The Silver Memorial Cross 1813-1815, () was a campaign medal instituted by King
William III of the Netherlands on 10 May 1865. It was awarded to surviving veterans of the Dutch armed forces who, between 1813 and 1815, helped to restore Dutch independence. This included participating in the 1814 campaign to end the occupation of the Netherlands by
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
's French forces, and in the final
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration ...
campaign of 1815, including the battles of
Quatre Bras and
Waterloo
Waterloo most commonly refers to:
* Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat
* Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place.
Waterloo may also refer to:
Other places
Antarctica
*King George Island (S ...
.
The first Silver Memorial Crosses were presented on 27 June 1865 on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the
Military Order of William. Of the approximately 30,000 who took part in the relevant campaigns, about 5,000 veterans survived to receive the cross.
[H.S. Hovinga, ''Het Zilveren Kruis 1813-1815; in Nederland gebeurt alles vijftig jaar later.'' Article in ''Decorare'', issue 1. May 1999. .]
The decoration is a five-armed silver cross, 35 mm at its widest point. In the centre of the cross is a medallion inscribed with the year '1813' on the obverse and '1815' on the reverse. It was worn on the left breast from a 27.5 mm wide silk ribbon of orange with a white stripe to towards each edge.
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See also
* Orders, decorations, and medals of the Netherlands
References
Military awards and decorations of the Netherlands
Awards established in 1865
Battle of Waterloo
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