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Medal Name: Victories of Chippewa, Niagara, and Erie
Struck for: Major-General Jacob Brown
Approval: Act of Congress November 3, 1814
OBVERSE
MAJOR GENERAL JACOB BROWN.
Bust of General Brown, in uniform, facing the right.
REVERSE
RESOLUTION OF CONGRESS NOVEMBER 3. 1814.
In the center of a trophy, composed of the enemy's arms and flags, are the Roman fasces, emblem of the strength and of the union of America.
The fasces are surrounded by a crown of laurel, from which hang three cartoons, each bearing the name of one of the three victories: "NIAGARA" "ERIE" "CHIPPEWA".
At the foot of the trophy the American eagle, with outspread wings, holds in its talons a British standard.
Exergue: BATTLES OF CHIPPEWA. JULY 5. 1814. NIAGARA. JULY 25. 1814. ERIE. SEP. (September) 17. 1814
BACKGROUND
Jacob Brown was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, May 9, 1775. He began life as a school teacher, and afterward became a land surveyor in Ohio. He removed to Jefferson County, New York, in 1799; was made a colonel of New York militia, 1809; a brigadier-general of the same, 1810; and distinguished himself by his defence of Sackett's Harbor, May 29, 1813. He was appointed a brigadier-general in the United States army, July 19, 1813; major-general, January 24, 1814; and, in the same year, commander-in-chief on the Canada frontier. In this capacity he won the battles of Chippewa, July 5; Niagara, July 25; and Erie, September 17. For these victories Congress gave him a vote of thanks and a gold medal. He became commander-in-chief of the army in 1821, and died at headquarters in Washington, February 24, 1828.
Resolution of Congress Voting Voting Medals to Generals Brown, Scott, Porter, Gaines, Macomb, Ripley, and Mille
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled: That the thanks of Congress be, and they are hereby, presented to Major General Brown, and through him, to the officers and men of the regular army, and of the militia under his command, for their gallantry and good conduct in the successive battles of Chippewa, Niagara, and Erie, in Upper Canada, in which British veteran troops were beaten and repulsed by equal or inferior numbers; and that the President of the United States be requested to cause a gold medal to be struck, emblematical of these triumphs, and presented to Major-General Brown.
Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to cause a gold medal to be struck, with suitable emblems and devices, and presented to Major-General Scott, in testimony of the high sense entertained by Congress of his distinguished services in the successive conflicts of Chippewa and Niagara,and of his uniform gallantry and good conduct in sustaining the reputation of the arms of the United States.
Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to cause gold medals to be struck, with suitable emblems and devices, and presented to Brigadier-General Ripley, Brigadier-General Miller, and Major-General Porter, in testimony of the high sense entertained by Congress of their gallantry and good conduct in the several conflicts of Chippewa, Niagara, and Erie.
Resolved, That the thanks of Congress be, and they are hereby, presented to Major-General Gaines, and through him to the officers and men under his command, for their gallantry and good conduct in defeating the enemy at Erie on the fifteenth of August, repelling with great slaughter the attack of a British veteran army, superior in numbers; and that the President of the United States be requested to cause a gold medal to be struck, emblematical of this triumph, and presented to Major-General Gaines.
Resolved, That the thanks of Congress be, and they are hereby, presented to Major-General Macomb, and through him to the officers and men of the regular army under his command, and to the militia and volunteers of New York and Vermont, for their gallantry and good conduct, in defeating the enemy at Plattsburgh on the eleventh of September, repelling with one thousand five hundred men, aided by a body of militia and volunteers from New York and Vermont, a British veteran army, greatly superior in number; and that the President of the United States be requested to cause a gold medal to be struck, emblematical of this triumph, and presented to Major-General Macomb.
Approved November 3, 1814.
Source: The Medallic History of the United States of America 1776-1876 by J. F. Loubat, LL.D. (1878)
