2022 is the 240th anniversary of the creation of the American military medal known as the Purple Heart. Created by George Washington in 1782, the award was known then as the Badge of Military Merit. George Washington himself presented the award to three Revolutionary War soldiers to recognize their bravery in combat.
In October 1781, the British Army under Lord Charles Cornwallis had surrendered at Yorktown Heights, Va., ending the shooting war of the American Revolution, and paving the way to peace treaty negotiations.
The new confederation of states then entered a precarious time during which many thought that the union of the new American states might not hold together. In April of 1782, peace treaty negotiations got underway in Paris, but were dragging on. The treaty of Paris would not be signed until September 3, 1783 at the Hotel du York in Paris. The Congress was in dire financial straits, and had no money to pay the Continental soldiers. Robert Morris, Superintendent of Finances (forerunner of Secretary of the Treasury) had stopped the soldiers pay because of a lack of funds. Congress had no authority to raise taxes or order the states to do so. The soldiers grumbled. George Washington was sympathetic to their concerns, but he could do nothing to get them paid. In June of 1783, Continental soldiers in Philadelphia mutinied, and demanded their back pay. The Congress, insulted and threatened, hastily fled Philadelphia, and resumed its session here, in Princeton, New Jersey. The small, rural town of Princeton then rose to the occasion and became the nation’s capital for the next 4 ½ months.
It was in this environment that George Washington issued his Orders of the Day of August 7, 1782. These orders announced:
“The General ever desirous to cherish a 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 the left breast, the figure of a heart in purple cloth or silk, edged with narrow lace or binding. Not only instances of unusual gallantry, but also of extraordinary fidelity and essential service in any way shall meet with a due reward.”[1]
As far as is known, the Badge of Military Merit was awarded to only three Continental soldiers, all non-commissioned officers: Sergeant Daniel Bissell of the 2nd Connecticut Regiment of the Continental Line, Sergeant William Brown of the 5th Connecticut Regiment of the Continental Line, and Sergeant Elijah Churchill of the 2nd Continental Dragoons, also a Connecticut Regiment.[2]
After the Revolutionary War the Badge of Military Merit fell into disuse. In 1932, however, to mark the bicentennial of Washington’s birth, General Douglas MacArthur led the effort to restore the use of this medal to recognize bravery in action, but also to recognize soldiers who are wounded in action. A new design was created by Elizabeth Will, an army heraldic specialist, along with the Washington Commission of Fine arts. This design features a bust and profile of George Washington.
It was issued on the bicentennial of his birth, on February 22, 1932. In General Orders No. 3, the Army announced the revival of the award, and the opening of the award to wounded soldiers, by adding: “A wound which necessitates treatment by a medical officer, and which is received in action with an enemy of the United States, or as a result of an act of such enemy may…be construed as resulting from a singularly meritorious act of essential service.”[3]
In World War II over one million purple hearts were awarded. John F. Kennedy was wounded in action in 1943, and later received the Purple Heart. He was the only president to have that honor bestowed upon him. “Arguably, the most famous soldier of the war to receive the purple heart was Audie L. Murphy who was awarded three Purple Hearts.”[4] My own father-in law arrived in France in early June, 1944. His unit, the 90th Infantry Division, known as “Tough Ombres”, came ashore in Normandy, on Utah Beach on June 7, 1944 (D-Day plus 1). For the injury he received, he was later awarded the Purple Heart.
Over time, new types of injuries and new types of combat were added to the qualifications for the award of the Purple Heart. As examples, soldiers wounded or killed by acts of terrorism, and friendly fire would qualify. As of 2010, there were an estimated 1.7 million awards of the Purple Heart in the U.S. Armed Forces.
Barry Singer
West Windsor, New Jersey. October, 2022
The author, a volunteer with the Historical Society of Princeton, is a speaker about the American Revolution and conducts walking tours in historic Princeton.
[1] The Institute of Heraldry, Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army, Purple Heart, December 03,2013.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Fred L. Borch, The Purple Heart – The Story of America’s Oldest Military Decoration and Some Soldier Recipients, National Museum of the United States Army – for a fuller discussion of the award.
[4] Ibid.