 |
| Front page of the March 1924 edition of Confederate Veteran Magazine showing
the UDC Cross of Military Service medal being awarded to then U.S. Major General John A. Lejeune by then UDC President Mrs. Livingston Rowe Schuyler on December 11th, 1923. General Lejeune was among the first Confederate descendants to receive the award. |
Mrs.
Livingston Schuyler was born Leonora St. George Rogers on November 16, 1868, in
Ocala, Florida, the daughter of Samuel St. George Rogers
(1832-1880), a native of Florida who was a Colonel in the Confederate
Army and later served in the Confederate States Congress in Richmond, Virginia (1864-1865), and his wife
Josephine Amanda Baynard (1840-1899). Her father's mother was a Davidson
from North Carolina and her mother's people, the Baynards, were prominent
in South Carolina.
In 1894, she married Reverend Livingston Rowe Schuyler (1868-1931), an Episcopal priest and American Revolutionary War historian from New York, and they lived for a time in England and France before returning to New York. Mrs. Schuyler served as President General of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) in 1921-1923. She was also a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).
Mrs. Schuyler died of a heart attack while attending a UDC Convention in Biloxi, Mississippi, on December 8, 1952 at age 84.
In 1894, she married Reverend Livingston Rowe Schuyler (1868-1931), an Episcopal priest and American Revolutionary War historian from New York, and they lived for a time in England and France before returning to New York. Mrs. Schuyler served as President General of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) in 1921-1923. She was also a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).
Mrs. Schuyler died of a heart attack while attending a UDC Convention in Biloxi, Mississippi, on December 8, 1952 at age 84.
U.S. Lieutenant General John Archer LeJeune (1867-1942) was born on Thursday, January 10, 1867 at Old Hickory
Plantation, near Lacour, Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, the son of
Ovide LeJeune (1820-1889) and his
wife Laura Archer Turpin (1840-1899). Ovide LeJeune served as Captain of Company I, 1st Louisiana Cavalry, C.S.A. during the War Between The States.
Lejeune attended Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge from September 1881 to April 1884 and was graduated from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland in 1888. He later transferred from the Navy to a commission in as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1890.
He served in the military with distinction for over 40 years, fighting in the Spanish American War (1898) and when the United States entered World War I (1917-1918), rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1909, full Colonel in 1913, Brigadier General in 1916, and Major General in 1918 when led the Army's Second Division during the Battles of San Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne Campaign.
The commanding officer of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) U.S. General John Joseph "Blackjack" Pershing awarded Lejeune the U.S. Army's Distinguished Service Medal and the French military awarded him the Legion of Honor, and the Croix de guerre. The U.S. Navy's Distinguished Service Medal was also conferred upon him when he returned to the United States.
Lejeune served as Commandant of the Marine Corps from 1920 to 1929. When he retired from the Marine Corps in 1929, he became Superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in Lexington, Virginia, serving in that post until 1937. General Lejeune married Ellie Harrison Murdaugh (1872-1953) in 1895, and they had three daughters. He was promoted to Lieutenant General after his retirement by the U.S. military.
General
Lejeune died on Friday, November 20, 1942, in the Union Memorial Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, and was interred in the Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. He is
known today as "The Greatest of all Leathernecks," and the United States Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina was named in his honor during World War II.
As an outgrowth from the Southern Cross of Honor Medal created for members of the United Confederate Veterans (UCV), the UDC introduced the Cross of Honor Medal for World War One Veterans of Confederate descent in 1923.
The designer of the medal was Mr. Chester Beach who was recommended to the UDC by the Numismatic Society of New York. The design was the Cross of the Crusader bound by the Confederate Battle Flag to the Southern Cross of Honor. The inscription reads: "Fortes Creantur Fortibus" (The brave give birth to the brave). The Cross of Service was awarded under the rules of the Southern Cross of Honor to male descendants of Confederate soldiers who had served in WWI. The medals were available by application from the UDC and could carry a small bronze dolphin device on the ribbon to signify overseas service.
The UDC officially retired the award in 2011 and during its run the medal was given out to just over 5,600 known U.S. World War I veterans with Confederate ancestry.
Lejeune attended Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge from September 1881 to April 1884 and was graduated from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland in 1888. He later transferred from the Navy to a commission in as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1890.
He served in the military with distinction for over 40 years, fighting in the Spanish American War (1898) and when the United States entered World War I (1917-1918), rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1909, full Colonel in 1913, Brigadier General in 1916, and Major General in 1918 when led the Army's Second Division during the Battles of San Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne Campaign.
The commanding officer of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) U.S. General John Joseph "Blackjack" Pershing awarded Lejeune the U.S. Army's Distinguished Service Medal and the French military awarded him the Legion of Honor, and the Croix de guerre. The U.S. Navy's Distinguished Service Medal was also conferred upon him when he returned to the United States.
Lejeune served as Commandant of the Marine Corps from 1920 to 1929. When he retired from the Marine Corps in 1929, he became Superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in Lexington, Virginia, serving in that post until 1937. General Lejeune married Ellie Harrison Murdaugh (1872-1953) in 1895, and they had three daughters. He was promoted to Lieutenant General after his retirement by the U.S. military.
General
 |
| UDC Cross of Honor Medal for World War I Veterans. |
As an outgrowth from the Southern Cross of Honor Medal created for members of the United Confederate Veterans (UCV), the UDC introduced the Cross of Honor Medal for World War One Veterans of Confederate descent in 1923.
The designer of the medal was Mr. Chester Beach who was recommended to the UDC by the Numismatic Society of New York. The design was the Cross of the Crusader bound by the Confederate Battle Flag to the Southern Cross of Honor. The inscription reads: "Fortes Creantur Fortibus" (The brave give birth to the brave). The Cross of Service was awarded under the rules of the Southern Cross of Honor to male descendants of Confederate soldiers who had served in WWI. The medals were available by application from the UDC and could carry a small bronze dolphin device on the ribbon to signify overseas service.
The UDC officially retired the award in 2011 and during its run the medal was given out to just over 5,600 known U.S. World War I veterans with Confederate ancestry.
No comments:
Post a Comment