INTRODUCTION.
Reading edition
Medals, by means of the engraver's art, perpetuate in a durable form and within a small compass which the eye can embrace at a glance, not only the features of eminent persons, but the dates, brief accounts, and representations (direct or emblematical) of events; they rank, therefore, among the most valuable records of the past, especially when they recall men, deeds, or circumstances which have influenced the life of nations. How much light has been furnished for the study of history by the concise and faithful testimony of these silent witnesses! The importance of medals is now universally acknowledged, and in almost every country they are preserved with reverent care, and made the subject of costly publications, illustrated by elaborate engravings, with carefully prepared letter-press descriptions and notes. Up to the present time no thorough work devoted to the medals of the United States of America has been published. When I entered upon the task, several years ago, of investigating their history for the period embracing the first century of the Republic, I had little conception of the difficulties to be encountered. The search involved a very considerable expenditure of time and labor, but at last I have the satisfaction of offering to the public the result of my investigations, completed according to the original plan.
Although our political history measures but a hundred years, it records so many memorable deeds, and the names of so many illustrious citizens, that our medals form, even now, an historically valuable collection, to say nothing of the great artistic merit of some of them. During the War of Independence alone, how many exploits, how many heroes do we find worthy of being thus honored! How numerous would have been our medals if Congress had not been imbued with the conviction that only the very highest achievements are entitled to such a distinction, and that the value of a reward is enhanced by its rarity! In voting those struck after the War of 1812-'15 with Great Britain, and after that of 1846-'47 with Mexico, the same discretion was shown. There was still greater necessity for reserve during the late Civil War, and only two were presented during that painful period: one to Ulysses S. Grant, then a major-general, for victories, and another to Cornelius Vanderbilt, in acknowledgment of his free gift of the steamship which bore his name.
Similar national rewards have been earned also by deeds which interest humanity, science, or commerce; as, for instance, the laying of the transatlantic telegraph cable, the expedition of Doctor Kane to the Arctic Seas, and the beneficence of George Peabody. If to these are added the Indian peace medals, bearing the effigies of our successive Presidents, the various elements which compose the official medals of the United States of America will have been enumerated.
As neither titles of nobility nor orders of knighthood exist in our country, Congress can bestow no higher distinction on an American citizen than to offer him the thanks of the nation, and to order that a medal be struck in his honor. I cannot do better than to quote here the words of General Winfield Scott, when he received from President Monroe the medal voted to him for the battles of Chippewa and Niagara:
"With a deep sense of the additional obligation now contracted, I accept at the hands of the venerable Chief Magistrate of the Union the classic token of the highest reward a free man can receive: the recorded approbation of his country."
Our medals number eighty-six in all, most of which were struck by order of Congress in honor of citizens of the United States. Seventeen belong to the period of the Revolution, twenty-seven to the War of 1812-'15, four to the Mexican War, and two to the Civil War. Only five were voted to foreigners: one, in 1779, to Lieutenant-Colonel de Fleury, a French gentleman in the Continental Army, for gallant conduct at Stony Point; another, in 1858, to Dr. Frederick Rose, an assistant-surgeon in the British Navy for kindness and humanity to sick seamen on one of our men-of-war; and the others, in 1866, to three foreign merchant captains, Messrs. Creighton, Low, and Stouffer, who, in December, 1853, went to the aid of the steamer San Francisco, thereby "rescuing about five hundred Americans."
Seven of the eighty-six medals do not owe their origin to a congressional vote: two which were struck in the United Netherlands (1782), one to commemorate their acknowledgment of the United States of America, and the other the treaty of amity and commerce between the two countries; that known as Libertas Americana (1783); the two in honor of Franklin (1784-1786); the Diplomatic medal (1790); and lastly that struck in memory of the conclusion of the treaty of commerce between the United States and France (1822). Although these cannot properly be classed as official medals, their historic importance and value as works of art entitle them to a place in our national collection.
Nearly all of the early medals were executed by French engravers, whose names alone are a warrant for the artistic merit of their work. We are indebted to Augustin Dupré, who has been called the "great Dupré" for the Daniel Morgan, the Nathaniel Greene, the John Paul Jones, the Libertas Americana, the two Franklin, and the Diplomatic medals; to Pierre Simon Duvivier for those of George Washington, de Fleury, William Augustine Washington, and John Eager Howard; to Nicolas Marie Gatteaux for those of Horatio Gates, Anthony Wayne, and John Stewart; and to Bertrand Andrieu and Raymond Gayrard for the one in commemoration of the signature of the treaty of commerce between France and the United States.
Congress had not yet proclaimed the independence of the thirteen United Colonies when, on March 25, 1776, it ordered that a gold medal be struck and presented to "His Excellency, General Washington," for his "wise and spirited conduct in the siege and acquisition of Boston." But this, although the first one voted, was not engraved until after the de Fleury and the Libertas Americana pieces, both of which were executed in Paris under the direction of Benjamin Franklin. The following letter gives the date of the de Fleury medal:
To His Excellency Mr. Huntington, President of Congress. Passy, March 4, 1780.
Sir: Agreeably to the order of Congress, I have employed one of the best artists here in cutting the dies for the medal intended for M. de Fleury. The price of such work is beyond my expectation, being a thousand livres for each die. I shall try if it is not possible to have the others done cheaper.
With great respect I have the honour to be, Sir, your most obedient and most humble servant,
B. Franklin.
This medal was shown in the exhibition of the Royal Academy in Paris in 1781. The Libertas Americana piece was struck in 1783.
Six of the earliest of the series were designed under the supervision of Colonel David Humphreys, namely, those for Generals Washington, Gates, Greene, and Morgan, and Lieutenant-Colonels Washington and Howard. To insure a due observance of the laws of numismatics, and that they might bear comparison with the best specimens of modern times, Colonel Humphreys asked the aid of the French Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres in the composition of the designs. He explained his action in this respect to the President of Congress in the following letter:
To His Excellency The President of Congress. Paris, March 18, 1785.
Upon the receipt of these documents I did not delay to make the proper inquiries from the characters who were the best skilled in subjects of this nature, and after having spoken to some of the first artists, I was advised to apply to the Abbé Barthélémy, member of the academies of London, Madrid, Cortona, and Hesse-Cassel, and actual keeper of the King's Cabinet of Medals and Antiquities, at whose instance I wrote a letter to the Royal Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres, of which a copy is inclosed. Being informed at the same time that the description of medals for General Morgan, etc., was not in the style and manner such medals were usually executed, I took the liberty of suspending the execution of them, until I could learn whether it is the pleasure of Congress to have them performed exactly in the manner prescribed—which shall be done accordingly, in case I should not be honoured with further instructions on the subject before their approaching recess.
The medals voted for the capture of Stony Point have been, or I believe may be, all struck from the die originally engraved to furnish one of them for Colonel de Fleury.
As to the swords in question, it is proposed to have them all constructed in precisely the same fashion, the hilt to be of silver, round which a foliage of laurel to be enameled in gold in such a manner as to leave a medallion in the centre sufficient to receive the arms of the United States on one side, and on the reverse an inscription in English, "The United States to Colonel Meigs, July 25, 1777," and the same for the others. The whole ten, executed in this manner, may probably cost about three hundred louis d'or, which is (as I have been informed) but little more than was paid for the sword which some time since was presented on the part of the United States to the Marquis de la Fayette.
I have the honour to be, with the most perfect respect, D. Humphreys.
