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Show iTie Order of the PURPLE fi m i Heart C4! H ikW "it I V- y Y" lf , The Order of jjT i in&, I ' , VA , the Purple Heartl x 1 1 - VJi yyNSX ' Georqe"Washin.qton . V ' 1 1 - -m r Yl . Pho off aHoudon. Bust fr$ ' V n 7-: LMk ' 1 Oen.Jonn. J. Per5hmg j i.'"! II By ELMO SCOTT WATSON the success of the attack in the other, proceed- I V lJ J J HEN Gen. John J. Pershing, com- ed In a considerable degree from his conduct 'iY't T mander in chief of the A. E. F. in and management." 1 t nf the World war, made repeated rec- Accc'ing to the story, as it has been dug f I fy ommendations for the creation of a out of musty old records by Mr. Fitzgerald, ir ' V special decoration for our lighting Sergeant Churchill first attracted the attention NV' 3- . men to be awarded in exceptional of his superior officers for his daring In leading '-i "CX ITV? cases which would not come within a dangerous raid inside the British lines before vl-i"" vofl"!"' MTOJjSw the scope of the Congressional Med- dawn on November 23, 17S0. He again dis- . CT - c"3 " ffmwJwT al of Honor, the Distinguished Serv- played outstanding valor in another hazardous vrr., (py C Pi r-inniprall VMW lce eross or the Distinguished Serv- raid right under the noses of the British on ' J"13J- e OUmmerau By ELMO SCOTT WATSON HEN Gen. John J. Pershing, cora-'IVt'F cora-'IVt'F Y mander In chief of the A. K. F. in Vj "ie WorItl wnr mac!e repeated rec-fyj rec-fyj ommendations for tlie creation of a special decoration for our lighting HmnB men to be awarded in exceptional iTv'ir? s$ oases which would not come within MTOJjSw the scope of the Congressional Med-" Med-" ffmwJwr a' Honor, the Distinguished Serv- 'ce eross or the Distinguished Serv- y'lffi'y authority for such a decoration was " already In existence, in fact, had ' been in existence for nearly 140 years. It was not until John C. Fitzpatrick, formerly assistant chief of the manuscript division divi-sion of the Library of Congress, now affiliated with the George Washington Bicentennial Celebration Cele-bration commission, revealed the result of researches re-searches which he had made several years ago, that the War department realized just such a decoration had been authorized way back In 17S2 and, so far as it has been possible to learn, authority to award It has never been revoked either by congress or the President.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-i decora-i tion be resumed without additional authority from congress seemed probable. No definite ac-, ac-, 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 established estab-lished this award, the first military decoration ever conferred by this country and the second oldest reward for valor in existence, being antedated ante-dated only by the Itussinn 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 heart-shaped piece of purple silk, fringed with lace, which was to be sewn on the left breast of the soldier's tunic. A poruliar situation led Washington to establish estab-lish the award. During, the Revolution 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 August Au-gust 2, 17S2, he issued the following general order : "The general, ever desirous to cherish a virtuous virtu-ous ambition In bis 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 his 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 service serv-ice In any way shall meet with a due reward. Before tills favor can be conferred on any man, the particular fact, or facts, on which it is to be grounded must be sot forth to the commander 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 person per-son with the aclion so certified are to bo enrolled 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 puss 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 all this order Is also to have retrospect to the earliest stages of the war, and to be considered as a permanent 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 Tur-ple Tur-ple Heart badge were three sergeants in the Continental army all from the state of Connecticut. Con-necticut. They were Sergt. Kliiah Churchill of the Second Continental dragoons, Sergt. Panlol Frown of the Fifth Connecticut regiment and V Sergt. Daniel Bissoll 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. Regiment Regi-ment of Light Dragoons, in the several enter- ' prises against Fort St. George and Fort Slongo on Long Island acted a very conspicuous and singularly meritorius part, in that at t he head of each body of attack he not only acquitted himself with great gallantry, firmness and address, ad-dress, but that, the surprise in one Instance and Gen. Jokn. J. Pershing the success of the attack in the other, proceeded proceed-ed In a considerable degree from his conduct and management." Acci'ing to the story, as it has been dug out of musty old records by Mr. Fitzgerald, Sergeant Churchill first attracted the attention of his superior officers for his daring In leading a dangerous raid inside the British lines before dawn on November 23, 17S0. He again displayed dis-played outstanding valor in another hazardous raid right under the noses of the British on October 3, 17S1. Both raids were planned and directed by Maj. Benjamin Tallmadge of the Second Continental dragoons, chief of Washington's Wash-ington's Intelligence service. Major Tallmadge had received information concerning a huge supply of hay several hundred hun-dred tons of it that had been stored for winter forage in a building at Coram, on the north shore of Long Island. Hay, In that day of cavalry cav-alry supremacy, was one of the important supplies sup-plies of warfare. Major Tallamdge relayed the information direct to General Washington, with an astounding plan for attempting not only to destroy the forage, but to storm a fortification which protected it. The intrepid major was authorized to make the attempt. Late on the blustery afternoon of November 21, 1780, a detachment of half a hundred dismounted dis-mounted dragoons of the Second Continental embarked in whaleboats at Fairfield, Conn., and headed across the sound toward Fort St. George, 20 miles away, with Major Tallmadge in command. com-mand. They landed about eight o'clock in the evening and deciding that it was too late to attempt a march on the fort they pulled their boats out of sight and camped for the night. All the next day they huddled in the woods, trying to keep warm, and when night came they set out at a rapid pace for the fort. By three o'clock in the morning they arrived, undiscovered, undiscov-ered, within two miles of Fort Sf. George. Here they halted for final orders. Major Tallmadge divided his force into three groups, each assigned to storm a particular