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Mint:
Paris
Ruler:
Napoleon III (1852-70)
Artist:
Barre, Albert-Désiré
Ruler:
Louis Napoleon
(With the title of)
Mint:
Colmar, Paris
Many of the medals currently on issue in France date back to the reign of Emperor Napoléon III, in whose time France renewed its international rôle in politics without the ignominy of defeat that it had endured under Napoleon I. One such decoration is the Médaille Militaire, which was instituted in 1852 (within days of the then-President Louis Napoléon arrogating supreme power to himself), to be awarded to any junior officer or enlisted man who distinguished himself by an act of bravery. Commissioned officers could not be awarded the medal in these circumstances, but there is a variant of it which is awarded to generals for leadership; in this class Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt are numbered among the medal's very few foreign recipients.
This example of the medal bears the bust and name of Louis Napoléon; after his death a new version was struck in the name of the new Republic. Minor changes to the design that were made after the Crimean War are absent, so that the award of this medal must have been between 1852 and 1855. It is unnamed, so it cannot be known to whom it was awarded. Although this medal is part of the Watson Collection, Lester Watson's own lists give no provenance for it.
History note: Gift of L. Hoyt Watson; ex Lester Watson Collection, no provenance.
Given by Lester Watson through Cambridge in America, 2009
Diameter: 25.4 mm
Weight: 17.32 g
Method of acquisition: Given (2009) by Watson, Lester
1852 - 1855
Gilt
Inscription present: Bust of Napoleon facing left with inscription around on blue enamel, laurel wreath around the whole surmounted by eagle to whose head is attached suspension
Inscription present: Inscription with laurel wreath around, whole surmounted by eagle's back
Accession number: CM.1460-2009
Primary reference Number: 141554
Watson Catalogue: C
Ordering: M-0343
Previous object number: LW.0343
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Coins and Medals
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Médaille Militaire (Louis-Napoleon)" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/141554 Accessed: 2024-12-31 09:08:47
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/141554
|title=Médaille Militaire (Louis-Napoleon)
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-31 09:08:47|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:
https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-141554
To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:
<div class="text-center">
<figure class="figure">
<img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0343_281_29.jpg"
alt="Médaille Militaire (Louis-Napoleon)"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Médaille Militaire (Louis-Napoleon)</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
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