THE UNION LEAGUE MEDAL OF HONOR

Images adapted from the Detroit Public Library

The author presents a catalogue of over seventy examples of the Union League Medal of Honor and arranges them in chronological order through the use of die sequencing and datable provenanced examples. A distinction is made between those medals awarded during the Civil War years and those after; and for the use of buckles on the ribbons of some medals but not on others.

In the early stages of the American Civil War (1861–65) a number of Philadelphia’s prominent citizens whose sympathies were pro-Union and anti-slavery first met as the Union Club on November 15, 1862. Shortly thereafter (December 27, 1862) the Union League of Philadelphia was formally established. The League’s primary purpose was the preservation of the Union at all costs. To this end the Union League raised money for its numerous pro-Union publications, and provided the model for the many Union League organizations which quickly formed throughout the north. Members of Philadelphia’s Union League soon established a Supervisory Committee for the Enlistment of Colored Troops which was responsible for the enlistment and equipping of five black regiments and the funding of a school for the training of their officers. The Union League also provided substantial funds for the reinforcement of Philadelphia’s emergency defenses in anticipation of a Confederate attack.

In the midst of this chaos, the Union League created a medal to honor those individuals whose efforts on behalf of the Union cause were deemed outstanding. On August 16, 1863, the first of these medals was given in gold to President Abraham Lincoln, followed by examples in silver to members of Lincoln’s cabinet. Additional medals were given to military and naval commanders, and to civilians, domestic and foreign. The Union League’s roll indicates one gold and forty-eight silver in 1863; one gold and eleven silver in 1864, one gold and five silver in 1865, and one gold and one silver in 1866. The totals for the Civil War years are four gold and sixty-five silver medals. Post-Civil War issues are sporadic with nine medals in gold and none in silver for the years 1868–1954. It will become apparent below that the roll of recipients is incomplete.

Purpose
The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to identify those medals which were given in the context of the Civil War, as distinguished from those given afterwards and, second, to determine the significance, if any, of the different reverse designs, and types of suspension.

For a Union League medal at the Detroit Public Library, see:
Union League medal (https://digitalcollections.detroitpubliclibrary.org/islandora/object/islandora%3A238052)

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