George Washington By ELMO SCOTT WATSON Gen. John J. Pershing, come mander in chief of the A. E. F. in the World war, made repeated ree- ommendations for the creation of a special decoration for our fighting men to be awarded in exceptional cages which would not come within the scope of the Congressional Med- al of Honor, the Distinguished Serv. ice cross or the Distinguished Serv- Ice medal, he did not know that authority for such a decoration was already in existence, in facet, had been in existence for ne: rly 14D years, It was not until Fitzpatrick, formerly assistant chief of the manuscript divi. gion of the Library of Con: 5, now afliliated with the George Washinzton Bicentennial Cele bration commission, revealed the result of re searches which he had made several years ago, that the War department realized just such a decoration had been authorized way back in 1782 and, so far as it has been possible to learn, authority to award it m8 never been revoked either by congress or the President. While Gen. Charles P. Summerall was chief of staff, a study of the situation was made and a recommendation that the award of this decora- tion be resumed without additional authority from congress seemed probable. No definite ae- tion was taken at the time, however, but, with preparations for the nation-wide celebration of the two hundredth anniversary of the birth of Washington nearing completion. it seems likely that this award may yet be re-established. : For It was George Washington who estab Hshed this award, the first military decoration ever conferred by this country and the second oldest reward for valor in existence, being ante. dated only by the Russian Cross of St. George, Known officially as the “Badge of the Order of Military Merit,” it is also referred to as the "Order of the Purple Heart” because of the shape of the badge. It consists of a heart. shaped piece of purple silk, fringed with lace, which was to be sewn on the left breast of the soldier's tunic. A peculiar situation led Washington to estab. lish the award. During the levolution it was the custom for Washington and other generals to give commissions and promotions as rewards for valor. But congress decided that it alone had the power to issue commissions to officers and took that power away from the generals, Money was scarce and Washington could not use it as a reward, so he conceived the idea of awarding a badge of merit. Accordingly on Au- gust 2, 1782, he [Issued the following general order: “The general, ever desirous to cherish a virtu- ous ambition in his soldiers, as well as to foster and encourage every species of military merit, directs that whenever any singularly meritorius action is performed, the author of it shall be permitted to wear on the facings over hix left breast, the figure of a heart in purple cloth or silk, edged with narrow lace or binding. “Not only Instances of unusual gallantry, but also of extraordinary fidelity and essential serv. ice In any way shall meet with a due reward. Jefore this favor can be conferred on any man, the particular fact, or facts, on which it is to be grounded must be set forth to the com- mander In chief, accompanied with certificates from the commanding officers of the regiment and brigade to which the candidate for reward belonged, or other incontestable proofs, and upon granting it, the name and regiment of the per- son with the action so certified are to be en- rolled In the book of merit which will be kept at the orderly office, “Men who have merited this last distinction to be suffered to pass all guards and sentinels which officers are permitted to do, “The road to glory in a patriot army and a free country is thus open to allthis order is also to have retrospect to the earliest stages of the war, and to be considered as a perma. nent one.” So far as it has been possible to learn, the only names ever written in the “book of merit” and the only men empowered to wear the Pur ple Heart badge were three sergeants in the Continental army-—all from the state of Con- necticut. They were Sergt. Elifah Churchill »f the Second Continental dragoons, Sergt. Daniel Brown of the Fifth Connecticut regiment and Sergt. Daniel Bissell of the Second Connecticut regiment, The original citation of Sergeant Churchill's exploits which won him this award is preserved in the Library of Congress and states that “Sergt. Churchill of the 2nd. Regl- ment of Light Dragoons, in the several enter prises against Fort 8t. George and Fort Slongo on Long Island acted a very conspleuous and singularly meritorius part, in that at the head of each body of attack he not only acquitted himself with great gallantry, firmness and ad- dress, but that, the surprise In one Instance and CenJohn J. Pershing the success of the attack In the ed in a considerable degree and management.” Accceling to the story, as it has out of musty old records by Mr 1 Sergeant Churchill first attracted the of his superior officers for his daring In Rf dangerous raid inside the British lines before dawn on November 23, 1780. He again dis- played outstanding valor In another hazardous raid right under the noses of the British on October 3, 1781. Both raids were planned and directed by Mal. Benjamin Tallmadge of the Second Continental dragoons, ingtou's intelligence service, Major Tallmadge concerning a hu dred tong of it forage in wre of piies irformati an astounding destroy the forage : Which protected it. ‘The intrepid ma jor authorized to make the attempt. Late on the blustery afternoon of November 21. 