by Nancy Seddens

Created on: August 15, 2011   Last Updated: August 16, 2011

The prestigious Medal of Honor did not come into existence until 1862. Its predecessor the Badge of Military Merit came into being on August 7, 1782 to pay homage to “any singularly meritorious action," upon the orders of General George Washington. The badge was a simple purple cloth heart and its only three recipients were Sergeants Elijah Churchill, Daniel Bissel Jr. and William Brown. The Badge of Military Merits morphed into the Purple Heart in 1932 at the request of General Douglas McArthur.   

The Medal of Honor took over the position of most prestigious military honor from the Badge of Military Merits when it was established for the Navy in December of 1861 by President Lincoln. The idea of the medal had been raised earlier in the Civil War but General-in-Chief of the Army Winfield Scott wouldn’t back a medal for individual heroism because he felt the idea was too European and elitist. According to the Navy the medal was "to be bestowed upon such petty officers, seamen, landsmen, and Marines as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry and other seamanlike qualities during the present war." For whatever reason, the Army changed its mind and installed the medal in July of the following year. The Air Force did not adopt the Medal of Honor until 1960.

Medal of Honor facts

Number of recipients - To date (8/15/2011) 3455 men and 1 woman have receive the medal.

Woman recipient - The one woman to receive the medal was Dr. Mary Walker for her service as a surgeon in the Civil War. Dr. Walker was given the medal in 1865 but hers along with 910 other medals was rescinded in 1917 when Congress changed the criteria under which the medal could be awarded. Mary Walker refused to return her medal and wore it until her death two years later. She was returned to the roll of Medal of Honor recipients by President Carter in 1977.

Black recipients – Although William Harvey Carney, a former slave was awarded the Medal of Honor for his service in the Civil War, no other African-Americans were given the medal from that point through WWII due to the prejudices of the times. In 1991, President George H. W. Bush awarded the medal to Corporal Freddie Stowers for his valor during WWI and in 1997 President Clinton presented Medals of Honor for WWII service to six African-American soldiers posthumously as well as to Vernon Baker who was still living. Altogether there have been 87 African-American recipients of the Medal of Honor.

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