P.S. I forgot to mention that, in order to have the medals for General Morgan, etc., executed in the manner originally proposed, it will be necessary for me to have more particular information of the numbers on both sides, of the killed, wounded, prisoners, trophies, etc., which the enemy lost in the action of the Cowpens.
The following is the letter to the Royal Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres, referred to by Colonel Humphreys in the above:
Paris, March 14, 1785. Mr. Dacier, Perpetual Secretary of the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres, Rue Chabanais, Paris.
In addressing so respectable an assembly of literati I do not think myself permitted to enlarge on the importance of this subject, because they must know, much better than I can inform them, in how great a degree such monuments of public gratitude are calculated to produce a laudable emulation, a genuine love of liberty, and all the virtues of real patriotism, not only among the innumerable generations who are yet to people the wastes of America, but on the human character in general. Nor do I make those apologies for the trouble I am now giving, which would be requisite, did I not feel a conviction that whatever is interesting to the national glory of America, to the good of posterity, or to the happiness of the human race, cannot be indifferent to a society composed of the most enlightened and liberal characters in Europe, fostered by the royal protection of a monarch whose name will forever be as dear to the United States as it will be glorious in the annals of mankind.
Being so unfortunate as not to be able to write myself in French, my intimate friend and brave companion in arms, M. le marquis de la Fayette, has had the goodness to make a translation of this letter into that language, which I inclose herewith.
I have the honour to be, with the most perfect respect, Sir, your most obedient and most humble servant, D. Humphreys.
A letter written by Franklin, about the same time, to John Jay, then Secretary for Foreign Affairs, is of much interest in this connection:
To the Honourable John Jay, Secretary for Foreign Affairs. Passy, May 10, 1785.
P.S. The striking of the medals being now in agitation here, I send the inclosed for consideration.
A thought concerning the Medals that are to be struck by order of Congress.
The forming of dies in steel to strike medals or money, is generally with the intention of making a great number of the same form.
The engraving those dies in steel is, from the hardness of the substance, very difficult and expensive, but, once engraved, the great number to be easily produced afterward by stamping justifies the expense, it being but small when divided among a number.
Where only one medal of a kind is wanted, it seems an unthrifty way to form dies for it in steel to strike the two sides of it, the whole expense of the dies resting on that medal.
It was by this means that the medal voted by Congress for M. de Fleury cost one hundred guineas, when an engraving of the same figures and inscriptions might have been beautifully done on a plate of silver of the same size for two guineas.
The ancients, when they ordained a medal to record the memory of any laudable action, and do honour to the performer of that action, struck a vast number and used them as money. By this means the honour was extended through their own and neighbouring nations, every man who received or paid a piece of such money was reminded of the virtuous action, the person who performed it, and the reward attending it, and the number gave such security to this kind of monuments against perishing and being forgotten, that some of each of them exist to this day, though more than two thousand years old, and, being now copied in books by the arts of engraving and painting, are not only exceedingly multiplied but likely to remain some thousands of years longer.
The man who is honoured only by a single medal is obliged to show it to enjoy the honour, which can be done only to a few and often awkwardly. I therefore wish the medals of Congress were ordered to be money, and so continued as to be convenient money, by being in value aliquot parts of a dollar.
Copper coins are wanting in America for small change. We have none but those of the King of England. After one silver or gold medal is struck from the dies, for the person to be honoured, they may be usefully employed in striking copper money, or in some cases small silver.
The nominal value of the pieces might be a little more than the real, to prevent their being melted down, but not so much more as to be an encouragement of counterfeiting. I am, etc., B. Franklin.
I, the undersigned, Augustin Dupré, engraver of medals and medallist of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, bind myself to Colonel Humphreys to engrave the medal representing the portrait of General Greene. On the reverse, Victory treading under her feet broken arms, with the legend and the exergue, and I hold myself responsible for any breakage of the dies up to twenty-four medals, and bind myself to furnish one at my own expense (the diameter of the medal to be twenty-four lignes).
All on the following conditions: That for the two engraved dies of the said medal shall be paid me the sum of two thousand four hundred livres, on delivery of the two dies after the twenty-four medals which the Colonel desires have been struck.
Done in duplicate between us, in Paris, this nineteenth of November, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-five (1785). D. Humphreys. Dupré.
Colonel Humphreys having returned to America before the medals were finished, their superintendence was undertaken by Mr. Jefferson, as will be seen from the following letter:
To the Honourable John Jay, Secretary for Foreign Affairs. Paris, February 14, 1787.
Sir: Mr. Morris, during his office, being authorized to have the medals and swords executed, which had been ordered by Congress, he authorized Colonel Humphreys to take measures here for the execution. Colonel Humphreys did so, and the swords were finished in time for him to carry them. The medals not being finished, he desired me to attend to them. The workman who was to make that of General Greene brought me yesterday the medal in gold, twenty-three in copper, and the die. Mr. Short, during my absence, will avail himself of the first occasion which shall offer of forwarding the medals to you. I must beg leave, through you, to ask the pleasure of Congress as to the number they would choose to have struck. Perhaps they might be willing to deposit one of each person in every college of the United States. Perhaps they might choose to give a series of them to each of the crowned heads of Europe, which would be an acceptable present to them. They will be pleased to decide. In the meantime I have sealed up the die, and shall retain it till I am honoured with their orders as to this medal, and the others also, when they shall be finished.
With great respect and esteem, Th: Jefferson.
In another letter to Mr. Jay, dated Marseilles, May 4, 1787, Mr. Jefferson again refers to this subject:
I am in hopes Mr. Short will be able to send you the medals of General Gates by this packet. I await a general instruction as to these medals. The academies of Europe will be much pleased to receive a set.
Mr. Jefferson's communication of the 14th of February was brought to the notice of Congress by Mr. Jay, and was referred back to him by Congress. The result was the following report:
Office for Foreign Affairs, July 11, 1787.
The Secretary of the United States for the Department of Foreign Affairs, to whom was referred a letter from the Honourable Mr. Jefferson of the 14th of February last,
Reports, Your secretary presumes that the following paragraphs in this letter occasion its being referred to him, viz.: "The workman who was to make a medal of General Greene brought me yesterday the medal in gold, twenty-three in copper, and the die. I must beg leave, through you, to ask the pleasure of Congress as to the number they would choose to have struck. Perhaps they might be willing to deposit one of each person in every college of the United States. Perhaps they might choose to give a series of them to each of the crowned heads of Europe, which would be an acceptable present to them. They will be pleased to decide. In the meantime I have sealed up the die, and shall retain it till I am honoured with their orders as to this medal, and the others also, when they shall be finished."
As these medals were directed to be struck in order to signalize and commemorate certain interesting events and conspicuous characters, the distribution of them should in his opinion be such as may best conduce to that end. He therefore thinks that both of Mr. Jefferson's hints should be improved, to wit, that a series of these medals should be presented to each of the crowned heads in Europe, and that one of each set be deposited in each of the American colleges. He presumes that Mr. Jefferson does not mean that any should be presented to the King of Great Britain, for it would not be delicate; nor that by crowned heads he meant to exclude free states from the compliment, for to make discriminations would give offense.
