This Day in American History: The Medal of Honor Is Created (July 12, 1862)
- ForAmerica
- 2 days ago
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This Day in American History: July 12, 1862
On this day in 1862, in the middle of the bloodiest war in American history, President Abraham Lincoln signed into law the resolution creating the U.S. Army Medal of Honor. It would go on to become the nation's highest award for battlefield valor, reserved for conspicuous gallantry above and beyond the call of duty. A war that was tearing the country apart also produced the medal meant to honor the very best of what Americans do for each other under fire.
The idea wasn't entirely new. George Washington had created the Badge of Military Merit back in 1782, but it fell out of use once the Revolution ended, and the young country went without any formal system of combat decorations for generations. That changed when Congress approved a medal for Navy personnel in December 1861, and Massachusetts Senator Henry Wilson pushed a companion resolution for the Army through that following February. Lincoln's signature on July 12 authorized 2,000 medals to be given, in the name of Congress, to enlisted soldiers who distinguished themselves through gallantry in action.
How the Medal of Honor went from a wartime idea to the nation's highest symbol of valor.
The first men to receive it were six Union soldiers from Andrews' Raiders, who slipped nearly 200 miles behind Confederate lines to steal a locomotive and tear up railroad track between Chattanooga and Atlanta. Made a permanent decoration in 1863 and opened to officers as well as enlisted men, the medal would eventually be awarded more than 3,500 times, with over 1,500 of those going to soldiers who fought in the war that inspired it in the first place.
More than 160 years later, the standard hasn't loosened, it's tightened. Every recommendation still has to survive review at every level of the chain of command, all the way up to the President as Commander-in-Chief, before it can be awarded in the name of Congress. It remains the only decoration a service member can wear that outranks even a salute from a superior officer, regardless of rank.
A country at war with itself still found a way to honor its bravest. Come back tomorrow for what else happened on July 13 throughout American history.
Also on this day
1804: Alexander Hamilton died from the wounds he suffered in his duel with Aaron Burr the previous morning.
1543: King Henry VIII married his sixth and final wife, Catherine Parr, who managed to outlive him.
1854: George Eastman, founder of Kodak, was born; his roll film would put a camera in the hands of everyday Americans.
1984: Walter Mondale named Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate, making her the first woman on a major party's presidential ticket.
1979: Rowdy fans stormed the field during "Disco Demolition Night" at Chicago's Comiskey Park, forcing the White Sox to forfeit a game.
1997: Malala Yousafzai, the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was born in Pakistan.
Sources: HISTORY.com and the U.S. Army Center of Military History