The Medallic History of the United States of America Part 12

To General WASHINGTON. Philadelphia, April 2, 1776.

Sir: I congratulate you, as well as all the friends of mankind, in the reduction of Boston, an event which appeared to me of so great and decisive importance, that, the next morning after the arrival of the news, I did myself the honour to move for the thanks of Congress to Your Excellency, and that a medal of gold should be struck in commemoration of it. Congress have been pleased to appoint me, with two other gentlemen, to prepare a device. I should be very happy to have Your Excellency's sentiments concerning a proper one.

I have the honour to be, with great respect, Sir, your most obedient and affectionate servant, John ADAMS.

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_General Washington to John Adams._ (p. 006)

To John ADAMS, Esq., New York, April 15, 1776.

In Congress.

Sir: I am impressed with the deepest grat.i.tude for the high honour intended me by Congress. Whatever devices may be determined upon by the respectable committee they have chosen for that purpose will be highly agreeable to me.

I have the honour to be, most respectfully, Sir, your most obedient and affectionate humble servant, Geo. WASHINGTON.

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_Colonel Humphreys to General Washington._

To General WASHINGTON. Paris, May, 1785.

My dear General: Upon leaving America Mr. Morris invested me with the power of procuring the several honourary presents which have been voted by Congress to different officers in their service during the late war. The Royal Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres, to whom I addressed a letter on the subject, have furnished me with the following device and inscriptions for the gold medal which is to be executed for Your Excellency:

"On one side, the head of the general. Legend: 'GEORGIO WASHINGTON SUPREMO DUCI EXERCITUUM ADSERTORI LIBERTATIS COMITIA AMERICANA.' On the reverse: Taking possession of Boston. The American army advances in good order toward the town, which is seen at a distance, while the British army flies with precipitation toward the sh.o.r.e, to embark on board the vessels, with which the harbour is covered. In the front of the American army appears the general on horseback, in a group of officers, whom he seems to make observe the flight of the enemy. Legend: 'HOSTIBUS PRIMO FUGATIS.' Exergue: 'BOSTONIUM RECUPERATUM DIE XVII MARTII, MDCCLXXVI.'"

I think it has the character of simplicity and dignity which is to be aimed at in a memorial of this kind, which is designed to transmit the remembrance of a great event to posterity. You really do not know how much your name is venerated on this side of the Atlantic.

I have the honour to be, my dear General, your sincere friend and humble servant, D. HUMPHREYS.

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_Colonel Humphreys to Thomas Jefferson._

To Thomas JEFFERSON, Esq., London, January 30, 1786.

Paris.

Dear Sir: Gatteaux, the engraver, lives in the street St. Thomas du Louvre, opposite the Treasury of the Duke de Chartres.

Now that there is no obstacle to commencing the medal for (p. 007) General Washington, since Houdon's return, I could wish, should it not be giving you too much trouble, that you would send for Duvivier, who lives in the old Louvre, and propose to him undertaking it upon exactly the terms he had offered, which, I think, were 2,400 livres, besides the gold and expense of coinage. If he should not choose it, we must let it rest until Dupre shall have finished General Greene's. Gatteaux has a paper on which is the description of General Washington's medal.

I am, Sir, your most obedient and humble servant, D. HUMPHREYS.

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_Thomas Jefferson to Colonel Humphreys._

To Colonel HUMPHREYS, Paris, May 7, 1786.

London.

Dear Sir: I have received the books and papers you mention, and will undertake to have finished what you left undone of the medals, or, at least, will proceed in it till the matter shall be put into better hands.

I am, dear Sir, your friend and servant, Th: JEFFERSON.

No. 2. (p. 008) PLATE II.

_October 17, 1777._

Horatio Gates duci strenuo Comitia Americana. [Rx]. Salus regionum septentrional.

MAJOR-GENERAL HORATIO GATES.