In the judgment of your secretary it would be proper to instruct Mr. Jefferson to present in the name of the United States one silver medal of each denomination to every monarch (except His Britannic Majesty), and to every sovereign and independent state without exception in Europe; and also to the Emperor of Morocco. That he also be instructed to send fifteen silver medals of each set to Congress, to be by them presented to the thirteen United States respectively, and also to the Emperor of China with an explanation and a letter, and one to General Washington. That he also be instructed to present a copper medal of each denomination to each of the most distinguished universities (except the British) in Europe, and also to Count de Rochambeau, to Count d'Estaing, and to Count de Grasse; and, lastly, that he be instructed to send to Congress two hundred copper ones of each set, together with the dies.
Your secretary thinks that of these it would be proper to present one to each of the American colleges, one to the Marquis de la Fayette, and one to each of the other major-generals who served in the late American army; and that the residue with the dies be deposited in the Secretary's Office of the United States, subject to such future orders as Congress may think proper to make respecting them.
It might be more magnificent to give gold medals to sovereigns, silver ones to distinguished persons, and copper ones to the colleges; but, in his opinion, the nature of the American Governments, as well as the state of their finance, will apologize for their declining the expense.
All which is submitted to the wisdom of Congress. John Jay.
To M. Dupré, Engraver of Medals and Medallist of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture.
Mr. Jefferson having received orders concerning medals to be struck would like to talk about them with M. Dupré, if he will please do him the honour to call on him to-morrow morning before eleven o'clock.
Saturday, January 3, 1789.
In the following month, Mr. Jefferson again wrote to M. Dupré, inclosing descriptions of the designs for the medals of General Morgan and of Admiral Jones. The reader will note some slight differences between these and those originally composed by the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres:
To M. Dupré, Engraver of Medals and Medallist of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture.
Mr. Jefferson has the honour to send to M. Dupré the devices for the medals for General Morgan and Rear-Admiral Paul Jones, which he has just received from the Academy of Belles-Lettres, and the making of which he proposes to M. Dupré, the latter to be responsible for the success of the dies up to the striking of three hundred and fifty of each medal in gold, silver, or bronze, and to furnish proofs in tin at the end of the month of March next, so that the medals may all be struck before the 15th of April. He begs him to kindly mention the conditions on which he will undertake them, and Mr. Jefferson will have the honour to reply on receipt of them.
February 13, 1789.
Medal for General Morgan, of twenty-four lignes in diameter.
The general, at the head of his army, charges the enemy, which takes to flight.
Legend: victoria libertatis vindex.
Exergue: fugatis captis aut cæsis ad cowpens hostibus 17 Jan. 1781.
Reverse: America, recognizable by her shield, rests her left hand upon a trophy of arms and of flags, and with her right crowns the general, who bends before her.
Legend: danieli morgan duci exercitus.
Exergue: comitia americana.
Medal for Rear-Admiral John Paul Jones, of twenty-four lignes.
Device: His head (M. Houdon will furnish the bust in plaster).
Legend: joanni paulo jones classis præfecto.
Exergue: comitia americana.
Reverse: Naval Engagement.
Legend: hostium navibus captis aut fugatis.
Exergue: ad oram scotiæ 23 sept. 1779.
The following, from the same to the same, bearing date February 15, 1789, throws some light on the prices of the medals engraved by M. Dupré:
To M. Dupré, Engraver of Medals, Paris.
February 15, 1789.
It is to be supposed that Dupré accepted these conditions, since he is the engraver of the John Paul Jones medal, one of the finest specimens in our collection. The Daniel Morgan piece is no less remarkable as an effort of numismatic skill. The fight at the Cowpens, on the reverse, is a striking example of the boldness with which Dupré enlarged the limits of his art, and, in defiance of all traditional rules, successfully represented several planes in the background.
The Morgan medal, says this eminent French critic, seems to vibrate beneath the rush of cavalry and the tread of infantry flying in the background, indicated by the almost imperceptible lines of the metal where the smoke of the cannonade is vanishing away in air. In the Libertas Americana medal, which recalls, if we except the evacuation of Boston, the two most memorable events of the War of Independence, namely, the capitulation of General Burgoyne, at Saratoga, in October, 1777, and that of General Lord Cornwallis, at Yorktown, in October, 1781, Dupré has represented the new-born Liberty, sprung from the prairies without ancestry and without rulers, as a youthful virgin, with disheveled hair and dauntless aspect, bearing across her shoulder a pike, surmounted by the Phrygian cap. This great artist, in consequence of his intimacy with Franklin, had conceived the greatest enthusiasm for the cause of the United States. Franklin resided at Passy, and Dupré at Auteuil. As they both went to Paris every day, they met and made acquaintance on the road—an acquaintance which soon ripened into friendship. Dupré first engraved Franklin's seal with the motto, "In simplici salus," and afterward his portrait. This portrait presents an alto-rilievo which is well adapted for medals only; it is conceived in the spirit of the French school, which has always attached great importance to the truthful rendering of flesh. The artist has indicated the flat parts, the relaxation of the muscles, and, as it were, the quivering of the flesh, so as to convey an exact idea of the age of the model. He has conscientiously represented the lines which the finger of Time imprints on the countenance, but, above all, he has given us with wonderful fidelity the physiognomy of the American sage, his shrewd simplicity, his sagacity, and his expression of serene uprightness. A Latin hexameter from the pen of Turgot became the well-known legend of this medal: "Eripuit cœlo fulmen, sceptrumque tyrannis."
In those by Gatteaux, the personification of America as an Indian queen with an alligator at her feet is noteworthy.
With the exception of the Treaty of Commerce medal (1822), and perhaps of that of Captain Truxtun, our medals after the War of Independence were engraved and struck at home. Before that time, indeed, the one voted in 1779 to Major Henry Lee had been made by John Wright, of Philadelphia. From the close of the eighteenth century down to 1840 John Reich and subsequently Moritz Fürst were the engravers of the national medals. Reich's works are valued; unfortunately they are few in number. They consist of the medal voted in 1805 to Captain Edward Preble for his naval operations against Tripoli, of another voted in 1813 to Captain Isaac Hull for the capture of the British frigate Guerrière, and of those of Presidents Jefferson and Madison. That of President Jefferson especially deserves attention for its beauty.
But little can be said in commendation of the works of Fürst, whose numerous medals are very inferior to Reich's, and still less worthy of being compared with those of the French engravers. While wishing to avoid undue severity, I cannot but endorse the opinion of General Scott, given in a communication addressed to the Honorable William L. Marcy, Secretary of War, in regard to the medal voted to General Zachary Taylor, for victories on the Rio Grande:
To the Honourable William L. Marcy, Secretary of War. Headquarters of the Army, Washington, July 25, 1846.
As medals are among the surest monuments of history, as well as muniments of individual distinction, there should be given to them, besides intrinsic value and durability of material, the utmost grace of design, with the highest finish in mechanical execution. All this is necessary to give the greater or adventitious value; as in the present instance, the medal is to be, at once, an historical record and a reward of distinguished merit. The credit of the donor thus becomes even more than that of the receiver interested in obtaining a perfect specimen in the fine arts.
The within resolution prescribes gold as the material of the medal. The general form (circular) may be considered as equally settled by our own practice, and that of most nations, ancient and modern. There is, however, some little diversity in diameter and thickness in the medals heretofore ordered by Congress, at different periods, as may be seen in the cabinets of the War and Navy Departments. Diversity in dimensions is even greater in other countries.
The specific character of the medal is shown by its two faces, or the face and the reverse. The within resolution directs appropriate devices and inscriptions thereon.
For the face, a bust likeness is needed, to give, with the name and the rank of the donee, individuality. To obtain the likeness, a first-rate miniature painter should, of course, be employed.
