The Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor Review Board

Finally, in 1916, as a result of a provision in the National Defense Act of June 3, 1916, the Secretary of the Army was directed to appoint a board of five retired Army generals "for the purpose of investigating and reporting upon past awards or issue of the so-called Congressional Medal of Honor by or through the War Department; this with a view to ascertain what Medals of Honor, if any, had been awarded or issued for any cause other than distinguished conduct by an officer or enlisted man in action involving actual conflict with an enemy." The medals given to the Andrews Raiders survived this review. Those given to the members of the 27th Maine did not, however, every one being revoked.

This board was headed by Lieutenant General Nelson Miles, himself a Civil War Medal of Honor recipient and later commander of the United States Army with more than 42 years of active service, including campaigns against the Indians in the West following the Civil War and in the Spanish-American War. This board rescinded the awards of 911 Medals of Honor. Stricken were the 27th Maine, the 29 officers and men who had accompanied the remains of President Lincoln from Washington to Springfield, Illinois in April, 1865, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, and another very colorful hero of the Indian Wars, William F. "Wild Bill" Cody. Cody, like James J. Andrews, had been a civilian guide or scout and thus was not eligible for the award. The most ridiculous award that was rescinded was one that had been issued to a Lieutenant Colonel Gardiner in 1872 by Secretary of War Belknap upon Gardiner's application. Gardiner wrote, "I understand there are a number of bronze medals for distribution to soldiers of the late War, and request I be allowed one as a souvenir of memorable times past."

With this action in 1916, the total awarded for the Civil War came to 1,520 of which 1,196 were Army, 307 Navy, and 17 Marines.

Then came the Indian Campaigns during the latter part of the 19th century and during this period the Army made 423 awards of the Medal of Honor.

Next came the expansion period which included the Spanish-American War, the Boxer Rebellion, the entry into Korea, the Philippines, etc. During this period, a total of 342 awards were made which included 104 for the Army, 153 for the Navy, and 85 for the Marines.

One of the great ironies of the so-called era of American Expansion from 1871 to 1933 is that its most enduring figure was recommended for a Medal of Honor but was denied the award. This man was Theodore Roosevelt – Rough Rider, Governor of New York, and President of the United States.

After the Rough Riders' charge up San Juan Hill on July 1, 1898, Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt came home a hero, and he was recommended for the Medal of Honor. In the fall of 1898, the War Decorations Board rejected the award for lack of eyewitness statements vouching for Roosevelt's actions.

By then he was governor of New York, and he wrote his friend Senator Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts to intervene for him. Lodge reported that the War Department had offered a retroactive brevet promotion rather than the Medal of Honor. This did not satisfy Roosevelt, and he went for more help. With this effort, the Secretary of War Russell A. Alger became angry at all the pressure and refused to approve the award of the Medal. He even had the nerve to announce that Roosevelt would not receive the Medal of Honor at a formal White House attended by both Roosevelt and Lodge. Roosevelt then gave up on his quest for "that infernal Medal of Honor."

While he did not get his medal, Roosevelt did a lot for the Medal of Honor. During his presidency, the standards for the award were raised, and a new design approved and patented for the first time. Roosevelt directed that henceforth the Medal be awarded "with formal and impressive ceremonial by the president, if possible."

Theodore Roosevelt did not get the Medal of Honor, but his name is on the rolls since his son, Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr. was awarded the medal posthumously for courage and leadership in the 1944 D-Day Landings in France during World War II.