[_Surrender of the British Army at Saratoga._]

HORATIO GATES DUCI STRENUO COMITIA AMERICANA. (_The American Congress to Horatio Gates, a valiant general._) Bust of General Gates, in uniform, facing the left. N. GATTEAUX.

SALUS REGIONUM SEPTENTRIONAL. (_Salus regionum septentrionalium: The safety of the northern regions._) Lieutenant-General Burgoyne is surrendering his sword to General Gates. In the background, on the left, the vanquished troops of Great Britain are grounding their arms and standards. On the right is the victorious American army, in order of battle, with colors flying.[29] Exergue: HOSTE AD SARATOGAM IN DEDITION. (_deditionem_) ACCEPTO DIE XVII. OCT. (_Octobris_) MDCCLXXVII. (_The enemy surrendered at Saratoga, on the 17th of October, 1777._) On the platform, GATTEAUX, F. (_fecit_).[30]

[Footnote 29: The "stars and stripes." Congress pa.s.sed, June 14, 1777, the following resolution:

_Resolved_, That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white on a blue field, representing a new constellation.

And it was to this new American flag that General Burgoyne surrendered.

Congress changed the flag by the following act, which was approved January 13, 1794:

_Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States in Congress a.s.sembled_, That from and after the first day of May, anno Domini one thousand seven hundred and ninety-five, the flag of the United States be fifteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be fifteen stars, white on a blue field.

Congress made a second change by an act approved April 14, 1818:

_Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States in Congress a.s.sembled_, That from and after the fourth day of July next, the flag of the United States be thirteen horizontal stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be twenty stars, white on a blue field.

SECTION 2. _And be it further enacted_, That on the admission of every new State into the Union, one star be added to the union of the flag; and that such addition shall take place on the fourth day of July then next succeeding such admission.]

[Footnote 30: See INTRODUCTION, pages x, xi, xiii, xvi, xvii, x.x.x, x.x.xv; and B, x.x.xvi.]

The legend of the obverse of this medal, originally proposed by (p. 009) the French Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres, was HORATIO GATES DUCI PROVIDO COMITIA AMERICANA; and that of the reverse, SALUS PROVINCIARUM SEPTENTRIONALIUM.

NICOLAS MARIE GATTEAUX was born in Paris, August 2, 1751, and in the latter part of the reign of Louis XVI. was appointed engraver of medals to the king. During the French Revolution he was intrusted with the execution of various works of art for different branches of the public service. The process followed in the printing of a.s.signats, of bills of exchange, and of lottery tickets, as well as the printing-press which works at the same time with the dry and wet stamp, were his inventions. He designed and engraved a number of medals representing eminent persons, or important events of the period, including three relating to the War of Independence, viz., those of General Gates, General Wayne, and Major John Stewart He died in Paris, June 24, 1832.

HORATIO GATES was born in Malden, England, in 1728. He entered the British army when young, and served under General Lord Cornwallis in Nova Scotia, and afterward under General Braddock in his campaign against Fort Duquesne, but, being severely wounded during the retreat, left the army and settled in Virginia. Having received a commission as adjutant-general, with the rank of brigadier, he accompanied Washington to Cambridge in July, 1775. While commander-in-chief of the northern army, he defeated General John Burgoyne at Stillwater, September 17, 1777, and received his surrender at Saratoga on the 17th of October following, for which most important achievement Congress gave him a vote of thanks and a gold medal.[31] He was appointed commander-in-chief of the southern department in June, 1780, but, being defeated shortly afterward at Camden, on the 16th of August, he was superseded by General Greene. During the remainder of the war he played no prominent part, and, at the conclusion of peace, retired to his estate, in Virginia. In 1790 he removed to New York city, where he died, April 10, 1806.

[Footnote 31: The victory at Saratoga is also commemorated in the Libertas Americana medal, No.

14, page 86, which was struck in Paris in 1783, under the direction of Dr. Franklin.]