The reverse receives the device, appropriate to the events commemorated. To obtain this, it is suggested that the resolutions and despatches, belonging to the subject, be transmitted to a master in the art of design—say Prof. Weir, at West Point—for a drawing—including, if practicable, this inscription:
Palo Alto; Resaca de La Palma: May 8 and 9, 1846.
A third artist—all to be well paid—is next to be employed—a die-sinker. The mint of the United States will do the coinage.
Copies, in cheaper metal, of all our gold medals, should be given to the libraries of the Federal and State Governments, to those of the colleges, etc.
All which is respectfully submitted to the Secretary of War.
Whatever may be the weight of General Scott's opinion on such a subject, and whether or not it is important, as he insists, that medals should possess high artistic value, in order that they may be not only the rewards of merit and monuments of history, but also favorable specimens of contemporary art, it must be acknowledged that those struck since 1840 differ widely, in many respects, from those of the preceding period. While the earlier works are of a pure and lofty style, the later ones are not always in good taste. The former are conceived generally in strict observance of classical rules, and will bear comparison with the numismatic masterpieces of antiquity; the latter reflect the realistic tendency of their day.
The Indian medals, with the exception of that of President Jefferson and a few others, which are very fine, possess only an historic value. These pieces owe their origin to the custom, in the colonial times, of distributing to the chiefs of Indian tribes, with whom treaties were concluded, medals bearing on the obverse the effigy of the reigning British sovereign, and on the reverse friendly legends and emblems of peace. Mr. Kean, member of the Continental Congress from South Carolina, on April 20, 1786, moved: "That the Board of Treasury ascertain the number and value of the medals received by the commissioners appointed to treat with the Indians, from said Indians, and have an equal number, with the arms of the United States, made of silver, and returned to the chiefs from whom they were received." The result was the Indian series, which bear on their obverses the busts of the respective Presidents under whom they were issued (none exists of President Harrison, who died a month after his inauguration); but it should be borne in mind that these are mere Indian peace tokens, struck only for distribution as presents to friendly chiefs.
I have called in question the discernment of some of the Federal administrations in their choice of engravers; unfortunately, I have also to draw attention to an unaccountable delay in the execution of one of the medals. It seems scarcely credible that the one voted in 1857 to Dr. Elisha Kent Kane for his discoveries in the Arctic Seas has not yet been struck. Elder, in his "Life of E. K. Kane" (page 228), says:
"Congress having failed at its first session after his (Kane's) return to appropriate, by a national recognition, the honors he had won for his country, had no other opportunity for repairing the neglect till after his death; then a gold medal was ordered, of which, I believe, nothing has been heard since the passage of the resolution."
To complete my undertaking, it was necessary not only to study the composition and history of all our national medals, but also to have plates of them engraved, which could only be done from the originals or copies, or, as a last resort, from casts.
But the Paris Mint possessed only the dies of the two Washington, of the Howard, and of the John Paul Jones medals; moreover, the rules of that establishment did not permit them to be given up. Bronze copies of the four were obtained, however, and from them Messrs. George Eckfeldt and R. Jefferson of the Philadelphia Mint cut new dies.
In Washington, in January, 1872, I was informed by Mr. Spofford, of the Library of Congress, that after the fire which destroyed a portion of that library, December 24, 1851, the bronze copies of the medals formerly deposited there had been transferred to the Smithsonian Institution. At the latter place I was shown the remains of the collection, all more or less injured by fire. Moreover, the five wanted were not to be found; and further investigations made in December, 1877, in the Philadelphia Mint, showed that four of the dies, namely, those of Generals Greene and Wayne, and of Lieutenant-Colonel de Fleury and Major Stewart, are still missing from that establishment.
During the year 1872, I obtained permission from the Honorable Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State, to examine in the archives of his department the official papers relating to the medals of the War of Independence, and was fortunate enough to find the correspondence concerning the Diplomatic medal between Jefferson, William Short, the Marquis de la Luzerne, and the Count de Moustier. Afterward, in the reports of the Massachusetts Historical Society (vol. vi., 3d series), I found a description which seemed to apply to this same medal. I then went to Philadelphia to see the writer of the description, Joshua Francis Fisher, Esq., but he was on his death-bed, and it was impossible to prosecute the inquiry. After his decease, I was informed that no medal of the kind described was contained in his collection.
About this time, Mr. Charles I. Bushnell, of New York city, kindly sent me plaster casts of an obverse and of a reverse, in which I at once recognized the Diplomatic medal, but neither bore the signature of Dupré. Nevertheless, I had a plate engraved from them, hoping by its aid to find the original.
I then turned once more to M. Gatteaux, the son of M. Nicolas Marie Gatteaux, who had shown me, in 1868, in his house in the Rue de Lille, Paris, the wax model of the obverse of the medal of General Gates, and the designs for those of General Wayne and Major Stewart, but, the house having been burnt during the reign of the Commune in 1871, he could furnish no information, and I was as far as ever from discovering the original of this piece.
While in Washington, in February, 1872, I was fortunate enough to find, in the office of Rear-Admiral Joseph Smith, then chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks, in the Navy Department, where they were used as paperweights, the original dies of the medal voted to Commodore Edward Preble for his naval operations against Tripoli. I immediately brought this to the notice of the chief clerks of the Navy and of the Treasury Departments, and also to that of Captain (now Rear-Admiral) George H. Preble, a connection of the commodore's, and these dies are now where they belong, in the Mint in Philadelphia. Shortly afterward I was also instrumental in having restored to the mint the dies of the Vanderbilt medal, which were lying in the cellar of one of the New York city banks.
I have found it impossible to obtain any trustworthy information respecting the designer and the engraver of the medal, voted on March 29, 1800, in honor of Captain Thomas Truxtun. As there were no competent medallists in the United States at the period, and as we were then at war with France, it is presumable that the dies were made in England. If so, they were probably cut at the private mint of Matthew Boulton, of Birmingham, who furnished the United States Government for a long time with planchets for its copper coinage.
The work now offered to the public consists of two volumes: Volume I., Text; Volume II., Plates.
The text is subdivided into eighty-six sections, corresponding to the number of the medals, in each of which is included, besides the descriptive matter, all the documents that could be obtained relating to the respective piece, and arranged according to the following plan:
1. The number of the medal, its date, and its number in the book of plates. The medals are arranged chronologically: those voted by Congress according to the dates of the several resolutions or acts awarding them, and not in the order of the events which they commemorate; the unofficial ones in the order of events which they commemorate; and the presidential pieces according to the date of inauguration of each President.
2. The descriptive titles of each medal, in the following order: 1st, the legends of the obverse and of the reverse; 2d, the name of the person honored, or of the title by which the piece is known; 3d, the event commemorated.
3. A description of the medal, beginning with the obverse: 1st, the whole legend; 2d, the description of the emblems and devices; 3d, the legend of the exergue; 4th, the names of the designer and of the engraver. The same order has been followed for the reverse. The legends are copied exactly from the medals, and when in Latin, translated; the abbreviations are explained, and are, like the translations, placed between parentheses. The words, "facing the right" and "facing the left" mean the right or the left of the person looking at the piece.
4. A short biographical sketch of the designers and of the engravers.
5. A short biographical sketch of the person in whose honor the medal was struck, or of the President of the United States, in case of the Indian peace tokens.
6. Original documents, such as Resolutions or Acts of Congress, the official reports of the events commemorated, and letters of interest.
