The Medal of Honor

The Cheshire Historical Society is honored to have Eri Woodbury’s Medal of Honor on display at the Hitchcock-Phillips House. While it is illegal to purchase or sell a Medal of Honor, a Medal can be donated to a museum or historical society.

A battlefield decoration for valor was first proposed during the first year of the Civil War (1861) but was opposed by Lieutenant General Winfield Scott, the Commanding General of the United States Army. After Scott retired in October 1861, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles adopted the idea of a decoration to recognize and honor distinguished service.

As an aside, Gideon Welles was born in 1802 in Glastonbury, CT and was educated at the Episcopal Academy of Connecticut, now known as Cheshire Academy.

Over the years, both the standards for awarding the Medal of Honor and the design of the Medals have evolved.

Many Medals awarded during the Civil War were associated with "saving the flag", not just for patriotic reasons, but because the U.S. flag was a primary means of battlefield communication at the time. In fact, Eri Woodbury’s Medal was awarded in part because he had captured the 12th North Carolina regimental flag.

There are three distinct versions of the Medal: one for the Army, awarded to soldiers; one for the Navy, awarded to sailors, marines, and coast guardsmen; and one for the Air Force, awarded to airmen and Space Force guardians. A separate Coast Guard Medal of Honor was authorized in 1963, but has not yet been designed or awarded.

National Medal of Honor Day was created by Congress in 1990, to honor all recipients of the Medal of Honor and commemorate the six character traits exhibited by Medal of Honor recipients: courage, sacrifice, patriotism, citizenship, integrity, and commitment. It was first observed in 1991. This date was chosen because the first Medal of Honor was awarded on March 25, 1863.

Memorials

Cheshire has a Medal of Honor Plaza and Living Classroom, located in Bartlem Park. It includes three distinct elements, which were installed over a three-year span, beginning in 1996.

In 1996, the project was dedicated and six special seedlings were planted. These seedlings came from trees at historic sites from around the United States. Specifically, they are descendants of Connecticut’s own Charter Oak, the Nathan Hale Homestead Red Oak, Gettysburg Honey Locust, Washington Crossing Maple, Mount Vernon Sycamore, and the Valley Forge River Birch. Living Classrooms are a joint effort between the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and the National Historic Tree Society, and are only available to towns that are home to a Medal of Honor recipient.

In 1997, the 50-foot-wide commemorative brick star was completed. It consists of 2500 bricks. More than 400 of these bricks are inscribed with veterans’ names.

Finally, in 1998, the central stone monument, designed by Jerry R. Lodynsky, was unveiled. The black granite monument lists the major wars in which the United States fought and is inscribed with the names of Cheshire’s two Medal of Honor recipients, Eri Woodbury, and Harvey Barnum, Jr.

Two granite benches, inscribed with Woodbury and Barnum’s names, were later installed as an Eagle Scout project.

If you are interested in learning more about the Medal of Honor, you may want to check out the following websites: