraordinary fidelity" or had been medically treated for enemy-inflicted wounds or poisoning by gas (Sidebar 2). For those killed in action, the award was presented post-humously to the next-of-kin.

During WWII, the Purple Heart became a multi-service award (Sidebar 3) and in 1962, President John F. Kennedy

"…extended eligibility to any civilian national of the United States who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with a (U.S.) armed force…" received wounds requiring medical intervention.

Later, President Reagan issued an order authorizing the award for service members wounded or killed as a result of an international terrorist attack or peacekeeping mission.

Yvonne J. Markowitz, Ph. D. candidate, is the Suzanne E. Chapman Artist, Department of Ancient Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

David M. Markowitz, Ph. D. is a Research Fellow, Logistics Management Institute, McLean, Virginia.

Notes

1. Among those ready to challenge civil authority were the veteran officer corps. For an account of Washington's handling of this volatile situation, see Richard Brookheiser, Found Father, Rediscovering George Washington (New York 1996), p. 39-45.

2. John C. Fitzpatrick (editor), The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745-1799, vol. 24 (Washington, D.C., 1932), p. 487.

3. , p. 488.

4. , p. 488.

5. The appointed five member board consisted of Brigadier General Greaton (President), Colonel Stewart, Lt. Col. Sprout and Majors Fish and Trescott.

6. For a transcript of Elijah Churchill's certificate, see John C. Fitzpatrick, "The Story of the Order of the Purple Heart," The Definitive Writings of George Washington (Washington, D.C., 1932), p. 715.

7. Major L'Enfant would later provide designs for the Order of the Society of the Cincinnati and the plans for the city of Washington, D.C. See Frank Athanason and Leonard Carlton (editors), The Legacy of the Purple Heart (Paducah, KT, 1987), p. 14.

8. Bill WIdell, "The Purple Heart of Daniel Bisell: Artifact or Myth?" Archives, American Independence Museum, Exeter, N.H.

9. Fitzpatrick, "The Story of the Order of the Purple Heart," p. 712.

10. "The Purple Heart," Special Collections Division, US Military Academy, West Point, NY, p. 11. Written later Ronald Reagan's Executive Order of 2/23/84, this excellent article provides accurate and detailed information on the reinstatement of the Purple Heart.

11. Gifford proposed an Air Force design even though the Air Force did not exist as a separate service at this time. See F.L. Borch and F.C. Brown, op. cit., p. 10-12.

12. Memorandum of the War Department General Staff to the Chief-of-Staff concerning The Order of Military Merit, dated June 12, 1925, as reproduced in F.L. Borch and F.C. Brown, fig. 9.

13. Athanason and L. Carlton, op. cit., p. 17.

14. "The Purple Heart," op. cit., p. 13.

15. Douglas MacArthur, Reminiscences (New York, 1964), p. 102-3.

16. Apparently, the government was unaware of the heart passed down in the Churchill family.

17. The first sketch was based on Sgt. Bissell's unprovenenced heart which was displayed in Washington, D.C. in 1932.

18. The oak and laurel leaves were replaced by generic leaves in the final design.

19. John Sinnock would later create the reverse of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's third inaugural medal. See Neil MacNeil, the President's Medal, 1789-1977 (New York, 1977), p. 98-101.

20. Executive Order 11016, April 25, 1962. See F.L. Borch and F.C. Brown, op. cit., p. 95.

By Yvonne J. Markowitz and David M. Markowitz

Metalsmith Magazine – 1997 Fall

In association with SNAG‘s

Metalsmith magazine, founded in 1980, is an award winning publication and the only magazine in America devoted to the metal arts.