The original documents have been given in the belief that the reader would prefer them to a mere recital of the events of which they treat. Many of these are now printed for the first time.
It is interesting to note that Mr. Jefferson, as early as 1789, entertained the idea of publishing an account of all the American medals struck up to that time, as will be seen from the following letter;
To M. Dupré, Engraver of Medals, Paris.
Mr. Jefferson is going to have a description of all the medals printed, in order to send them, with copies of the medals, to the sovereigns of Europe. The one of Mr. Franklin, made by M. Dupré, is wanting; he begs you to lend him a copy, and to communicate to him the description also, if any has been made, as is probable.
No mention is made of the size of the medals, as the plates show their exact dimensions.
Being desirous that the execution of the engravings should be as perfect as possible, I invited M. Jules Jacquemart, of Paris, to undertake the whole of them. M. Jacquemart needs no praise. All amateurs know his etchings from Van der Meer, Franz Hals, Rembrandt, etc., and his plates for the "History of Porcelain," by M. Albert Jacquemart, his father, for the "Gems and Jewels of the Crown," published by M. Barbet de Jouy, and for the "Collection of Arms" of Count de Nieuwerkerke. The American public has had, moreover, an opportunity of admiring the works of this eminent artist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York city. His collaboration adds great value to the artistic portion of this work.
ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THE INTRODUCTION.
A
Mount Vernon, November, 1787. To The Printer of the American Museum (Mr. Carey.)
Under influence of such ideas, I shall claim the indulgence of my countrymen for bringing forward a communication which might possibly have come more satisfactorily from some other quarter. An apprehension that the subject might remain unnoticed is my apology.
I am, Sir, your most obedient and most humble servant, David Humphreys.
Devices and Inscriptions of American Medals.
The gold medal for General Washington represents the head of His Excellency, with this legend: georgio washington supremo duci exercituum, adsertori libertatis, comitia americana. On the reverse: The Evacuation of Boston. The American army advances in good order toward the town, which is seen at a distance, while the British army flies with precipitation toward the strand, to embark on board the vessels with which the roads are covered. In the front of the picture, on the side of the American army, General Washington appears on horseback, amid a group of officers, to whom he seems to be pointing out the retreat of the enemy.
Legend: hostibus primo fugatis.
On the Exergue: bostonium recuperatum, die 17 martii, mdcclxxvi.
The gold medal for General Gates represents the head of that general, with this legend: horatio gates, duci strenuo, comitia americana.
On the reverse: The enemy's general, at the head of his army, who are grounding their arms, presents his sword to the American general, whose troops stand with shouldered arms.
Legend: salus regionum septentrionalium.
On the Exergue: hoste ad saratogam in deditionem accepto, die 17 octobris, mdcclxxvii.
The gold medal of General Greene represents the head of that general, with this legend: nathanieli green, egregio duci, comitia americana.
On the reverse: A Victory treading under feet broken arms.
Legend: salus regionum australium.
On the Exergue: hostibus apud eutaw debellatis, die 8 septembris, mdcclxxxi.
The medal in gold for General Morgan, and those in silver for Colonels Howard and Washington, were to be indicative of the several circumstances which attended the victory at the Cowpens on the 17th of January, 1781, in conformity to a special resolution of Congress.
B
Registre des Assemblées et Délibérations de l'Académie Royale des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres pendant l'année 1785.
Vendredi 8 avril 1785.
Monsieur le secrétaire a fait part d'une lettre de Monsieur Humphreys, ancien colonel au service des États-Unis, par laquelle il demande trois médailles pour Messieurs Washington, le général Gates et le général Green. Il envoie en même temps des renseignements sur les actions de ces trois personnes.
L'académie a remis à huitaine pour s'occuper de ces trois médailles.
Mardi 19 avril 1785.
Après ces différents arrangements, on s'est occupé des médailles demandées par le Congrès d'Amérique, et l'on a invité messieurs les académiciens à apporter des projets pour ces médailles, à la première séance, dans laquelle on est convenu de nommer des commissaires pour rédiger ces médailles.
Vendredi 22 avril 1785.
Monsieur Dacier a fait ensuite la lecture des projets des trois médailles pour les trois officiers généraux américains; après les avoir bien discutés, on a nommé, pour les terminer, Messieurs Barthélémy, Dupuy, Brotier et Le Blond.
Mardi 26 avril 1785.
Monsieur Dacier, le secrétaire perpétuel, lut ensuite les sujets de médailles demandées par le Congrès pour trois officiers généraux.
Pour Monsieur Washington.
D'un côté sa tête.
Légende: georgio washington supremo duci exercituum adsertori libertatis.
Exergue: comitia americana.
Revers: La prise de Boston, l'armée anglaise fuyant vers le rivage pour s'embarquer, etc.
Légende: hostibus ou anglis primum fugatis.
Exergue: bostonium recuperatum die 17 martii anno 1776.
Pour Monsieur Gates.
D'un côté sa tête.
Légende: horatio gates duci provido comitia americana.
Revers: Le général ennemi, à la tête de son armée, présente son épée au général Gates, à la tête de l'armée américaine.
Légende: salus provinciarum septentrionalium.
Exergue: hoste ad saratogam in deditionem accepto die 17 8{bris} 1777.
Pour Monsieur Green.
D'un côté sa tête.
Légende: nathanieli green egregio duci comitia americana.
Revers: La Victoire foulant aux pieds des armes brisées.
Légende: salus provinciarum australium.
Exergue: hostibus ad eutaw debellatis die ... 1781.
Vendredi 13 mai 1785.
D'après des observations des commissaires, on a cru devoir changer, dans les deux médailles du général Gates et du général Green, le mot Provinciarum en celui de Regionum. Et dans les médailles de Gates, du côté de la tête, au lieu de Duci provido on a mis Duci strenuo.
Vendredi 25 novembre 1785.
Monsieur le secrétaire a fait encore la lecture d'une lettre du colonel Humphreys, secrétaire d'ambassade de l'Amérique, par laquelle il prie l'académie, au nom du Congrès, de faire trois médailles votées par le même Congrès; l'une pour le général Morgan, la seconde pour le colonel Washington, la troisième pour le colonel Howard.
La délibération a été remise à huitaine selon l'usage.
Mardi 6 décembre 1785.
On a nommé, pour rédiger les sujets de médailles demandées par le Congrès des États-Unis de l'Amérique, Messieurs Barthélémy, Des Brequigny, Le Blond, Brotier.
Mardi 13 décembre 1785.
Monsieur le secrétaire a lu les trois projets de médailles arrêtés par les commissaires pour les médailles du général Morgan et des colonels Washington et Howard, les voici:
Pour le général Morgan.
Type: Le général à la tête de ses troupes, charge l'armée ennemie qui prend la fuite.
Légende: victoria libertatis vindex.
Exergue: cæsis aut captis ad cowpens hostium ... signis relatis ... 17 jan. 1781.
Revers: L'Amérique, reconnaissable à son écusson, appuie sa main gauche sur un trophée d'armes et de drapeaux, et de la droite couronne le général incliné devant elle.
Exergue: comitia americana anno ...
Pour le colonel Washington.
Type: Le colonel, à la tête d'un petit nombre de soldats, fond sur l'ennemi, qui commence à prendre la fuite, et que lui montre la Victoire, placée au-dessus de sa tête.
Légende: n. washington legionis n. præfecto.
Exergue: comitia, etc.
