ne of the most well-known and readily recognizable
American Military awards is the Purple Heart. Although
it is not the oldest continuous military award,
which distinction belongs to the Medal of Honor, it is
most certainly the first such award and the oldest.
General George Washington established the “Badge of
Military Merit”, as it was originally called, on August 7,
1782 to honor deserving soldiers for their heroic actions
against the enemy during the Revolution. In his own
words, General Washington directed that the award be
of, “the figure of a heart in purple cloth, or silk, edged
with a narrow lace or binding”.
The first Purple Heart was awarded to Sgt. Elijah Churchill
of the 2nd Regiment of Continental Light Dragoons.
Sgt. Churchill participated in two successful
lightning raids against the British which earned him his
well-deserved award. While leading a small Troop of
sixteen Dragoons in November, 1780, Sgt. Churchill and
his men attacked the British fort at Corum, New York.
During the furious battle, they burned three-hundred
tons of hay, captured fifty prisoners and burned and sank
a small Royal Navy supply schooner. Only one American
soldier was slightly wounded in the fight. The second
raid in which Sgt. Churchill participated occurred in
October, 1781, when the 2nd Light Dragoons attacked
Fort Slongo. Within twenty-four hours the fort was captured
and burned, and miraculously, not one American
soldier was lost.
