A military dictionary

by William Duane

The Roman officer was rewarded for his services, or for particular acts of bravery in three ways: 1st. By marks of honor or distinction, which consisted of two sorts, viz. Of that which was merely ornamental to their own persons, or limited to the investiture for life; and of that which may be called rememorative, such as statues, &c. The latter descended to their posterity, and gave their families a certain rank in the republic. 2dly. By pensions or allowances, and 3dly. By a grant of lands which exceeded the lots given to private soldiers. These lands, the property of the veteran soldier, in process of time became objects of solicitude among the Patricians and rich men; they encroached upon them, and often excited foreign wars, in order to take away the citizens, and in their absence, engross their lands; this rapacity of the senators, was the true cause of the agrarian laws, which has generally been held up as a reproach to the injured and not to the oppressors, and the people in republics have been held forth as turbulent and inimical to personal property, because the people of Rome sought to recover the lands of which they had been despoiled by the avarice of the senate, and by an inordinate spirit of speculation.

The Franks, who got possession of the country which was formerly occupied by the Gauls, had, at first, no other method of recompensing their generals than by giving them a certain proportion of land. This grant did not exceed their natural lives, and sometimes it was limited to the time they remained in the service.

These usages insensibly changed, and by degrees it became customary for the children of such men as had received grants of national territory, to continue to enjoy them; upon condition, however, that the actual possessors of such lands should be liable to military service. Hence the origin of fiefs in France, and the consequent appellation of milice des fieffés, or militia, composed of men who held their lands on condition of bearing arms when called upon. The French armies were for many years constituted in this manner; and the custom of rendering military service in consideration of land tenure, only ceased under Charles the VIIth.

In process of time, those lands which had been originally bestowed upon men of military merit, descended to their children, and were gradually lost in the aggregate mass of inheritable property. Other means were consequently to be resorted to by the state, in order to satisfy the just claims of deserving officers and soldiers. The French, therefore, returned to the ancient custom of the Romans, and rewarded those, who distinguished themselves in war, by honorary marks of distinction.

Under the first race of French kings may be found several instances of men of obscure condition having, by their valor, obtained the rank and title of count, and even those of duke. These dignities, of themselves, entitled the bearers to places of high command in the armies. The title of knight, most especially of knight banneret, gave very high rank during the reign of Philip Augustus: and in the reigns of one or two of his predecessors, it was bestowed upon individuals who behaved in a distinguished manner in the field.

This species of reward did not cost the public any thing. It was bestowed upon the individual by the general of the army, and consisted in nothing more than a salute given by the latter on the field of battle, by which he became knight banneret, and was perfectly satisfied with the honor it conferred.

This mode of rewarding individuals for great actions or long services, continued until men inlisted themselves for money, and the army was regularly paid, according to the several ranks of those who composed it. At this period, however, it became expedient to have recourse to the second method which was adopted by the Romans to compensate individuals for services rendered to the state. The royal treasury was either subjected to the annual claims of individuals, or to the payment of a specific sum, for having eminently distinguished themselves under arms. Notwithstanding this, honorary rewards continued to be given, and the knighthood conferred in the field by the kiss or salute of a general, which the French style accolade, was practised until the 16th century:

It was usual, even during that century, to reward a soldier, who did a brave action, by some mark of distinction, that was given on the spot by a crown made of grass or other verdure, which was placed upon his head by his comrades, or by a gold ring, which his commanding officer put upon his finger in the presence of the whole troop or company to which he belonged. It sometimes happened, as in the reign of Francis the first, that this mark of distinction was given by the general of the army.

Several brave men have been distinguished with titles of nobility and armorial bearings, which were conferred by princes, in consequence of some singular feat or exploit. There have been instances recorded in the French history of extraordinary actions having been rewarded upon the spot by kings who commanded in person. A soldier of merit was peculiarly honored by Louis the XIth, for bravery and good conduct in the field. That monarch took the collar of a military order off his own neck, and placed it round the neck of Launay Morvillier, as a reward for great prowess and intrepidity.

Besides the gramineous crown and gold ring, which were thus given as marks of honor and distinction, the private soldiers were frequently rewarded by small sums of money when they performed any particular feat or act of bravery. They were likewise promoted from the ranks, and made serjeants or corporals.