1780, a detachment of half a hundred dis mounted dragoons of the SKRecond Continental embarked in whaleboats at Fair! eld, Conn., and headed across the sound toward Fort St. George, 20 miles away, with Major Tallmadge § mand. They landed about eight o'cl evening and deciding that it attempt a8 march on the boats out of sight and campes All the next day they hnoddled trying to keep warm, and when nigl set out at a rapid pace for the o'clock in the morning they arrived, ered, within two miles of Fort St. George, Here they halted for final orders Major Tallmadge divided his force groups, each assigned to storm blockhouse. Rixteen of the most bers were picked for the nssault blockhouse and Sergeant Churehill was command of this group. Just before dawn the three detachments moved toward the fort, tak- Ing different routes to minimize the chances of liscovery and to enable them to Inunch con- certed attacks from three different points The British sentinels seem to have bes n sleep. Ing at their posta for they did not discover the attackers until Churchill and his men were loss than 50 feet away and sprinting toward the walle, They immediately gave the alarm. but by this time the Americans had swarmed over the wall, crossed the diteh and were inside the stockade, where they opened fire on the British soldiers as they came tumbling out of thelr bar. racks, “The other two attacking parties had expended their energies In getting inside the defenses and two blockhouses still remained to he taken” writes Mr. Fitzgerald in an account of this bat. fle, which appeared in the magazine of the Daughters of the American tevolution several years ago. “A brisk fire was beginning to pour upon the Americans from these two houses. but battering parties beat in the doors and inside of 10 more minutes Tallmadge's men had pos session of the entire works, “The growing light now showed a British supply schooner at anchor close to the shore near the fort. A detachment captured her with ridiculous ease. The rapidity of the attack had protected the attackers and they had not lost f man, and only one of them was wounded. The British loss was several killed and wounded and most of the latter wore mortally hurt. “The fort and the schooner were sot on fire and the prisoners, over 50 In number, were started back toward the boats under a guard, Leaving a small force to see to it that the fort wns completely destroyed, Tallmadge marched with the rest toward Coram. “The few sentries found there fled. and the hay was pulled loose and set on fire. Over 300 tons went up In rolling clouds of smoke and as soon as the fire was going beyond all hope of extinguishment, Tallmadge and his hay burners started back toward thelr boats, “The party of Americans reached their hidden boats late in the afternoon, after one or two brief skirmishes with the pursuers, and the foree succeeded in getting away from shore without casualties. They arrived back at Fairfield be. fore midnight.” That was ‘the first of the affairs which won for Churchill the Purple Heart decoration. The next was in the following October when Wash. Ington made plans for destroying Fort Slongo, loeated on the north shore of Long Island, north. east of Brooklyn, Again Major Tallmadge we. cured the necessary exact information which led to the attack on this post. The attacking party consisted of 100 men from the Fifth Con- necticut regiment and the Second Continental * dragoons. Mal. Lemuel setts officer, volunteered “The expedition eight o'clock In writes Mr, Fitzpa the morning the the first himself works surrendered, “The report of the affal taken, and the destruction tity of artillery and stores or arms, and clothing.” ammunit Sergeant Brown was his Porple Heart 12 day Inter at Yorktown . 4 he riial i i be board of awards, dated April 24, 1753 | g the Washington ! The board wa omposed of Brig. Gen. John iter Stewart, Lieut. Col Congress Greaton, Col, nezer Sprout and Malls Nicholas Fish and uel Trescott The board declared that Sergeant Brown. “in the assault of the enemy's left redoubt at York. town, In Virginia, on the evening of October 14. 1781, conducted a forlorn hope with great ery, propriety and deliberate firmness and his general character appears unexceptionable Sergeant 1 . 3 wown was serving under Lieut. Col Alexander Hamilton, who had heen assizned the task of taking one of two British redoubts th were stubbornls town. The other redoubt was to be attacked by allied French troops. The teered to storm the outer redoubt, which wy close to the river. and the French were t tack the inner redoubt. The sergeant led his “forlorn hope” at the forefront of the attackers and refused even to await destruction of the abatis and other ob structions. Calling fo his men to follow closely, he surmounted all the obstacles and lod his men directly Into the redoubt. A withering barrage failed to stop them, and the unbelievable cour. age of the little party so confounded the defend ers that the redoubt surrendered in less than 15 minutes from the time Brown and his men launched the attack. The American losses w ere