Chapter 2

OFFICE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS, July 11, 1787.

The Secretary of the United States for the Department of Foreign Affairs, to whom was referred a letter from the Honourable Mr. Jefferson of the 14th of February last,

_Reports_, Your secretary presumes that the following paragraphs in this letter occasion its being referred to him, viz.: "The workman who was to make a medal of General Greene brought me yesterday the medal in gold, twenty-three in copper, and the die. I must beg leave, through you, to ask the pleasure of Congress as to the number they would choose to have struck. Perhaps they might be willing to deposit one of each person in every college of the United States. Perhaps they might choose to give a series of them to each of the crowned heads of Europe, which would be an acceptable present to them. They will be pleased to decide. In the meantime I have sealed up the die, and shall retain it till I am honoured with their orders as to this medal, and the others also, when they shall be finished."

As these medals were directed to be struck in order to signalize and commemorate certain interesting events and conspicuous characters, the distribution of them should in his opinion be such as may best conduce to that end. He therefore thinks that both of Mr. Jefferson's hints should be improved, to wit, that a series of these medals should be presented to each of the crowned heads in Europe, and that one of each set be deposited in each of the American colleges. He presumes that Mr. Jefferson does not mean that any should be presented to the King of Great Britain, for it would not be delicate; nor that by crowned heads he meant to exclude free states from the compliment, for to make discriminations would give offense.

In the judgment of your secretary it would be proper to instruct Mr. Jefferson to present in the name of the United States one silver medal of each denomination to every monarch (except His Britannic Majesty), and to every sovereign and independent state without exception in Europe; and also to the Emperor of Morocco. That he also be instructed to send fifteen silver medals of each set to Congress, to be by them presented to the thirteen (p. xix) United States respectively, and also to the Emperor of China with an explanation and a letter, and one to General Washington. That he also be instructed to present a copper medal of each denomination to each of the most distinguished universities (except the British) in Europe, and also to Count de Rochambeau, to Count d'Estaing, and to Count de Grasse; and, lastly, that he be instructed to send to Congress two hundred copper ones of each set, together with the dies.

Your secretary thinks that of these it would be proper to present one to each of the American colleges, one to the Marquis de la Fayette, and one to each of the other major-generals who served in the late American army; and that the residue with the dies be deposited in the Secretary's Office of the United States, subject to such future orders as Congress may think proper to make respecting them.

It might be more magnificent to give gold medals to sovereigns, silver ones to distinguished persons, and copper ones to the colleges; but, in his opinion, the nature of the American Governments, as well as the state of their finance, will apologize for their declining the expense.

All which is submitted to the wisdom of Congress.

John JAY.

The records of the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres show that in 1789, at the request of Mr. Jefferson, it also composed designs for the medals awarded by Congress to General Wayne, Major Stewart, and Captain John Paul Jones.[7] Mr. Jefferson had previously had an interview with M. Augustin Dupré on the subject, as will be seen by the following note, the original of which is in Mr. Jefferson's handwriting:[8]

[Footnote 7: See D, page xli.]

[Footnote 8: For the French originals of this and the following letter, see E, page xliv.]

To M. DUPRÉ, Engraver of Medals and Medallist of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture.

Mr. Jefferson having received orders concerning medals to be struck would like to talk about them with M. Dupré, if he will please do him the honour to call on him to-morrow morning before eleven o'clock.

Saturday, January 3, 1789.

In the following month, Mr. Jefferson again wrote to M. Dupré, (p. xx) inclosing descriptions of the designs for the medals of General Morgan and of Admiral Jones. The reader will note some slight differences between these and those originally composed by the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres:

To M. DUPRÉ, Engraver of Medals and Medallist of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture.

Mr. Jefferson has the honour to send to M. Dupré the devices for the medals for General Morgan and Rear-Admiral Paul Jones, which he has just received from the Academy of Belles-Lettres, and the making of which he proposes to M. Dupré, the latter to be responsible for the success of the dies up to the striking of three hundred and fifty of each medal in gold, silver, or bronze, and to furnish proofs in tin at the end of the month of March next, so that the medals may all be struck before the 15th of April. He begs him to kindly mention the conditions on which he will undertake them, and Mr. Jefferson will have the honour to reply on receipt of them.

February 13, 1789.

_Medal for General Morgan, of twenty-four lignes in diameter._

The general, at the head of his army, charges the enemy, which takes to flight.

_Legend_: VICTORIA LIBERTATIS VINDEX.

_Exergue_: FUGATIS CAPTIS AUT CÆSIS AD COWPENS HOSTIBUS 17 Jan. 1781.

_Reverse_: America, recognizable by her shield, rests her left hand upon a trophy of arms and of flags, and with her right crowns the general, who bends before her.

_Legend_: DANIELI MORGAN DUCI EXERCITUS.

