Pre 1939 Medals

Many are unfamiliar with US medals prior to World War II.  Medals were actually issued during the Revolutionary War, although those medals were either in pendant or table top formats.  The one that most are familiar with is the predecessor to the Purple Heart, the Badge of Merit. This military award, established by George Washington ,was given in recognition of soldiers who displayed unusual gallantry or extraordinary fidelity. It was only awarded three times during the Revolutionary War, the Badge of Military Merit was not awarded again. After those three awards, the United States Military had no official military decorations for almost 50 years.

The medals displayed and described in the "Pre 1939" section actually date back to the Civil War.  

The last medals shown were NOT created by the U.S. government, rather by individual unit commanders.