Revers: L'inscription suivante doit être gravée dans une couronne de lauriers:
quod parva militum manu strenue prosecutus hostes virtutis ingenitæ præclarum specimen dedit in pugna apud cowpens 17 jan. 1781.
Pour le colonel Howard.
Même type, même légende au nom près.
Même exergue qu'à la précédente.
Au Revers: Dans une couronne de lauriers:
quod in nutantem hostium aciem subito irruens præclarum bellicæ virtutis specimen dedit in pugna apud cowpens 17 jan. 1781.
[Translation.]
Register of the Meetings and Deliberations of the Royal Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres during the year 1785.
Friday, April 8, 1785.
The secretary communicated a letter from Mr. Humphreys, formerly a colonel in the service of the United States, in which he asks for three medals for Messrs. Washington, General Gates and General Green. He sends at the same time information concerning the deeds of these three persons.
The academy postponed for a week the consideration of these three medals.
Tuesday, April 19, 1785.
After these different arrangements, the medals asked by the Congress of America considered, and the gentlemen academicians were invited to bring suggestions for these medals at the following meeting, at which it was agreed that commissioners should be named to compose these medals.
Friday, April 22, 1785.
M. Dacier then read the proposals for the three medals for the three American general officers; after they had been thoroughly discussed, Messrs. Barthélémy, Dupuy, Brotier, and Le Blond, were appointed to report on them.
Tuesday, April 26, 1785.
M. Dacier, the perpetual secretary, then read the subjects of the medals asked for by Congress for the three general officers.
For Mr. Washington.
On one side, his head.
Legend: georgio washington supremo duci exercituum adsertori libertatis.
Exergue: comitia americana.
Reverse: The taking of Boston, the English army fleeing toward the shore to embark, etc.
Legend: hostibus or anglis primum fugatis.
Exergue: bostonium recuperatum die 17 martii anno 1776.
For Mr. Gates.
On one side, his head.
Legend: horatio gates duci provido comitia americana.
Reverse: The enemy's general at the head of his army, surrenders his sword to General Gates, at the head of the American army.
Legend: salus provinciarum septentrionalium.
Exergue: hoste ad saratogam in deditionem accepto die 17 8{bris} 1777.
For Mr. Green.
On one side, his head.
Legend: nathanieli green egregio duci comitia americana.
Reverse: Victory treading under her feet broken arms.
Legend: salus provinciarum australium.
Exergue: hostibus ad eutaw debellatis die ... 1781.
Friday, May 13, 1783.
After observations by the commissioners, it was thought proper to change, in the two medals of General Gates and of General Green, the word Provinciarum to that of Regionum. And in the medal of Gates, on the side of the head, instead of Duci provido to substitute Duci strenuo.
Friday, November 25, 1785.
The secretary also read a letter of Colonel Humphreys, Secretary of Embassy of America, in which he requested the academy, in the name of Congress, to compose three medals voted by the same Congress: one for General Morgan, the second for Colonel Washington, the third for Colonel Howard.
The discussion was laid over, according to custom, until next week.
Tuesday, December 6, 1785.
Messrs. Barthélémy, Des Brequigny, Le Blond, and Brotier, were named to compose the medals asked for by the Congress of the United States of America.
Tuesday, December 13, 1785.
The secretary read the three reports agreed upon by the commissioners for the medals for General Morgan and Colonels Washington and Howard, as follows:
For General Morgan.
Device: The general, at the head of his troops, charges the army of the enemy, which takes to flight.
Legend: victoria libertatis vindex.
Exergue: cæsis aut captis ad cowpens hostium ... signis relatis ... 17 jan. 1781.
Reverse: America, recognizable by her shield, rests her left hand upon a trophy of arms and of flags, and with her right crowns the general, who bends before her.
Legend: n. morgan duci exercitus.
Exergue: comitia americana anno ...
For Colonel Washington.
Device: The colonel, at the head of a few soldiers, rushes on the enemy, who begin to fly, and whom Victory, hovering over his head, points out to him.
Legend: n. washington legionis n. præfecto.
Exergue: comitia, etc.
Reverse: The following inscription to be engraved in a crown of laurel:
quod parva militum manu strenue prosecutus hostes virtutis ingenitæ præclarum specimen dedit in pugna apud cowpens 17 jan. 1781.
For Colonel Howard.
Same device, same legend, excepting the name.
Same exergue as the preceding.
Reverse: Within a crown of laurel:
quod in nutantem hostium aciem subito irruens præclarum bellicæ virtutis specimen dedit in pugna apud cowpens 17 jan. 1781
C
M'engage envers Monsieur le colonel Humphreys à graver la médaille représentant le portrait du général Green. Au revers la Victoire foulant aux pieds des armes brisées avecque la légende et l'exergue, et répond de la fracture des coins jusqu'à la concurrence de vingt quatre médailles, dont j'en fourniray une en or à mes frais et dépend (le diamètre de la médaille sera de la grandeur de vingt-quatre lignes).
Le tout aux conditions suivantes, que les deux coins gravés de ladite médaille me seront payée la somme de deux mille quatre cens livres en remettant les deux coins après avoir frappés les vingt quatre médailles que désire Monsieur le colonel.
Fait le double entre nous, ce dix-neuf novembre mille sept cens quatre vingt cinq (1785) à Paris. D. Humphreys. Dupré.
D
Registre des Assemblées et Délibérations de l'Académie Royale des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres pendant l'année 1789.
Mardi 13 janvier 1789.
Monsieur Dacier annonça ensuite que Monsieur Jefferson, ministre des États-Unis d'Amérique, priait l'Académie de vouloir bien s'occuper de sujets pour les trois médailles que le Congrès a résolu de frapper en l'honneur du général Wayne, du major Stewart et du commodore Paul Jones. Sur cette demande, la Compagnie a décidé que les commissaires nommés dans la séance précédente seraient chargés de rédiger le projet de ces médailles.
Mardi 10 février 1789.
Monsieur Dacier a mis, au commencement de la séance, sous les yeux de l'Académie, le travail de Messieurs les commissaires relativement aux médailles qu'ils étaient chargés de rédiger.
Sur la demande de Monsieur Jefferson, ministre des États-Unis de l'Amérique, on a corrigé ainsi l'exergue de la médaille anciennement composée pour le général Morgan:
fugatis captis aut cæsis ad cowpens hostibus, 17 jan. 1781
.
Médaille pour le général Wayne.
Type: L'Amérique, reconnaissable à son écusson, tient de la main gauche, élevée, une couronne murale, et donne, de la droite, une couronne de lauriers au général incliné devant elle.
Légende: n. wayne duci exercitus.
Exergue: comitia americana.
Revers: Le Rocher et le Fort de Stony Point.
Légende: stony point expugnatum.
Exergue: 15 JUL. 1779.
Pour le major Stewart.
Type: L'Amérique, debout, comme ci-dessus, donne une palme au major, incliné devant elle.
Légende: n. stewart cohortis præfecto.
Exergue: comitia americana.
Revers: Le major monte à l'assaut au travers d'un abatis d'arbres qu'il a fait rompre par sa troupe.
Légende: stony point oppugnatum.
Exergue: 15 jul. 1779.
Pour le commodore Paul Jones.
Type: La tête du commodore.
Légende: paulo jones classis præfecto.
Exergue: comitia americana.
Revers: Combat de vaisseaux.
Légende: primus americanorum triumphus navalis.
Exergue: ad oram scotiæ 23 sept. anno ...
