The Confederate Medal of Honor is a

posthumous award A posthumous award is granted after the recipient has died. Many prizes, medals, and awards can be granted posthumously. Australian actor Heath Ledger, for example, won many awards after his death in 2008. Military decorations, such as Hero of ...

created by the

Sons of Confederate Veterans The Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) is an American neo-Confederate nonprofit organization of male descendants of Confederate soldiers The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the militar ...

(SCV) in 1977 to recognize

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

s who "distinguished themselves conspicuously by gallantry, bravery, and intrepidity at the risk of life, above and beyond the call of duty" during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Background

During the

, the

Confederate States Congress The Confederate States Congress was both the provisional and permanent legislative assembly of the Confederate States of America that existed from 1861 to 1865. Its actions were for the most part concerned with measures to establish a new nat ...

authorized

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...

to "bestow medals, with proper devices, upon such officers of the armies of the Confederate States as shall be conspicuous for courage and good conduct on the field of battle, and also to confer a badge of distinction upon one private or non-commissioned officer of each company after every signal victory it shall have assisted to achieve." Lacking adequate manufacturing capability, Adjutant and Inspector General

Samuel Cooper Samuel or Sam Cooper may refer to: *Samuel Cooper (painter) (1609–1672), English miniature painter *Samuel Cooper (clergyman) (1725–1783), Congregationalist minister in Boston, Massachusetts * Samuel Cooper (surgeon) (1780–1848), English surge ...

belatedly established the " Roll of Honor" on October 3, 1863, in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

History

In 1968, the Sons of Confederate Veterans passed a

resolution Resolution(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Resolution (debate), the statement which is debated in policy debate * Resolution (law), a written motion adopted by a deliberative body * New Year's resolution, a commitment that an individual mak ...

to issue a "medal of honor" and began minting them in 1977. According to past executive director Ben Sewell, " e SCV created their own Confederate Medal of Honor simply because there were some incredible acts of valor that had received little or no recognition during and after the war". As of 2014, at least 50 medals had been awarded.

Design

The Confederate Medal of Honor is bronze and silver, with two five-pointed stars overlain. Inscribed are the words "Honor. Duty. Valor. Devotion." In the center is the Great Seal of the Confederate States.

Criteria

Recipients must be shown to have "distinguished themselves conspicuously by gallantry, bravery, and intrepidity at the risk of life, above and beyond the call of duty, while engaged in action against the enemy of the Confederate States of America." Most recommendations are derived from the Confederate Roll of Honor. Medals are provided to museums and libraries under a condition they properly display them.

Notable recipients

* Father Emmeran M. Bliemel * Commander Isaac Brown * Private

Sam Davis Sam Davis (October 6, 1842 – November 27, 1863) was a Confederate soldier executed by Union forces in Pulaski, Tennessee, during the American Civil War. He is popularly known as the ''Boy Hero of the Confederacy'', although he was 21 when he ...

David Owen Dodd David Owen Dodd (November 10, 1846 – January 8, 1864), also known as David O. Dodd, was an Arkansas youth executed for spying in the American Civil War. In December 1863 Dodd carried some letters to business associates of his father in Union ...

* Major

Richard W. Dowling Richard William "Dick" Dowling (baptized 14 January 1837 – 23 September 1867) was an Irish-born artillery officer of the Confederate States Army who achieved distinction as commander at the battle of Sabine Pass (1863), the most one-side ...

* Lieutenant-General

Nathan Bedford Forrest Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821October 29, 1877) was a prominent Confederate Army general during the American Civil War and the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan from 1867 to 1869. Before the war, Forrest amassed substantial wealt ...

* Brigadier-General

Wade Hampton Wade Hampton may refer to the following people: People *Wade Hampton I (1752–1835), American soldier in Revolutionary War and War of 1812 and U.S. congressman *Wade Hampton II (1791–1858), American plantation owner and soldier in War of 1812 *W ...

* Sergeant

Richard Rowland Kirkland Richard Rowland Kirkland (August 1843 – September 20, 1863), known as "The Angel of Marye's Heights", was a Confederate Army, Confederate soldier during the American Civil War, noted by both sides for his bravery and the story of his humanit ...

* Captain

John S. Mosby John Singleton Mosby (December 6, 1833 – May 30, 1916), also known by his nickname "Gray Ghost", was a Confederate army cavalry battalion commander in the American Civil War. His command, the 43rd Battalion, Virginia Cavalry, known as Mosb ...

* Major John Pelham * Captain

Henry Wirz Henry Wirz (born Hartmann Heinrich Wirz, November 25, 1823 – November 10, 1865) was a Swiss-American officer of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He was the commandant of the stockade of Camp Sumter, a Confederate pr ...

References

External links

Confederate Medal of Honor
at ''

Portland Press Herald The ''Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram'' is a morning daily newspaper with a website that serves southern Maine and is focused on the greater metropolitan area around Portland, Maine, in the United States. Founded in 1862, its roots e ...

''
Confederate Medal of Honor
at the

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Confederate Medal of Honor Committee
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Confederate Medal of Honor 1977 establishments in the United States Awards established in 1977 Lost Cause of the Confederacy Posthumous recognitions Sons of Confederate Veterans Military awards and decorations of the American Civil War