Yesterday's Weapons Forums

Aug. 7, 1782 while in Newburgh, New York General George Washington created the "Badge for Military Merit" a cloth award made from a purple heart shaped piece of silk with a silver binding and the word MERIT also in silver across it. It was to be presented to any soldiers for "any meritorious action". However the record book for the soldiers who were awarded the "Military Merit Badge" was lost and only 3 names are known of men to have gotten the award, Daniel Bissell, Elijah Churchill, and William Brown. The award was mostly forgotten until 1927 when an attempt was made to bring it back. The results of the attempt was the creation of the "Order of the Purple Heart" on Feb. 22, 1932 the 200th birthday of George Washington.

....and it was later adapted/modified by FDR(I think) into the Purple Heart awarded for wounds in battle...
.....copy of original below...


http://glennbeck.shop.musictoday.com/Pr ... pc=BXAM138

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....Naj puška govori!....
.............deplorable typical "bitter clinger"....

Wow, I didn't know anybody had the story of the military merit badge out much less a copy(?) of it. I ran into it agin last night while looking for something in my old military history notebooks. Thought it worth passing on. Guess Mr. Beck beat me to it.
Also Herr Mario, I think you are correct about FDR bring the Purple Heart medal in to the form we have today.

interesting , i did not realize its origins went back to the first president , i thought it started in 32 , my military history is lacking

George Washington did a lot for the troops. I mean besides sharing their misery in Valley Forge.

During the Revolution, soldiers served a fixed amount of time and were then free to leave. If their enlistment expired in the midst of a battle, they could leave with no calls of cowardice.

Gen Washington needed men to stay longer, so he talked the Continental Congress into having a pension and 100 acres of land in Virginia for soldiers who served until the cessation of holsilities. Congress went for it. Probably since no up fron money was needed.

An ancestor with MY VERY NAME applied for and received his pension from the Revolution in 1826. A bit over $26 which was big bucks in those days. Pvt SW of the 5thDragoons of the Continental Army did in fact receive his 100 acres of "bounty land". but passed away 2 weeks later. It went to his daughter and SiL.

If anyone here lives near a National Archives Branch Office, those records are present on microfilm, and veterans of the Revolution are listed alphabetically in the index.

One of wifey's ancestors was a "Marine Soldier" in the Continental Navy & I was able to print off his records, too.

To receive the pension and land, the veterans had to provide a narrative of what they did. VERY interesting reading!

Poor old SW had an attorney write up his narrative and signed it with a shaky 'X'. Illiterate, he was.

God Bless American Patriots! SW

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Slava Ukraini!!