_Exergue_: COMITIA AMERICANA.

_Medal for Rear-Admiral John Paul Jones, of twenty-four (p. xxi) lignes._

_Device_: His head (M. Houdon will furnish the bust in plaster).

_Legend_: JOANNI PAULO JONES CLASSIS PRÆFECTO.

_Exergue_: COMITIA AMERICANA.

_Reverse_: Naval Engagement.

_Legend_: HOSTIUM NAVIBUS CAPTIS AUT FUGATIS.

_Exergue_: AD ORAM SCOTIÆ 23 SEPT. 1779.

The following, from the same to the same, bearing date February 15, 1789, throws some light on the prices of the medals engraved by M. Dupré:

To M. DUPRÉ, Engraver of Medals, Paris.

Mr. Jefferson has the honour to observe to M. Dupré that he pays only twenty-four hundred _livres_ to M. Duvivier or to M. Gatteaux for medals which measure twenty-four _lignes_, that he paid the same sum to M. Dupré himself for that of General Greene, and that recently M. Dupré asked no higher price for that of General Morgan. Mr. Jefferson cannot, therefore, consent to give more. For that sum he would expect to have the best work of M. Dupré and not that of inferior artists. As regards time, perhaps it may be possible to prolong it somewhat in regard to the medal for Admiral Paul Jones, that officer being at present in Europe. Mr. Jefferson will have the honour to await M. Dupré's answer, and will be happy to conclude this arrangement with him.[9]

February 15, 1789.

[Footnote 9: For the French original see F, page xlv.]

It is to be supposed that Dupré accepted these conditions, since he is the engraver of the John Paul Jones medal, one of the finest specimens in our collection. The Daniel Morgan piece is no less remarkable as an effort of numismatic skill. The fight at the Cowpens, on the reverse, is a striking example of the boldness with which Dupré enlarged (p. xxii) the limits of his art, and, in defiance of all traditional rules, successfully represented several planes in the background.

I cannot do better than to give the opinion, concerning this and the other of Dupré's American medals, of M. Charles Blanc,[10] from whom I quote freely in the following:

[Footnote 10: INSTITUT DE FRANCE--ACADÉMIE DES BEAUX-ARTS _Notice sur la vie et les ouvrages d'Augustin Dupré, Graveur-Général des Monnoies de la République. Lue dans la séance trimestrielle des cinq classes de l'Institut, le 26 Octobre, 1870, par M. Charles Blanc_.]

The Morgan medal, says this eminent French critic, seems to vibrate beneath the rush of cavalry and the tread of infantry flying in the background, indicated by the almost imperceptible lines of the metal where the smoke of the cannonade is vanishing away in air. In the Libertas Americana medal, which recalls, if we except the evacuation of Boston, the two most memorable events of the War of Independence, namely, the capitulation of General Burgoyne, at Saratoga, in October, 1777, and that of General Lord Cornwallis, at Yorktown, in October, 1781, Dupré has represented the new-born Liberty, sprung from the prairies without ancestry and without rulers, as a youthful virgin, with disheveled hair and dauntless aspect, bearing across her shoulder a pike, surmounted by the Phrygian cap. This great artist, in consequence of his intimacy with Franklin, had conceived the greatest enthusiasm for the cause of the United States. Franklin resided at Passy, and Dupré at Auteuil. As they both went to Paris every day, they met and made acquaintance on the road--an acquaintance which soon ripened into friendship. Dupré first engraved Franklin's seal with the motto, "_In simplici salus_," and afterward his portrait. This (p. xxiii) portrait presents an _alto-rilievo_ which is well adapted for medals only; it is conceived in the spirit of the French school, which has always attached great importance to the truthful rendering of flesh. The artist has indicated the flat parts, the relaxation of the muscles, and, as it were, the quivering of the flesh, so as to convey an exact idea of the age of the model. He has conscientiously represented the lines which the finger of Time imprints on the countenance, but, above all, he has given us with wonderful fidelity the physiognomy of the American sage, his shrewd simplicity, his sagacity, and his expression of serene uprightness. A Latin hexameter from the pen of Turgot became the well-known legend of this medal: "_Eripuit coelo fulmen, sceptrumque tyrannis._"

The four pieces executed by Duvivier are no less remarkable for beauty and excellence of workmanship. They all figured at the exhibitions of the members of the Royal Academy of Paris, that of the Chevalier de Fleury, as mentioned before, in the exhibition of 1781, and those of of General and of Lieutenant-Colonel Washington, and Lieutenant-Colonel Howard, in that of 1789.[11]

[Footnote 11: See G, page xlv.]

In those by Gatteaux, the personification of America as an Indian queen with an alligator at her feet is noteworthy.

