Great Moments in American History

I give you Sgt. Elijah Churchill:

The logo for Elijah Churchill's Public House is the original

"Badge of Military Merit",

also known as;

the Purple Heart of the American Revolution

On August 7, 1782, General George Washington issued the following general order:

"The General, ever desirous to cherish a virtuous ambition in his soldiers, as well as to foster and encourage every species of Military merit, directs that whenever any singularly meritorious action is performed, the author of it shall be permitted to wear on his facings, over his left breast,.the figure of a heart in purple cloth, edged with a narrow lace or binding. Not only instances of unusual gallantry, but also of extraordinary fidelity and essential service in any way shall meet with due reward.

"Before this favor can be conferred on any man, the particular fact, or facts, on which it is grounded must be set forth to the Commander-in-chief accompanied with certificates from the commanding officers of the regiment and brigade to which the candidate for reward belonged, or other incontestable proof, and upon granting it,.the name of the regiment of the person with the action so certified are to be enrolled in the book of merit which will be kept at the orderly office.

"Men who have merited this last distinction to be suffered to pass all guards and sentinels which officers are permitted to do. The road to glory in a patriot army and a free country is thus opened to all -- this order is also to have retrospect to the earliest stages of the war."

As far as is known only three men were ever awarded this Badge of Military Merit. They were Sergeant Elijah Churchill of Enfield, CT, a member of the 2nd Continental Dragoons, Sergeant Daniel Brown of Stamford, CT a member of the 5th Connecticut Regiment Continental Line, and Sergeant Daniel Bissell of East Windsor, CT, a member of the 2nd Connecticut Regiment Continental Line.

The first Badge of Military Merit ("a heart of purple cloth with a narrow lace or binding") was awarded to 26 year old Sergeant Elijah Churchill of Enfield, Connecticut, a member of the Fourth Troop of the Second Continental Dragoons. They were led by Major Benjamin Tallmadge of Brookhaven, Long Island, a 1773 graduate of Yale College.

On the afternoon of November 21st, 1780, Sergeant Churchill accompanied Major Tallmadge with a party of 50 - 80 dismounted dragoons in a raid against a supply depot on Long Island. After crossing Long Island Sound at night in eight whaleboats they landed on a deserted shore but were held up by a storm. They marched to Fort St. George at Mastic, at dawn on the 23rd.

The fort was a triangular enclosure which held several acres. At two angles were fortified houses and at the third, a strong redoubt, 96 feet square with bastions, a deep moat, and an abatis. The fort was connected to the houses by 12-foot high stockades. Sergeant Churchill was in charge of one of the three attacking parties. At dawn the invaders rammed their way through the stockade. Shouting "Washington and Glory," they ran across the parade ground and stormed the redoubt from 3 sides. The fort was quickly taken, 300 prisoners were captured, and the fort was destroyed. Several heavily laden vessels at the wharf were burned and over three hundred tons of hay were burned at a depot in nearby Coram.

On October 2nd 1781 Churchill took part in a second raid, crossing the sound from Compo Point in Westport with a force of 100 men from his 2nd Continental Dragoons and from the 5th Connecticut Infantry Regiment. Their objective was the British outpost at Fort Slongo, near present day Northport. Fort Slongo was an embankment forming a hollow 50-foot square, constructed of trees set perpendicularly and filled with earth. It was a notorious rendezvous for Tories and Loyalists, with a usual compliment of 80 - 140 men who frequently raided neighboring farms, seizing stores of produce and cattle. The successful attack resulted in the destruction of a quantity of artillery, small arms and ammunition. Sergeant Churchill was the only one wounded in the raid which captured 21 prisoners.

The order conferring the Badge of Military Merit to Sergeant Churchill reads in part:

General Washington Esquire

General and Commander in Chief of the Forces

of the United States of America, etc., etc.

That Sergeant Elijah Churchill of the 2nd Regiment of Light Dragoons, in the several enterprises against Fort St. George and Fort Slongo on Long Island, acted in a very conspicuous and singularly meritorious part; that at the head of each body of attack he not only acquitted himself with great gallantry, firmness, and address; but that the surprise in one instance, and the success of the attack in the other, proceeded in a considerable degree from his conduct and management;..."

"Now therefore Know Ye, that the aforesaid Sergeant Elijah Churchill, hath fully and truly deserved, and has been properly invested with the Honorary Badge of Military Merit, and is authorized to pass and repass all guards and military posts as fully and amply as any Commissioned Officer whatever; and is hereby recommended to that favorable notice which a Brave and Faithful Soldier deserves from his countrymen.