Autre légende: hostium navibus captis aut fugatis.
Exergue: Comme de l'autre part.
[Translation.]
Register of the Meetings and Deliberations of the Royal Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres during the year 1789.
Tuesday, January 13, 1789.
Tuesday, February 10, 1789.
M. Dacier submitted to the academy at the opening of the sitting, the report of the commissioners in reference to the medals, with the composition of which they had been intrusted.
At the suggestion of Mr. Jefferson, Minister of the United States of America, the exergue of the medal formerly composed for General Morgan was altered as follows:
fugatis captis aut cæsis ad cowpens hostibus 17 jan. 1781.
Medal for General Wayne.
Device: America, recognizable by her shield, holds in her left hand, which is elevated, a mural crown, and presents with her right a crown of laurels to the general, who bends before her.
Legend: n. wayne duci exercitus.
Exergue: comitia americana.
Reverse: The Rock and the Fort of Stony Point.
Legend: stony point expugnatum.
Exergue: 15 jul. 1779.
For Major Stewart.
Device: America, standing as above, presents a palm to the major, who bends before her.
Legend: n. stewart cohortis præfecto.
Exergue: comitia americana.
Reverse: The major mounts to the assault through an abatis of trees, which his men have broken through.
Legend: stony point oppugnatum.
Exergue: 15 jul. 1779.
For Commodore Paul Jones.
Device: The head of the commodore.
Legend: paulo jones classis præfecto.
Exergue: comitia americana.
Reverse: A naval engagement.
Legend: primus americanorum triumphus navalis.
Exergue: ad oram scotiæ 23 sept. anno ...
Exergue: Same as above.
E
A Monsieur Monsieur Dupré, Graveur en médaille et médailliste de l'Académie Royale de Peinture et Sculpture.
Monsieur Jefferson ayant reçu des ordres au sujet des médailles à faire seroit bien aise d'en traiter avec Monsieur Dupré, s'il voudrait bien lui faire l'honneur de passer chez lui demain matin avant les onze heures.
Samedi 3me janvier 1789.
Monsieur Jefferson a l'honneur d'envoyer à Monsieur Dupré les devises des médailles pour le général Morgan et le contre-amiral Paul Jones qu'il vient de recevoir de l'Académie des Belles-Lettres, et dont il propose à Monsieur Dupré l'entreprise, en répondant du succès des coins jusqu'à frapper trois cents cinquante de chaque médaille en or, argent ou bronze, et d'en fournir les épreuves en étain au fin du mois de mars prochain, à fin que les médailles peuvent être frappées toutes avant le 15me avril. Il le prie d'avoir la bonté de lui indiquer les conditions auxquelles il les entreprendra, et Monsieur Jefferson aura l'honneur d'y répondre au moment qu'il les recevra.
Ce 13me février 1789.
Médaille pour le général Morgan, de 24 lignes de diamètre.
Le général à la tête de son armée charge l'ennemi, qui prend la fuite.
Légende: victoria libertatis vindex.
Exergue: fugatis captis aut cæsis ad cowpens hostibus 17 jan. 1781.
Revers: L'Amérique reconnaissable à son écusson appuie sa main gauche sur une trophée d'armes et de drapeaux, et de la droite, couronne le général incliné devant elle.
Légende: danieli morgan duci exercitus.
Exergue: comitia americana.
Médaille pour le contre-amiral John Paul Jones, de 24 lignes.
Type: Sa tête (M. Houdon fournira le buste en plâtre).
Légende: joanni paulo jones classis præfecto
Exergue: comitia americana.
Revers: Combat de vaisseaux.
Légende: hostium navibus captis aut fugatis.
Exergue: ad oram scotiæ 23 sept. 1779.
F
A Monsieur Monsieur Dupré, Graveur en médailles, à Paris.
Monsieur Jefferson a l'honneur d'observer à Monsieur Dupré qu'il ne donne pas pour les médailles de 24 lignes ni à Monsieur Duvivier ni à Monsieur Gatteaux que 2,400 livres, que c'est là ce qu'il a payé à Monsieur Dupré aussi pour celle du général Greene, et que Monsieur Dupré n'a demandé que ça dernièrement pour celle du général Morgan. Monsieur Jefferson ne peut pas consentir donc de donner plus. À ce prix, il attendroit ce que Monsieur Dupré pourrait faire de mieux, de soi-même, et non pas par des artistes subalternes. Pour ce qui regarde le temps, peut être qu'il seroit possible de le prolonger un peu pour la médaille de l'amiral Paul Jones, cet officier étant actuellement en Europe. Monsieur Jefferson aura l'honneur d'attendre la réponse de Monsieur Dupré et sera charmé de pouvoir conclure cet arrangement avec lui.
Ce 15me février 1789.
G
Explication des Peintures, Sculptures et Gravures de Messieurs de l'Académie Royale, dont l'Exposition a été ordonnée, suivant l'intention de Sa Majesté, par M. le Comte de la Billarderie d'Angeviller, Conseiller du Roi en ses conseils, Mestre-de-Camp de Cavalerie, Chevalier de l'ordre Royal et Militaire de Saint-Louis, Commandeur de l'ordre de Saint-Lazare, Intendant du Jardin du Roi, Directeur et Ordonnateur Général des Bâtiments de Sa Majesté, Jardins, Arts, Académies & Manufactures Royales; de l'Académie Royale des Sciences. A Paris, rue Saint-Jacques, De l'Imprimerie de la veuve Hérissant, Imprimeur du Roi, des Cabinet, Maison et Bâtiments de Sa Majesté; de l'Académie Royale de Peinture, etc. M.DCC.LXXXI.
Avec privilège du Roi.
Gravures.
Par
M. Duvivier
, académicien, graveur général des Monnoies de France & des Médailles du Roi.
294.—Sous un même cadre et sous un même numéro.
*** ...
*** ...
*** ...
Médaille ordonnée par les États-Unis de l'Amérique, à l'honneur de M. le Chevalier de Fleury, pour s'être distingué à la prise de Stony Point, en 1779.
Explication des Peintures, Sculptures et Gravures de Messieurs de l'Académie Royale, dont l'Exposition a été ordonnée, suivant l'intention de Sa Majesté, par M. le Comte de la Billarderie d'Angeviller, Conseiller du Roi en ses conseils, Mestre-de-Camp de Cavalerie, Chevalier de l'ordre Royal et Militaire de Saint-Louis, Commandeur de l'ordre de Saint-Lazare, Gouverneur de Rambouillet, Directeur et Ordonnateur Général des Bâtiments de Sa Majesté, Jardins, Arts, Académies et Manufactures Royales; de l'Académie Royale des Sciences. A Paris, De l'Imprimerie des Bâtiments du Roi et de l'Académie Royale de Peinture. M.DCC.LXXXIX.
Avec privilège du Roi.
Gravures.
Par M. Duvivier, graveur général des Monnoies et des Médailles du Roi.
*** ...
*** ...
*** ...
*** ...
Buste du Général Washington, & au revers, Évacuation de Boston, 1776.
& 7. Médailles pour le Colonel Washington et le Colonel Howard. Ces trois médailles sont pour les États-Unis de l'Amérique.
[Translation.]