With the exception of the Treaty of Commerce medal (1822), and perhaps of that of Captain Truxtun, our medals after the War of Independence were engraved and struck at home. Before that time, indeed, the one voted in 1779 to Major Henry Lee had been made by John Wright, of Philadelphia. From the close of the eighteenth century down to (p. xxiv) 1840 John Reich and subsequently Moritz Fürst were the engravers of the national medals. Reich's works are valued; unfortunately they are few in number. They consist of the medal voted in 1805 to Captain Edward Preble for his naval operations against Tripoli, of another voted in 1813 to Captain Isaac Hull for the capture of the British frigate Guerrière, and of those of Presidents Jefferson and Madison. That of President Jefferson especially deserves attention for its beauty.

But little can be said in commendation of the works of Fürst, whose numerous medals are very inferior to Reich's, and still less worthy of being compared with those of the French engravers. While wishing to avoid undue severity, I cannot but endorse the opinion of General Scott, given in a communication addressed to the Honorable William L. Marcy, Secretary of War, in regard to the medal voted to General Zachary Taylor, for victories on the Rio Grande:

To the Honourable HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, William L. MARCY, Washington, July 25, 1846. Secretary of War.

As medals are among the surest monuments of history, as well as muniments of individual distinction, there should be given to them, besides intrinsic value and durability of material, the utmost grace of design, with the highest finish in mechanical execution. All this is necessary to give the greater or adventitious value; as in the present instance, the medal is to be, at once, an historical record and a reward of distinguished merit. The credit of the donor thus becomes even more than that of the receiver interested in obtaining a perfect specimen in the fine arts.

The within resolution prescribes _gold_ as the material of the medal. The general form (circular) may be considered as equally settled by our own practice, and that of most nations, ancient and modern. There is, however, some little diversity in _diameter_ and _thickness_ in the medals heretofore ordered (p. xxv) by Congress, at different periods, as may be seen in the cabinets of the War and Navy Departments. Diversity in dimensions is even greater in other countries.

The specific character of the medal is shown by its two faces, or the _face_ and the _reverse_. The within resolution directs appropriate devices and inscriptions thereon.

For the _face_, a bust likeness is needed, to give, with the name and the rank of the donee, _individuality_. To obtain the likeness, a first-rate miniature painter should, of course, be employed.

The _reverse_ receives the device, appropriate to the events commemorated. To obtain this, it is suggested that the resolutions and despatches, belonging to the subject, be transmitted to a master in the art of design--say Prof. Weir, at West Point--for a drawing--including, if practicable, this inscription:

PALO ALTO; RESACA DE LA PALMA: MAY 8 AND 9, 1846.

A third artist--all to be well paid--is next to be employed--a die-sinker. The mint of the United States will do the coinage.

Copies, in cheaper metal, of all our gold medals, should be given to the libraries of the Federal and State Governments, to those of the colleges, etc.

The medals voted by the Revolutionary Congress were executed--designs and dies--under the superintendence of Mr. Jefferson,[12] in Paris, about the year 1786. Those struck in honour of victories, in our War of 1812, were all--at least so far as it respected the land service--done at home, and not one of them presented, I think, earlier than the end of Mr. Monroe's administration (1825). The delay principally resulted from the want of good die-sinkers. There was only one of mediocre merit (and he a foreigner) found for the army. What the state of this art may now be in the United States I know not. But I beg leave again to suggest that the honour of the country requires that medals, voted by Congress, should always exhibit the arts involved, in their highest state of perfection _wherever_ found: for letters, science, and the fine arts constitute but _one_ republic, embracing the world. So thought our early Government, and Mr. Jefferson--a distinguished member of that general republic.

All which is respectfully submitted to the Secretary of War.

[Footnote 12: This is an error. See page xi.]

Whatever may be the weight of General Scott's opinion on such a (p. xxvi) subject, and whether or not it is important, as he insists, that medals should possess high artistic value, in order that they may be not only the rewards of merit and monuments of history, but also favorable specimens of contemporary art, it must be acknowledged that those struck since 1840 differ widely, in many respects, from those of the preceding period. While the earlier works are of a pure and lofty style, the later ones are not always in good taste. The former are conceived generally in strict observance of classical rules, and will bear comparison with the numismatic masterpieces of antiquity; the latter reflect the realistic tendency of their day.

The Indian medals, with the exception of that of President Jefferson and a few others, which are very fine, possess only an historic value. These pieces owe their origin to the custom, in the colonial times, of distributing to the chiefs of Indian tribes, with whom treaties were concluded, medals bearing on the obverse the effigy of the reigning British sovereign, and on the reverse friendly legends and emblems of peace. Mr. Kean, member of the Continental Congress from South Carolina, on April 20, 1786, moved: "That the Board of Treasury ascertain the number and value of the medals received by the commissioners appointed to treat with the Indians, from said Indians, and have an equal number, with the arms of the United States, made of silver, and returned to the chiefs from whom they were received." The result was the Indian series, which bear on their obverses the busts of the respective Presidents under whom they were issued (none (p. xxvii) exists of President Harrison, who died a month after his inauguration); but it should be borne in mind that these are mere Indian peace tokens, struck only for distribution as presents to friendly chiefs.

