The West Indies Campaign Medal was a United States military medal of the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

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 ...

issued for service in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

campaign theater of the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

. The medal was established on 27 June 1908 and the first recipient of the award was Rear Admiral John E. Pillsbury.

Design

The medal was designed by

Bailey Banks & Biddle Bailey Banks & Biddle was a retailer of jewelry formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachi ...

and resembled the Navy version of the

Spanish Campaign Medal The Spanish Campaign Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces which recognized those men of the U.S. military who had served in the Spanish–American War. Although a single decoration, there were two versions of the Spanish C ...

both featuring the Morro fortress at the entrance to the Havana harbor..

Award criteria

To be awarded the West Indies Campaign Medal, a service member must have performed sea duty in the West Indies between 1 May 1898 and 16 August 1898. The award was a one time decoration only and there were no devices authorized for multiple engagements or combat participation. The decoration was rarely bestowed, since most Navy and Marine Corps personnel received the

Sampson Medal The Sampson Medal was a U.S. Navy campaign medal. The medal was authorized by an Act of Congress in 1901. The medal was awarded to those personnel who served on ships in the fleet of Rear Admiral William T. Sampson during combat operations in ...

for West Indies service, and Navy regulations prohibited the bestowal of both the Sampson Medal and West Indies Campaign Medal for the same period of duty.

Obsolescence

The West Indies Campaign Medal was declared obsolete by the U.S. Navy in 1913, following a diplomatic request by

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

that the United States discontinue service medals which displayed Spain's national colors. As a result, those who had previously received the West Indies Campaign Medal were permitted to exchange the decoration for the

References

{{Authority control United States campaign medals Military awards and decorations of the Spanish–American War 1908 establishments in the United States Awards established in 1908 Spanish West Indies Military history of the Caribbean