Commemorative medal of the 1859 Italian Campaign

In Europe, Italian unification was only supported by Emperor Napoleon III of the French Empire who, on 28 January 1859, based on the clauses of the Treaty of Turin, decided to bring aid and support from France. Piedmont being invaded by 100,000 Austrian soldiers on April 26, 1859, France declared war on the Austrian Empire on May 3, 1859. In spite of the lack of preparation of the French army, the soldiers, alongside their Piedmont and Sardinian allies were to illustrate themselves in several famous battles, including that of Magenta on June 4, which allowed Napoleon III and Victor Emmanuel II to enter triumphantly in Milan on 8 June. Then, on June 24, the Franco-Piedmontese forces took the village of Solferino after a terrible battle culminating in an armistice signed at Villafranca on July 12. The French forces, composed of an army of 120,000 men, were commanded by the Emperor and placed under the orders of Marshals Achille Baraguey d'Hilliers and François Certain de Canrobert, Generals Patrice de Mac-Mahon, Adolphe Niel and Auguste Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angély. During the three-month campaign, French losses amounted to 8,000 dead and 40,000 wounded. To reward all participants and ensure the memory of this glorious military campaign, the Commemorative Medal of the Italian Campaign was created by Imperial Decree on August 11, 1859. Nearly 120,000 medals were awarded to reward all soldiers and sailors who participated in the Italian campaign of 1859.

• Name — Commemorative medal of the 1859 Italian Campaign • Presenter — the France French Second Empire • Type — Campaign medal • Eligibility — French soldiers • Awarded For — Combat service in Italy in 1859 • Status — No longer awarded • Established — 11 August 1859 • Firstawarded — 11 August 1859 • Lastawarded — 1859 • Higher — Saint Helena Medal • Lower — Commemorative medal of the 1860 China Expedition • Image2 Size — 100px • Caption2 — Ribbon bar • Illustration — Commemorative medal of the 1859 Italian Campaign, crowned variant • Illustration — General Victor Février, a recipient of the Commemorative medal of the 1859 Italian Campaign • Illustration — General Alexandre Montaudon, a recipient of the Commemorative medal of the 1859 Italian Campaign

• Philip Kearny (first American to receive the Legion of Honour) • General Giacomo Medici • General Pierre Louis Charles de Failly • General François Achille Bazaine • Enrico Cosenz • General Jean-Baptiste Alexandre Montaudon • General Enrico Morozzo Della Rocca • Major Pierre-Frédéric Péchin • Colonel Luigi Pelloux • Colonel François Henri Guiot de La Rochère • General Émile Herbillon • Colonel Pierre Émile Arnaud Édouard de Colbert-Chabannais • General Élie Frédéric Forey • Doctor Frédéric Audemard d'Alançon • General Teodoro Lechi • Lieutenant Vitalis Pacha • Colonel Alfred Frédéric Philippe Auguste Napoléon Ameil • General Giuseppe Dezza • General Adolphe Niel • General Jean César Graziani • General Gustave Olivier Lannes de Montebello • General Justin Clinchant • Felice Napoleone Canevaro • General Armand Alexandre de Castagny

The canonical record carries the following identifying particulars. Institutional cataloguing adds that commemorative medal of the 1859 Italian Campaign is recorded from 1859. It is also recorded that commemorative medal of the 1859 Italian Campaign is associated with France.