Kearny Cross – Enlisted Mens Award

Description

Kearny Cross (Enlisted Personnel Award)

This medal was never authorized by the United States Government. If it had been, its manufacture or sale would be illegal. Therefore, this represents a rare opportunity to own a copy of an American Medal of Honor!

The Kearny Medal of Honor was a military decoration of the United States Army, which was first established in 1862 during the opening year of the American Civil War. The original decoration was known as the Kearny Medal and was adopted as an unofficial medal by the officers of the 1st Division (Birney’s Division), 3rd Corps, of the Union Army of the Potomac, which had served under Major General Philip Kearny, Jr. before he was killed at the Battle of Chantilly on September 1, 1862.

The original Kearny Medal (available on eBay as the Kearny Medal of Honor) was first bestowed on November 29, 1862, and was awarded to any Union officer who had “performed acts of extreme bravery and heroism in the face of the enemy.” In 1863, the medal was authorized retroactively to officers who had performed such acts while enlisted soldiers, and had been subsequently commissioned.

On March 13, 1863 this second version of the Kearny Medal was ordered establishes as a “Cross of Valor” for enlisted personnel. This new medal, known as the Kearny Cross, was awarded to any Union Soldier who had displayed meritorious, heroic, or distinguished acts while in the face of an enemy force.

Published reports suggest that 30 Kearny Crosses were distributed to each Regiment in the Division, and the task fell to the Regimental Captains to determine who in their respective companies would be awarded the medal.

By 1865, both the Kearny Medal and the Kearny Cross were commonly referred to by the single name of the Kearny Cross. Since the decorations were issued by local commanders, the medals remained unofficial awards and were not issued after the close of the Civil War. Nevertheless, the Kearny Cross and Medal are regarded as one of the oldest military decorations of the United States Army, second only to the Badge of Military Merit and the Fidelity Medallion.

Original medals are extremely rare, I’ve never seen one offered for sale anywhere, and unlike similar reproductions this one carries the full ribbon across the obverse and the type style of the lettering on the obverse and reverse is accurate to the original!

Reproduction measures 3 5/8” (90mm) overall and the cross itself is appx. 1 5/8” (42mm)