I have called in question the discernment of some of the Federal administrations in their choice of engravers; unfortunately, I have also to draw attention to an unaccountable delay in the execution of one of the medals. It seems scarcely credible that the one voted in 1857 to Dr. Elisha Kent Kane for his discoveries in the Arctic Seas has not yet been struck. Elder, in his "Life of E. K. Kane" (page 228), says:

"Congress having failed at its first session after his (Kane's) return to appropriate, by a national recognition, the honors he had won for his country, had no other opportunity for repairing the neglect till after his death; then a gold medal was ordered, of which, I believe, nothing has been heard since the passage of the resolution."

To complete my undertaking, it was necessary not only to study the composition and history of all our national medals, but also to have plates of them engraved, which could only be done from the originals or copies, or, as a last resort, from casts.

My first step was to apply to the Mint in Philadelphia for bronze copies of all the medals. In 1855 the director of that establishment had been authorized by the Secretary of the Treasury, to strike from the original dies, copies of the medals for sale, as is the custom at the Paris Mint. But when he sought to avail himself of this authorization, it was discovered that many of the dies were missing. It was thought probable that those of the medals which had been (p. xxviii) struck in France during the War of Independence would be found there, and the French Government was communicated with, in 1861, in regard to the following: "Washington before Boston; General Wayne, for capture of Stony Point; Colonel Fleury, for same; Captain Stewart, for same; Major Lee, for capture of Paulus Hook; Colonel John Eager Howard, for Cowpens; Colonel William Washington, for same; Major-General Greene, for Eutaw Springs; Captain John Paul Jones, for capture of the Serapis by the Bonhomme Richard."[13]

[Footnote 13: See H, page xlvii.]

But the Paris Mint possessed only the dies of the two Washington, of the Howard, and of the John Paul Jones medals; moreover, the rules of that establishment did not permit them to be given up. Bronze copies of the four were obtained, however, and from them Messrs. George Eckfeldt and R. Jefferson of the Philadelphia Mint cut new dies.

In Washington, in January, 1872, I was informed by Mr. Spofford, of the Library of Congress, that after the fire which destroyed a portion of that library, December 24, 1851, the bronze copies of the medals formerly deposited there had been transferred to the Smithsonian Institution. At the latter place I was shown the remains of the collection, all more or less injured by fire. Moreover, the five wanted were not to be found; and further investigations made in December, 1877, in the Philadelphia Mint, showed that four of the dies, namely, those of Generals Greene and Wayne, and of Lieutenant-Colonel de Fleury and Major Stewart, are still missing from that establishment.

During the year 1872, I obtained permission from the Honorable Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State, to examine in the archives of (p. xxix) his department the official papers relating to the medals of the War of Independence, and was fortunate enough to find the correspondence concerning the Diplomatic medal between Jefferson, William Short, the Marquis de la Luzerne, and the Count de Moustier. Afterward, in the reports of the Massachusetts Historical Society (vol. vi., 3d series), I found a description which seemed to apply to this same medal. I then went to Philadelphia to see the writer of the description, Joshua Francis Fisher, Esq., but he was on his death-bed, and it was impossible to prosecute the inquiry. After his decease, I was informed that no medal of the kind described was contained in his collection.

In 1790, President Washington ordered two Diplomatic medals to be struck and presented, one to the Marquis de la Luzerne, French Minister to the United States, and the other to his successor, the Count de Moustier. In Paris, in 1874, I made application to the present heads of those families, the Count de Vibray[14] and the Marquis de Moustier,[15] for information concerning these medals; but no trace of the object of my search could be found among their family papers.

[Footnote 14: The Count de Vibray is the representative in the female line of the de la Luzerne family, which is extinct in the male line.]

[Footnote 15: The Marquis de Moustier is the great-grandson of the Count de Moustier.]

About this time, Mr. Charles I. Bushnell, of New York city, kindly sent me plaster casts of an obverse and of a reverse, in which I at once recognized the Diplomatic medal, but neither bore the signature of Dupré. Nevertheless, I had a plate engraved from them, hoping by its aid to find the original.

I then turned once more to M. Gatteaux, the son of M. Nicolas (p. xxx) Marie Gatteaux, who had shown me, in 1868, in his house in the Rue de Lille, Paris, the wax model of the obverse of the medal of General Gates, and the designs for those of General Wayne and Major Stewart, but, the house having been burnt during the reign of the Commune in 1871, he could furnish no information, and I was as far as ever from discovering the original of this piece.