Explanation of the Paintings, Sculptures, and Engravings of the Gentlemen of the Royal Academy, of which the Exhibition has been ordered, according to the intention of His Majesty, by the Count de la Billarderie d'Angeviller, Councillor of the King in His Councils, Master-of-Camp of Cavalry, Knight of the Royal and Military Order of St. Louis, Commander of the Order of Saint Lazare, Intendant of the Garden of the King, Director and Ordonnator-General of His Majesty's Buildings, Gardens, Arts and Royal Academies and Manufactures; of the Royal Academy of Sciences. Paris, Rue Saint Jacques, From the Printing Office of widow Hérissant, Printer to the King, to the Cabinet, Household and Buildings of His Majesty; of the Royal Academy of Paintings, etc. M.DCC.LXXXI.
With the privilege of the King.
Engravings.
By M. Duvivier, Academician, engraver-general of the Moneys of France and of the Medals of the King.
294—In the same case and under the same number.
*** ...
*** ...
*** ...
Medal ordered by the United States of America in honor of the Chevalier de Fleury, for having distinguished himself at the taking of Stony Point, in 1779.
Explanation of the Paintings, Sculptures, and Engravings of the Gentlemen of the Royal Academy, of which the Exhibition has been ordered, according to the intention of His Majesty, by the Count de la Billarderie d'Angeviller, Councillor of the King in His Councils, Master-of-Camp of Cavalry, Knight of the Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis, Commander of the Order of Saint Lazare, Governor of Rambouillet, Director and Ordonnator-General of His Majesty's Buildings, Gardens, Arts, and Royal Academies and Manufactures; of the Royal Academy of Sciences. PARIS. From the Printing Office of the Building of the King and of the Royal Academy of Painting. M.DCC.LXXXIX. With the privilege of the King.
Engravings.
By M. Duvivier, engraver-general of the Moneys and of the Medals of the King.
*** ...
*** ...
*** ...
*** ...
Bust of General Washington, and on the reverse, Evacuation of Boston, 1776.
and 7. Medals for Colonel Washington and Colonel Howard. These three medals are for the United States of America.
H
Mint of the United States, Philadelphia, November 22, 1861. Honorable William L. Dayton, Minister of the United States at the Court of France.
Dear Sir: During the Revolutionary War, medals were awarded by resolution of the Continental Congress to certain officers who commanded the American forces in the principal conflicts with the enemy, or participated therein. The dies for these medals were prepared in Paris, and the medals produced there. Several of the dies in question are understood to be in the possession of the Mint of Medals at Paris. As we have recently prepared, for distribution, bronze medals from the national medal dies in our country, it would be very gratifying if the American medal dies, at the French Mint, could be procured and the series made complete. The medals that were prepared for us in Paris are interesting memorials of some of the most remarkable events in our history, and the appropriate place for the dies would appear to be in the National Mint of the United States.
May I request the favor of you to ascertain, from the proper official source, what medal dies, relating to events connected with the history of the United States, are at the mint in Paris, and whether the same can be obtained. If not, I should be glad to have, say twenty copies in bronze, struck from the dies, provided the expense would not be too great.
Inclosed I send you a list of the medals recently struck in bronze from the dies of a public character in our possession. It will be seen that it is deficient in medals of the Revolutionary era.
The following American medal dies are believed to be at the French Mint of Medals:
Washington before Boston.
General Wayne, for capture of Stony Point.
Colonel Fleury, for same.
Captain Stewart, for same.
Major Lee, for capture of Paulus Hook.
Colonel John Eager Howard, for Cowpens.
Colonel William Washington, for same.
Major General Greene, for Eutaw Springs.
Captain John Paul Jones, for capture of the Serapis by the Bonhomme Richard.
Your attention to the request contained herein will greatly oblige,
Your friend and obedient servant, James Pollock, Director of the Mint.
Legation of the United States, Paris, December 10, 1861. To His Excellency, Monsieur Thouvenel, Minister of Foreign Affairs, etc., Paris.
Monsieur le Ministre: I have received from the Director of the Mint of the United States a letter (of which I annex a copy), calling me to procure a certain series of medals prepared in Paris to commemorate certain events in the history of the American Revolution.
These dies having been prepared in Paris, and the medals struck here, it is supposed the former yet remain in some safe depository.
If it is possible to procure the original dies, I am requested to do so; if that be not possible, I should be happy to learn if I can procure copies.
I avail myself of the occasion to renew to Your Excellency the assurance of the high consideration with which I have the honor to be,
Your obedient servant, W. L. Dayton.
Paris, le 17 janvier 1862. Monsieur Dayton, Ministre des États-Unis à Paris.
Monsieur: Par la lettre que vous m'avez fait l'honneur de m'adresser le 10 décembre dernier, vous m'exprimiez le désir d'être mis en possession des coins d'un certain nombre de médailles commémoratives d'événements de la guerre de l'Indépendance qui ont été frappées à Paris. Monsieur le Ministre des Finances à qui j'avais du écrire à ce sujet, me répond que le Musée Monétaire ne possède les coins que de quatre de ces médailles. La prise de Boston, la prise de Serapis, bataille de Cowpens—Washington, et bataille de Cowpens—Howard. Le musée ne pourrait se dessaisir de ces coins, mais il serait facile, moyennant une légère dépense, de faire frapper de nouveaux exemplaires; il faudrait seulement, si la proposition était agrée par le gouvernement Fédéral, que vous me fissiez parvenir l'indication précise du nombre d'exemplaires de chacune de ces médailles qu'il désirerait obtenir.
Agréez les assurances de la haute considération avec laquelle j'ai l'honneur d'être, Monsieur, Votre très humble et très obéissant serviteur, Pour le ministre et par autorisation, Le Ministre Plénipotentiaire Directeur, Banneville.
[Translation.]
Paris, January 17, 1862. Mr. Dayton, Minister of the United States, Paris.
Sir: By the letter which you did me the honor to address to me on the 10th of December last, you expressed to me the desire to obtain the dies of a certain number of medals, commemorative of events of the War of Independence, which were struck in Paris. The Minister of Finance, to whom I had to write on the subject, replies that the Museum of the Mint possesses the dies of only four of these medals: the taking of Boston, the capture of the Serapis, the battle of the Cowpens—Washington, and the battle of the Cowpens—Howard. The museum cannot part with these dies, but it will be easy, at a small outlay, to have new copies struck; it will only be necessary, if the proposition is accepted by the Federal Government, for you to indicate to me the precise number of copies of each of these medals which it wishes to obtain.
Receive the assurances of the high consideration with which I have the honor to be, Sir, Your very humble and very obedient servant, For the minister and by authorization, The Minister Plenipotentiary Director, Banneville.
Legation of the United States, Paris, January 23, 1862. To His Excellency, Monsieur Thouvenel, Minister of Foreign Affairs, etc., Paris.
Monsieur Le Ministre: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 17th instant in reference to the American medal dies. I avail myself of your kind offer to have copies struck from the original dies.
Be pleased to direct that twenty copies in bronze be struck from such dies, with a diameter of two and one half inches. The expense will be met by this Legation immediately upon notice.
I avail myself of the opportunity to assure Your Excellency of the high consideration with which I am, Your humble servant, W. L. Dayton.
I
A Monsieur Monsieur Dupré, Graveur en médailles, à Paris.
Monsieur Jefferson va faire imprimer des explications de toutes les médailles, pour les envoyer avec les médailles aux souverains de l'Europe; il lui manque celle de M. Franklin, faite par M. Dupré; il le prie de lui en prêter une exemplaire, et de lui en communiquer l'explication aussi, s'il y en a été une de faite comme il y en avait sans doute.
Ce 23 février 1789.