comparatively few, resisting the siege of York Americans yolur oO at As for the exploit which won the Purple Heart decoration for Sergeant Bissell, the record is far from complete, due to the fact that it was in line of duty as a spy. In order to accomplish his mission he had to “desert” from the Ameri- can army and in the faded Revolutionary ree ords in the War department he is listed as a deserter. But the citation for the Purple Heart decoration, contained in Washington's General Orders for June 8 1783, while it does not Con. tain the full story of Biseell's heroism, contains a hint of what It must have been and removes from his name the stigma attached to it by the notation In the official records. The Citation reads as follows: “Sergt Dissell of the 2nd. Connecticut Regiment having performed some Important services within the immediate knowl edge of the Commander-in-Chief, in whieh the fidelity, perseverance and good sense of the said Sergt. Bissell were conspicuously manifested, it Ie, therefore, ordered: That he he honored with the badge of merit: he will call at headquar- ters on Thursday next for the insignia and cer. tificate to which he is hereby entitled.” So far as it is, possible to reconstruct the story, Bissell “deserted” from the army in An. gust, 1781, and made his way into New York city. His mission was to obtain all the informa. tion he could about the plans of the British and to stay no longer than was necessary to ace complish his purpose. A year passed and noth. Ing was heard from Bissell by his regimental officer, Lieut. Col. Robert Hanson Harrison, or his commander In chief. For all that they knew his mission may have been discovered by the Britizh and he may have pald the nsoal penalty for being a spy. Then one day In September, 1782, Bissell reported at Washington's head. quarters at Newburgh, N. 7, and made his ver bal report which was taken down by Lieut. Col, David Humphreys. (@ by Western Newspaper Uslon.) ———— W/ HEX the modern bus » an with amily 114 night and mus ut Bm the prepare Sunday night refreshment kitchen attire, an apron that frock. To be sure, right in its way not pro- tect the sleeves 3 4 always, necessity becomes the “moth of vention” in that sc aprons pictured, if you use 2 for bindings and decoratio hem of any sultant Organdie or dotted swiss Urgested for the more dressy affairs that are cover the Sunday night frock and its sleeves with gingha gaam, percale or gay AUTUMN HATS WORN HIGH ON THE HEAD You will # 1 that the new a wear and that the 0 hair must be beautifs done, ax 1 of the head is exposed at Tiny tiled brims, very shallow er the hats worn high on the head, the style message of the very best mil liners. And managers and by yers for the hat departments | est of specialty shop these hats will be th tumn and that res! mil with os again Ard that is somethi for which the really well-dressed wom. an will be profoundly grateful All too long we have been content with Just a covering for our heads. and the covering wag not too good looking either, Nor were the tight little caps at all healthy for the menlp, as you f have no doubt learned from your fa Which Count for Chic Your new wide, soft-and-crushable ing it? Not with the buckle at the front If you are fashionwise, but fastened at the back—tres chie! In selecting hosiery for midseason wear keep in mind that stockings of lacy open mesh is latest fashion de cree, Give distinction to your white eports frock or Jacket suit by wearing belt and scarf in vivid tri-colors. Red. white and blue or green, orange and red or “say it” in pastel such as pale pink and light blige, Ag to walstlines— "going ap” is the message, It seems that the new French millinery is Inspiring decided changes In costume trends, as for in. stance, the now-so-modish Empress Eugenie hats are influencing the rales ing of the waistline in empire fashion. Advance afternnon and evening dresses in early Paris displays reflect the styles of the 1830s to 1800s Which is to say that the world of fashion is about to witness a revival of whims and foibles of the old-fash. loned sort such as ruchings, frills, longer skirts, peplums, little capes and tiny fur scarfs (maybe we will be using that quaint word “tippet” again) and ostrich bons too are in prospect, to match the trims on the pew hats CHERIE NICHOLAS. i Fabrice Hats Be sare to include several of the new knockabout hats In the summer wardrobe-—one version is For dance and party frocks, light blue is a favorite color. The dress pictured is of ciel blue chiffon pat- terned with velvet flower motifs. The peplum effect adds to the grace of the silhouette. Pale blue satin is also favored by the smart Parisienne for ber evening gown. CHERIE NICHOLAS. Scarf Becomes Bonnet by Simple Twist of Wrist Not for a long while Lug there been & more practical and generally become ing bit of headgear than the sports scarf which, by a simple twist of the wrist, becomes a bonnet. Intended only for wear on the head, this scart of wool or tweed-like mixture, match. ing the sports frock, Is made so wide that by merely wrapping it around the head and pinning it, the bonnet = achieved. The ends, standing smartly out, from the only ornaments beside the pin. White on Red or Navy Sheer prints, showing white pat.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers