Médaille commémorative du Dahomey 1892 -revers

The Dahomey Expedition commemorative medal (french: Médaille commémorative de l'Expédition du Dahomey) was a French campaign commemorative medal. It was bestowed to the participants of the

First Franco-Dahomean War The First Franco-Dahomean War was fought in 1890 between France, led by General Alfred-Amédée Dodds, and Dahomey under King Béhanzin. Background At the close of the 19th century, European powers were busy conquering and colonising much of ...

(1890) and of the

Second Franco-Dahomean War The Second Franco-Dahomean War, which raged from 1892 to 1894, was a major conflict between France, led by General Alfred-Amédée Dodds, and Dahomey under King Béhanzin. The French emerged triumphant and incorporated Dahomey into their gr ...

(1892–1894) in order to commemorate their feats of arms. In 1892, France decided to send an expeditionary force of 1,801 Europeans and 1,769 natives under the command of

Marine Infantry Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...

Colonel Alfred Dodds in response to the harassment of the kingdom of

Porto-Novo Porto-Novo (Portuguese: "New Port", , ; yo, Àjàṣẹ́, ), also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe, is the capital of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people. Situated on an inlet of the Gulf of G ...

under its protectorate and its trading posts on the coast of Dahomey by the troops of Behanzin, the king of

Abomey Abomey is the capital of the Zou Department of Benin. The commune of Abomey covers an area of 142 square kilometres and, as of 2012, had a population of 90,195 people. Abomey houses the Royal Palaces of Abomey, a collection of small traditional ...

. The troops taking part in this expedition, which lasted five months, defeated the 12,000 warrior strong army (including the 2000 women strong Corps of amazons) of Behanzin at Dogba. France thus reconquered the kingdom of Dahomey (now the

Republic of Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Republic of Dahomey, Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burki ...

) and placed at its head,

Toffa King Toffa I (c.1850-1908) was a ruler of the kingdom of Họgbonu, or Ajase, an area of Benin which today is known as Porto-Novo. Upon becoming ruler in 1874, he was renowned for his openness and cooperation with the colonial powers. He encoura ...

as the king of Porto-Novo. King Behanzin was captured in 1893 and deported to

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in ...

then to Algiers where he died in 1906. The Law of 24 November 1892 instituted the Commemorative Medal of the Dahomey Expedition for award to the officers, sailors and soldiers who took part in this campaign.

Award statute

The Dahomey Expedition commemorative medal was awarded by the

President of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (french: Président de la République française), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency i ...

on propositions by the minister responsible for the service in which the recipient served. It was awarded to all officers, sailors and soldiers who served in the Dahomey campaigns. All recipients were to adhere to the code of conduct as set under the Grand chancellor of the Legion of honour. Posthumous awards were made to the widow or parents of the recipient. No request for the medal may be made fore service rendered after 5 February 1894. The crews of the following vessels of the French Navy were eligible for the award of the Dahomey Expedition commemorative medal: *AMBRE (1 January to 1 March 1894) *BRANDON (1 January to 12 February 1894) *ÉMERAUDE (1 January to 1 March 1894) *MARMET (1 January to 1 March 1894) *MÉSANGE (1 January to 1 March 1894) *ONYX (1 January to 1 March 1894) *OPALE (1 January to 1 March 1894) *SEGOND (1 January to 11 February 1894) *TOPAZE (1 January to 1 March 1894)

Award description

The Dahomey Expedition commemorative medal was a 30 mm in diameter silver medal, its design was from Jean-Baptiste Daniel-Dupuis. The obverse of the medal features an effigy of the Republic and the words RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE (English: FRENCH REPUBLIC) enclosed within a laurel wreath running along the entire circumference. In accordance with convention, the Republic is represented as a helmeted young woman with the word PATRIE (English: HOMELAND) inscribed on the visor of her helmet. The reverse of the medal featured, within the same laurel wreath as on the obverse, in the upper section, a small five pointed star amid protruding rays, at centre the relief inscription "DAHOMEY", in the lower section, a naval sea anchor over four flags. A small relief

Cornucopia In classical antiquity, the cornucopia (), from Latin ''cornu'' (horn) and ''copia'' (abundance), also called the horn of plenty, was a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers ...

trademark is just off the tip of the leftmost flag. The medal hung from a 36 mm wide "daffodil yellow" silk moiré ribbon bearing four equidistant 4 mm black vertical stripes.

Notable recipients (partial list)

*Colonel

Alfred-Amédée Dodds Alfred Amédée Dodds (6 February 1842 – 17 July 1922) was the commander of French forces in Senegal from 1890, commander of French forces in the second expeditionary force to suppress the Boxer Rebellion, and commander of French forces d ...

*Captain

Joseph Gaudérique Aymerich Joseph Gaudérique Aymerich (20 February 1858 – 11 June 1937) was a French military officer in its colonial empire. Biography Aymerich was born in Estagel, in the Pyrénées-Orientales, the eldest of three sons of Férréol-Vincent Aymerich ...

*Lieutenant Antoine Gramat

References

External links

Museum of the Legion of Honour
(in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Medaille Commemorative De L'expedition Du Dahomey (1892) Military awards and decorations of France Awards established in 1892 French campaign medals 1892 establishments in France Benin–France relations 19th century in the Kingdom of Dahomey

Award statute

Award description

Notable recipients (partial list)

See also

References

External links