blockhouse. Sixteen of the most daring members mem-bers were picked for the assault on the main blockhouse and Sergeant Churchill was put in command of this group. Just before dawn the three detachments moved toward the fort, taking tak-ing different routes to minimize the chances of discovery and to enable them to launch concerted con-certed attacks from three different points. The British sentinels seem to have been sleeping sleep-ing at their posts for they did not discover the attackers until Churchill and his men were less than 50 feet away and sprinting toward the walls. They immediately gave the alarm, but by this time the Americans had swarmed over the wall, crossed the ditch and were inside the stockade, where they opened fire on the British soldiers as they came tumbling out of their barracks. bar-racks. "The other two attacking parties had expended their energies in getting inside the defenses and two blockhouses still remained to be taken," writes Mr. Fitzgerald In an account of this battle, bat-tle, which appeared In the magazine of the Daughters of the American Revolution 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 possession 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 bad not lost a man, and only one of them was wounded. The British loss was several killed and wounded and most of the latter were mortally hurt. "The fort and the schooner were set on fire and the prisoners, over 50 In number, were started back toward the boats under a guard. Leaving n small force to see to It that the fort was 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 30O tons went up In rolling clouds of smoke and as soon as the fire was going beyond an hope of extinguishment, Tallmadge and his hay burners started back toward their boats. "The party of Americans reached their hidden boats hate in the afternoon, after one or two brief skirmishes with the pursuers, and the force succeeded In getting away from shore without casualties. They arrived back at Fairfield before be-fore midnight." That w-,is the first of the affairs which won for Churchill the Purple Heart decoration. The next was In the following October when Washington Wash-ington made plans for destroying Fort Slongo, located on the north shore of Long Island, northeast north-east of Brooklyn. Anin Major Tallmadge secured se-cured the necessary exact information which led to the attack on this post. The attacking party consisted of PX) men from the Fifth Connecticut Con-necticut regiment and the Second Continental dragoons. Maj. Lemuel Trescott, a Massachw-setts Massachw-setts officer, volunteered to lead the party. "The expedition started across the sound at eight o'clock in the evening of October 2, 1781," writes Mr. Fitzpatrick, "and at three o'clock In the morning the fort was in its hands. "Again Sergeant Churchill was in the van of the first attacking party and again he acquitted himself with the utmost gallantry. The fort was so strong that Tallmadge had advised Trescott Tres-cott not to make a direct attack, but to try to draw off the defenders by a feint. This idea was not followed, the attacking force went at their job with such vigor that the fort was taken without the loss of a single man and only four of the British force were killed before the works surrendered. "The report of the affair shows 21 prisoners taken, and the destruction of a goodly quantity quan-tity of artillery and stores or arms, ammunition and clothing." Sergeant Brown was his Purple Heart 12 days later at Yorktown. The citation of the board of awards, dated April 24, 17S3, is among the Washington papers in the Library of Congress. The board was composed of Brig. Gen. John Greaton, Col. Walter Stewart, Lieut. Col. Ebe-nezer Ebe-nezer Sprout and Majs. Nicholas Fish and Lemuel Lem-uel Trescott. The board declared that Sergeant Brown, "in the assault of the enemy's left redoubt at York-town, York-town, In Virginia, on the evening of October 14,. 17S1, conducted a forlorn hope with great bravery, brav-ery, propriety and deliberate firmness and that his general character appears unexceptionable." Sergeant Brown was serving under Lieut. Col. Alexander Hamilton, who had been assigned the task of taking one of two British redoubts that were stubbornly resisting the siege of York-town. York-town. The other redoubt was to be attacked by allied French troops. The Americans volunteered volun-teered to storm the outer redoubt, which was close to the river, and the French were to attack at-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 obstructions. ob-structions. Calling to his men to follow closely, he surmounted all the obstacles and led his men directly into the redoubt. A withering barrage failed to stop them, and the unbelievable courage cour-age of the little party so confounded the defenders defend-ers that the redoubt surrendered in less than 15 minutes from the time Brown and his men launched the attack. The American losses were comparatively few. 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 be had to "desert" from the American Ameri-can army and in the faded Revolutionary records rec-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, 17S3, while it docs not contain con-tain the full story of Bissell's heroism, contains a hint of what It must have been and removes from his name the stigma attached to It hy the notation In the official records. The citation reads as follows: "Sergt. Bissell of the 2nd. Connecticut Regiment having performed some Important services within the Immediate knowledge knowl-edge of the Commander-in-Chief, In which the fidelity, perseverance and good sense of the said Sergt. Rissell were conspicuously manifested, it Is, therefore, ordered : That he be honored with the badge of merit; lie will call at headquarters headquar-ters on Thursday next for the Insignia and certificate cer-tificate to which he Is hereby entitled." So far as it is possible to reconstruct the story, Bissell "desorted" from the army In Ah-gust, Ah-gust, 1781, and made his way into New York city. His mission was to obtain ail the Information Informa-tion he could about the plans of the British and to stay no longer than was necessary to accomplish ac-complish his purpose. A year passed and nothing noth-ing was heard from Bissell by his regimental officer, Lieut. Col. Robert Hanson Harrison, or his commander in chief. For nil that they' knew bis mission may have been discovered by the British and be may have p:iid the usual penalty for being a spy. Then one dny in September. 172, r.!s?ei reported at WasMBsrtonVi headquarters head-quarters at Newbureh, X. Y.. and made his verbal ver-bal report which was taken down by Lieut. Col David Humphreys. O liy Weatra Newspaper Union.) |