Civil War Campaign Medal

Civil War Campaign Medal
Army & Navy Civil War Campaign Medals
Awarded by Department of the Army Department of the Navy
Type	Campaign medal
Eligibility	Service in the American Civil War between 1861 and 1865
Status	Obsolete
Statistics
Established	1905; 112 years ago (1905)
First awarded	April 15, 1861 (retroactive)
Ribbon, Union campaign streamer, & Confederate campaign streamer

The Civil War Campaign Medal is considered the first campaign service medal of the United States military. The decoration was awarded to members of the United States military who had served in the American Civil War between 1861 and 1865.

The medal was first authorized in 1905 for the fortieth anniversary of the Civil War's conclusion. The blue and gray ribbon denotes the respective uniform colors of the U.S. and Confederate troops. The Army Civil War Campaign Medal was established by the United States War Department on January 21, 1907, by General Orders Number 12. To qualify, a soldier had to serve between April 15, 1861, and April 9, 1865. The award was intended for both Union and Confederate soldiers. When it was discovered that medal qualifications included the words Active Federal Military Service, the Congressional Act of 1945 had those words removed. In the US Army, Units with Confederate lineage use campaign streamers with the Gray edge up and Units with Union lineage use campaign streamers with the blue edge up. The campaign lettering requires two distinct sets of streamers for each campaign, one set for each side. The closing date was extended to August 20, 1866, date of President Johnson's Proclamation ending the war. The corresponding Navy Civil War Medal was established on June 27, 1908, by Navy Department.

The obverse of the Army Civil War Campaign Medal displayed an engraved image of Abraham Lincoln while the Navy and Marine Corps versions depicted the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia's battle at Hampton Roads. The reverse has the words "The Civil War 1861-1865" encircled by a wreath. The medal was designed by Francis D. Millet, a noted sculptor who perished on the RMS Titanic in 1912. The medal was struck at the Philadelphia Mint. Civil War Campaign Medal No. 1 was issued to Maj. Gen. Charles F. Humphrey on May 26, 1909.