8TH REGIMENT U.S. COLORED TROOPS MEDAL, PART 1

 

Figure 1: The 1863 8th Regiment U.S.C.T. Medal predates the 1865 Butler medal, making it the earliest known example of a Civil War military medal made for African-American soldiers (actual size: 31mm).

Until very recently, the Butler Medal of Honor was the only medal known to have been made during the Civil War for the U.S. Colored Troops. General Benjamin F. Butler commissioned this medal in 1865 to recognize the heroic part played by the soldiers of the U.S.C.T. at the Battle of Newmarket Heights on September 29, 1864.

In a letter written on May 28, 1865 to General Godfrey Weitzel (commander of the 25th Corps, which included the largest number of African-American soldiers serving in the Union Army at the time), Butler laments the lack of recognition given to the U.S. Colored Troops and states that the medals he had commissioned would "be the only rewards the colored troops will get. They are not even allowed to march in review in the Grand Army triumph."

This long-held belief that only one medal had been made during the Civil War for the U.S. Colored Troops was proven false in October 2021, when I acquired an undocumented Civil War medal from an online auction (Figure 1). To my amazement, the inscription on the reverse of this medal read "LIBERTY AND UNION, CO. B, 8th REGIMENT, 1863, U.S. COLORED TROOPS," which refers to one of the first regiments of African-American soldiers to be trained at Camp William Penn in Chelten Hills, Pennsylvania.

Given that the 8th Regiment U.S.C.T. Medal is dated 1863 and Butler's medal was struck in 1865, this newly discovered medal holds the distinction of being the earliest known medallic work to recognize African-American soldiers in the Civil War. Furthermore, it is very likely that this is the first medal in U.S. history to portray Black Americans in a positive light.

Prior to the Butler medal and the medals made for the 8th Regiment U.S.C.T., the only medallic work made exclusively for African Americans were "slave badges." These included a "freed man's badge," which was a form of identification issued by the city of Charleston, South Carolina, from 1783 to 1789 to freed slaves as a way of proving their status as emancipated individuals; and a "slave hire badge," which served to identify enslaved people who were being hired out and allowed them the "freedom" to move about town unescorted.

The slave badges and the U.S. Colored Troops military medal served very different purposes. Slave badges were made to identify and control the movement of African Americans in a society in which they were viewed as chattel property. The Butler and 8th Regiment military medals were medallic tributes to free Black men serving in the United States Army.

 

Figure 2: Example of the HONOR IS THE REWARD OF LOYALTY obverse used by Robert Lovett Jr. on his trio of military-themed medals.

The Maker
The obverse of the newly discovered 8th Regiment medal (Figure 1) displays the inscription, "HONOR IS THE REWARD OF LOYALTY" above the image of a seated goddess—the same design that engraver and die sinker Robert Lovett Jr. is known to have used on a variety of medals. His business was based in Philadelphia when the 8th Regiment was in basic training at Camp William Penn, which was located outside Philadelphia.

Lovett Jr. is best known for designing the infamous 1861 Confederate Cent, the only coin created for use by the Confederacy, and the subject of countless articles as well as an entire book. To this day, the Confederate Cent continues to generate great interest among collectors, even though it never went into circulation during the Civil War.

Lovett's least-known contribution to Civil War medallic art is a trio of military-themed medals all of which share the "HONOR IS THE REWARD OF LOYALTY" obverse (Figure 2).

The first of these medals was an identification disc (or dog tag) whose reverse bears the inscription "War of 1861," the opening year of the war (Figure 3a). The second medal in the series references the "2nd REGT., BLUE RESERVES," a regiment of White soldiers called into action as an emergency force to counter Robert E. Lee's first Pennsylvania Campaign in September 1862 (Figure 3b). The third and final medal of this trio was made for the 8th Regiment, U.S. Colored Troops in 1863 (Figure 3c). Considering the wide spread bigotry and prejudice against African Americans at the time Lovett made these medals, it is notable that he used the same "HONOR IS THE REWARD OF LOYALTY" obverse on medals he designed for both White (the 2nd Regt., Blue Reserves) and Black (8th Regiment, U.S.C.T.) soldiers.

 

Figure 3a: An identification disc bearing the inscription "War of 1861."

Figure 3b: Lovett Jr. military medal made for the 2nd Regiment Blue Reserves, a regiment of White soldiers who fought Robert E. Lee's first Pennsylvania campaign in 1862.

Figure 3c: The third Civil War-related military medal that Lovett Jr. made for the 8th Regiment U.S.C.T. (Photos from Author's collection.

Historical Context
The 8th Regiment U.S.C.T. Medal was made at a time in U.S. history when African Americans had reason to believe that they would not only gain their freedom, but also enjoy the right to vote, participate in the political process, own land, access education, and seek employment and representation in government. This time period officially began on January 1st of the year this medal was made (1863), when President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing enslaved African Americans. Later that year, the Federal Government began to allow Black Americans to enlist in the Union Army, bear arms, and fight against the White oppressors who for generations had enslaved them.

On a more somber note, this medal also marks the beginning of a recurrent cycle in American history: When African Americans take the opportunity to exercise the same rights as White citizens, their actions trigger an unequal but opposite reaction of violence and discrimination from a racist and more powerful White population. Black Americans, especially those living in the South, had to pay a high price for having put their faith in the Federal Government. Black soldiers had been led to believe that if they played their part in saving the Union, then they would be granted the same protections under the law that the Federal Government extended to all of its citizens. Tragically, history shows that the U.S. government turned its back on them once their services were no longer required, leaving them to fend for themselves against a powerful White backlash. When the Compromise of 1877 ended Reconstruction, the Southern Democrats regained control of the South, and quickly, methodically, and with a vengeance reasserted their dominion over the African American population living within their borders.

A Remarkable Discovery
The 1863 U.S. Colored Troops medal serves as a powerful reminder of the pivotal changes occurring in African American history during this period. For generations prior to their emancipation, enslaved people had been denied the right to own property. Because of this, there are very few personal belongings that have been left to help us see the individuals who make up the millions of nameless and faceless men, women, and children who lived and died under the tyranny of slavery. This medal provides a tangible way to directly connect to the men of the 8th Regiment and compels us to learn more about them, their struggles, and their triumphs.

This find is also remarkable because very few military medals of any kind were struck during the Civil War. The paucity of military medals during the war applies to both the varieties that were made, as well as to the number of medals that were actually issued. The fact that there are now two different medals known to have been made for the U.S. Colored Troops defies the odds.

The Medal of Honor helps to illustrate this point. It was the only military medal issued by the Federal Government during the entire war for personnel in all branches of the military. Furthermore, it was the only medal approved for display on a military uniform during the Civil War.

Aside from the Medal of Honor, every other military medal struck during the war was privately minted and falls into one of roughly three categories: medals to reward valor, service or campaign medals, and society membership badges. Each of these medals was commissioned by either an individual (such as a military officer), a military society, or a community or civic organization.

Matthew adds:

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web