The Philippine Congressional Medal was a service medal of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

which was established by the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

on 9 July 1906. The medal recognized those soldiers who had enlisted in the United States Army for the purpose of the serving in the Philippine–American War.

Criteria

The four primary criteria, to be awarded the Philippine Congressional Medal, were as follows: * Enlisted between 21 April and 26 October 1898 * Served beyond 11 April 1899 * Served in the Philippines after 6 July 1899 * Received an honorable discharge (or died prior to being discharged) The medal was different from the

Philippine Campaign Medal The Philippine Campaign Medal is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, medal of the United States Armed Forces which was created to denote service of U.S. military men in the Philippine–American War between the years of 1899 an ...

in that the Philippine Campaign Medal recognized general service in the Philippines while the Philippine Congressional Medal was intended for special services rendered. The Philippine Congressional Medal was considered an authorized military decoration, but soon became regarded as a commemorative medal since it recognized a single event and also was not eligible for presentation to the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and

Marine Corps 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 ...

Appearance

The Philippine Congressional Medal is 1 1/4 inches in diameter made of bronze with an oxidized and relieved finish. The

obverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ...

of the medal depicts a color guard of one flag bearer accompanied by two soldiers bearing rifles, marching toward the left of the medal. Around the edge of the medal are the words ''PHILIPPINE INSURRECTION''. In the

exergue A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to ...

is the date 1899. The reverse bears the inscription ''FOR PATRIOTISM FORTITUDE AND LOYALTY'' surrounded by a wreath of pine branches on the left and palms on the right, tied at the bottom with a bow. The suspension and

service ribbon A medal ribbon, service ribbon or ribbon bar is a small ribbon, mounted on a small metal bar equipped with an attaching device, which is generally issued for wear in place of a medal when it is not appropriate to wear the actual medal. Each cou ...

s are ultramarine blue with edge stripes of red and white. The outside white stripes are 1/16 of an inch from the edge and 1/16 inches wide. The inside stripes of old glory red and white are 1/8 inches wide.

References

External links

US Army Institute of Heraldry: Philippine Congressional Medal
{{Authority control Philippine–American War United States campaign medals Awards and decorations for military volunteers 1906 establishments in the United States Awards established in 1906 Military awards and decorations of the Spanish–American War

Criteria

Appearance

See also

References

External links