Gillmore Medal - Fort Sumter Medal

BACK

The ONLY U.S. government authorized military medal during the Civil War was the Medal of Honor (authorized in July 1862).
The United States had no official awards for bravery or heroism to issue to it’s military at the start of the American Civil War of 1861. Many general officers did however, design and create their own such decorations of which they gave to their junior officers or others under their command.

Description:

1. The medal was commissioned by Major General Quincy A. Gillmore, Department of the South.
2. On October 28, 1863, Major General Quincy A. Gillmore, commanding the Department of the South, issued an order that "medals of honor for gallant and meritorious conduct during the operations before Charleston " would be awarded by the commanding general to a number of enlisted men of the command who had been in action or on duty in the batteries and trenches.
3. The medal was issued on the local authority of Major General Gillmore to all Union officers who served under his command during the Charleston campaign of 1863; because of this it was considered an unofficial decoration by the United States Army but was permitted to be worn upon the uniforms of recipients nonetheless.
4. A certificate was also issued with each medal.
5. Though all regiments participating in the siege were invited by General Gillmore to send in the names of deserving soldiers, a few regiments declined the otfered honor on the basis that every man of the regiment had been "gallant and meritorious." However this may be, the recipients of those medals may proudly "wear them, for they were faithfully earned."
6. Gillmore was the first Union commander to order that his troops be fully integrated.
7. In 1905, with the creation of the Civil War Campaign Medal, the Gillmore Medal was declared obsolete.

Background:

1. The Medal is bronze and measures 35 mm (1.37").
   1. OBVERSE
      1. Bears a representation in relief of Fort Sumter, in ruins, surrounded by water.
      2. Above in an arc "FORT SUMTER"
      3. Below the date, "AUG. 23^D 1863".
      4. The whole encircled by thirteen stars.
   2. REVERSE
      1. Legend reads "FOR GALLANT AND MERITORIOUS CONDUCT" with three five pointed stars.
      2. In the centre, in four lines, PRESENTED BY  Q. A. Gillmore, Maj. Genl.
         The two bottom lines (Q. A. Gillmore, Maj. Genl.) being a facsimile of General Gillmore's signature.
   3. RIBBON
      There was NO ribbon nor drape as the medal is suspended by a swivel from a plain clasp pin
      On th clasp pin (the bar above the medal) to which the medal is attached, appears the name, rank, company and regiment, of the soldier receiving the medal.
2. Information from
   UNITED STATES WAR MEDALS by Bauman L. Beldex appearing in American Journal of Numismatics (1897-1924) , 1915, Vol. 49 (1915), pp. 1-72
   Historical Memorabilia And Americana catalog November 2022
   Civil War Days & Those Surnames: GILLMORE MEDALS, 7th., New Hampshire Infantry July 2012
   Medal, Commemorative | Staten Island Historical Society
   The Gilmore Medal and the 17th CVI (17th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry) - An Online History of the 17th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry during the U.S. Civil War.