TWO

The Institutionalization of Heroism

in Britain

A

rather obvious question in dealing with the creation of a new thing is
‘why?’ In the case of the Victoria Cross the obvious answer is that it
was created in recognition of the sacrifices made by the soldiers and
sailors of the Crimean War. This is true insofar as the war served as a catalyst
for change, but the change could not have occurred without some necessary
preconditions. Hegel’sZeitgeist was in motion; changes had occurred in
society, were reflected in politics, and were brought to a head through a
combination of Romanticism, pragmatism, and personal ambition.
Since the fall of Rome, Europe had gone for centuries without any insti-
tutional means for the recognition of heroism. There were ways for kings
and governments to signify their pleasure with the heroic individual, but
no standard that endured over time or that was applied with any kind of
continuity. With the exceptions of the Portuguese Military Order of the
Tower and Sword, established in 1459, and the 1671 Danish Order of the
Dannebrog,^1 there were no national standards of heroism until after the
coming of the Enlightenment, with its core reliance on the rationality and
perfectibility of the individual.
During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries Europe redis-
covered the value of military awards and decorations. The concept of the
‘citizen soldier’ and thelevée en massehad changed the nature of warfare; an
increasing number of soldiers were fighting for ideology rather than coin.
Commanders and governments learned that the recognition of merit comple-
mented the punishment of transgressions in motivating desired behavior in
the ranks. Virtually the only provision proposed by the Royal Commission
of 1837 on Army Reform (the Howick Commission) that was accepted
by parliament was the creation of the Good Conduct Badge and merit pay
bonuses for virtue in the ranks.^2 A soldier who had enlisted for the pay or
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