THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF HEROISM IN BRITAIN 27
because he had no other alternative required discipline. The soldier who
enlisted in the name of duty or patriotism required recognition of his virtues.
By the end of the Napoleonic Wars virtually every other European nation
had established some form of recognition for bravery. France had its Legion
of Honor, created for officers by Napoleon in 1802. Prussia had established
the famous ‘Blue Max,’ thePour le Mérite, in 1810 and the equally famous
Iron Cross in 1813. The Dutch instituted the Military Order of William upon
their liberation from Napoleon’s empire in 1815. One of the first things
the Belgians did after winning their independence from the Kingdom of
Holland was establish the Order of Leopold in 1832. Medals had become
quite fashionable on the Continent.^3 This trend continued into mid-century,
and even became somewhat egalitarian. In 1852 Napoleon III established
the Médaille Militaire to recognize the heroism of the other ranks. When the
Crimean War broke out the French Army regularly distributed these medals
along with the Legion of Honor to deserving soldiers, a practice that soon
excited comment in the British press.^4
With the exception of the Médaille Militaire, these orders and awards were
not egalitarian and usually came either in several grades that excluded the
rank and file from the highest honors, or were open only to certain ranks.
The Prussian Iron Cross, for example, came in four grades: The Blucher
Cross (awarded only twice); The Grand Cross of the Iron Cross (awarded
only 21 times since inception); The Iron Cross 1st Class; and the Iron Cross,
2nd Class (awarded so frequently as to become ‘the most universally known
award of bravery’).^5 Likewise, the French Legion of Honor came in five
classes, the lowest of which held the title of knight.^6
The word ‘order’ generally meant that the award was open to the officer
class alone. Many were not strictly military decorations; the Norwegian
Order of Saint Olaf (1847), for example, could be awarded for either
civilian or military service to the state. The Portuguese Military Order of
Saint Ferdinand could be won both in combat for gallantry or in an office
for outstanding staff work. The British Order of the Bath was similar in this
respect, as it could be had for military gallantry, long and valuable service
without a particular gallant act, or for civilian service to the Crown.^7 Britain
lacked any national award purely for military service.
For the lower ranks of the British Army there were no national awards
whatsoever; the various grades of the Order of the Bath were officer-only,
and at that excluded lieutenants and captains. There were informal ways of
recognizing the heroism of private soldiers and non-commissioned officers,
the rare mention in dispatches or promotion being the most common. The
former may have originated with Sir Charles Napier following the Battle of
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