Great Seal >Peace > Indian Medals
Indian Peace Medals
During George Washington's presidency, several styles of these medals were created and given to Indian leaders. The Great Seal was on the reverse side. The front showed Washington and an Indian smoking a pipe of peace.
The most celebrated medal was the large silver one presented to Seneca Chief Red Jacket in 1792 by President Washington in Philadelphia. A descendent of Red Jacket said in 1851, the medal was evidence of "the bond of perpetual peace and friendship established and entered into between the people of the United States and the Six Nations of Indians at the time of its presentation."
It became the prototype of the large Washington oval medals engraved on plates of silver for the years 1792 to 1795. The largest medals were nearly 5 x 7 inches and the smallest about 4 x 5 inches.
Giving such medals "has been an ancient custom from time immemorial. The medals are considered as complimentary things, as marks of friendship to those who come to see us, or who do us good offices, conciliatory of their good will towards us... They confer no power, and seem to have taken their origin in the European practice of giving medals... to the negotiators of treaties." – Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State (1793)
These are among the finest realizations ever created of the Great Seal of the United States, because they are accurately based on its official description:
- The constellation of stars is in a random pattern.
- The rays of light (glory) are "breaking through the cloud."
- The bundle of arrows is relatively tight as sketched by Charles Thomson (not splayed like today).
The 1795 medal (above right) has 15 stars instead of 13 because of the admission of Vermont and Kentucky into the Union.
George Washington – Patriæ Pater, Father of His Country
Reference: Indian Peace Medals in American History by Francis Paul Prucha, 1971.
See political drawings of peace.
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