The Indian Campaign Medal is a decoration established by War Department General Orders 12, 1907.§578.29
Code of Federal Regulations: Title 32—National Defense CHAPTER V—DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY PART 578—DECORATIONS, MEDALS, RIBBONS, AND SIMILAR DEVICES, CFR cites

3 Federal Register 6798, 19 November 1948 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

Accessed 24 January 2011 The medal was retroactively awarded to any soldier of the U.S. Army who had participated in the

American Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...

against the Native Americans between 1865 and 1891.

Background

The Indian Campaign Medal was established by War Department General Orders 12 in 1907. It was created at the same time as the

Civil War Campaign Medal The Civil War Campaign Medal is considered the first campaign service medal of the United States Armed Forces. The decoration was awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces who had served in the American Civil War between 1861 and 186 ...

. The initial ribbon was all red; however, two black stripes were added in December 1917 because of the similarity to a ribbon used by the French for the French Legion of Honor. Campaign streamers of the same design as the service ribbon are authorized for display by units receiving campaign credit participation for Indian Wars as early as 1790. The inscriptions for streamers displayed on the organizational flag will be as indicated in the unit's lineage and honors. The inscriptions for the 14 streamers displayed on the Army flag are listed in AR 840-10 and AR 600-8-22.

Eligible campaigns

The

Code of Federal Regulations In the law of the United States, the ''Code of Federal Regulations'' (''CFR'') is the codification of the general and permanent regulations promulgated by the executive departments and agencies of the federal government of the United States. ...

declares service in the following campaigns as requirements for award of the Indian Campaign Medal: # Miami campaign, January 1790 – August 1795 # Tippecanoe, September – November 1811 #Creek Wars of 1813–1814 and 1836–1837 #

Seminole Wars The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were three related military conflicts in Florida between the United States and the Seminole, citizens of a Native American nation which formed in the region during the early 1700s. Hostilities ...

, 1817–1818, 1835–1842, and 1855–1858 #

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the "British Band", cross ...

, April–September 1832 # Southern Oregon, Idaho, northern California, and Nevada between 1865 and 1868. # Against the Comanches and confederate tribes in Kansas, Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, and Indian Territory between 1867 and 1875. #

Modoc War The Modoc War, or the Modoc Campaign (also known as the Lava Beds War), was an armed conflict between the Native American Modoc people and the United States Army in northeastern California and southeastern Oregon from 1872 to 1873. Eadweard M ...

between 1872 and 1873. #Against the Apaches in Arizona in 1873. #Against the Northern Cheyennes and Sioux between 1876 and 1877. #

Nez Perce War The Nez Perce War was an armed conflict in 1877 in the Western United States that pitted several bands of the Nez Perce tribe of Native Americans and their allies, a small band of the ''Palouse'' tribe led by Red Echo (''Hahtalekin'') and ...

in 1877. #

Bannock War The Bannock War of 1878 was an armed conflict between the U.S. military and Bannock and Paiute warriors in Idaho and northeastern Oregon from June to August 1878. The Bannock totaled about 600 to 800 in 1870 because of other Shoshone peoples be ...

in 1878. #Against the Northern Cheyennes between 1878 and 1879. #Against the

Sheep-Eaters The Tukudeka or Mountain Sheepeaters are a band of Shoshone within the Eastern Shoshone and the Northern Shoshone.Shimkin 335 Before the reservation era, they traditionally lived in the central Sawtooth Range of Idaho and the mountains of what is ...

, Piutes, and Bannocks between June and October, 1879. #

Meeker Massacre Meeker Massacre, or Meeker Incident, White River War, Ute War, or the Ute Campaign), took place on September 29, 1879 in Colorado. Members of a band of Ute Indians ( Native Americans) attacked the Indian agency on their reservation, killing th ...

against the Utes in Colorado and Utah between September 1879 and November 1880. #Against the Apaches in Arizona and New Mexico between 1885 and 1886. # Wounded Knee Massacre against the Sioux in South Dakota between November 1890 and January 1891. #Against hostile Indians in any other action in which United States troops were killed or wounded between 1865 and 1891.

Appearance

The Code of Federal Regulations describes the medal as follows:

The medal of bronze is 11⁄4 inches in diameter. On the obverse is a mounted Indian facing sinister, wearing a war bonnet, and carrying a spear in his right hand. Above the horseman are the words ‘'Indian Wars,’’ and below, on either side of a buffalo skull, the circle is completed by arrowheads, conventionally arranged. On the reverse is a trophy, composed of an eagle perched on a cannon supported by crossed flags, rifles, an Indian shield, spear, and quiver of arrows, a Cuban machete, and a Sulu kriss. Below the trophy are the words ‘'For Service.'’ The whole is surrounded by a circle composed of the words ‘'United States Army'’ in the upper half and thirteen stars in the lower half. The medal is suspended by a ring from a silk moire ribbon 13⁄8inches in length and 13⁄8 inches in width composed of a red stripe (1⁄4-inch), black stripe (3⁄16-inch), red band (1⁄2inch), black stripe (3⁄16-inch), and red stripe (1⁄4-inch).

The Indian Campaign Medal was issued as a one-time decoration only and there were no devices or

service stars A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

authorized for those who had participated in multiple actions. The only attachment authorized to the medal was the

silver citation star The Citation Star was a Department of War personal valor decoration issued as a ribbon device which was first established by the United States Congress on July 9, 1918 (Bulletin No. 43, War Dept. 1918). When awarded, a silver star was placed on ...

, awarded for meritorious or heroic conduct. The silver citation star was the predecessor of the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

and was awarded to eleven soldiers between 1865 and 1891. As originally issued, the medal had a solid red ribbon. In 1917 two black stripes were added to the ribbon. The reason for this change is that the ribbon of the Indian Campaign Medal was easily confused with the ribbon of the French

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

which also had a solid red ribbon.

Gallery

File:US Army 52024 Indian Wars Service Medal.jpg, Obverse, pre-1917 File:US Army 52025 Indian Wars Service Medal Reverse Side.jpg, Reverse, pre-1917 File:IndianWarsServiceMedal.jpg, Obverse with ribbon used after 1917

References

External links