Davis Guards Medal
The Davis Guards Medal was a military award presented by the citizens of Houston to each of the participants a few weeks after the battle of Sabine Pass (September 8, 1863). Father Quesart, in charge of the Catholic Church in Houston during the American Civil War, started the project by popular subscription. These hand-engraved medals are the only medals known to be presented to Confederate soldiers during the Civil War.
Davis Guards Medal
- Name
- Davis Guards Medal
- Field
- military decoration
- Period
- 1863
- Region
- Confederate States of America
- Related practice
- silver
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
The Davis Guards Medal was a military award presented by the citizens of Houston to each of the participants a few weeks after the battle of Sabine Pass (September 8, 1863). Father Quesart, in charge of the Catholic Church in Houston during the American Civil War, started the project by popular subscription. These hand-engraved medals are the only medals known to be presented to Confederate soldiers during the Civil War.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Davis Guards Medal. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q40889867 · wikipedia · Davis Guards Medal
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Davis Guards Medal • Presenter — the citizens of Houston • Country — Confederate States • Type — Campaign medal • Eligibility — Members of Company F (Davis Guards), 1st (Cook's) Texas Heavy Artillery Regiment; Second Lieutenant N. W. Smith, Engineer Corps; and Assistant Surgeon George H. Bailey • Awarded For — The defense of Sabine Pass, Texas • Campaign — Joint Federal Expedition to Sabine Pass, Texas (September 7–8, 1863)
History
History
The Davis Guards Medal was presented by the citizens of Houston a few weeks after the battle of Sabine Pass (September 8, 1863) to the members of Company F (Davis Guards), 1st (Cook's) Texas Heavy Artillery Regiment; Second Lieutenant N. W. Smith, Engineer Corps; and Assistant Surgeon George H. Bailey. Some time later, President Jefferson Davis also visited that locality, and the Davis Guards had another medal made and presented it to him.
Appearance
Appearance
The obverse of the Davis Guards Medal consisted of a Mexican silver dollar, each side smoothed off and engraved like a love token with the letters " D G ", below which is a rude cross of the form known as cross pattée. The reverse of the medal bore the inscription in three lines " Sabine Pass " / " Sept. 8th " / " 1863 " in cursive script. Border, on each side, a line, about one-eighth of an inch from the edge, from which groups of oblique lines extend to the edge. Loop for suspension.
Museum exhibitions and displays
Museum exhibitions and displays
Four of the medals are known to exist. These are on display at the American Civil War Museum, Bullock Museum, and Texas Military Forces Museum, and The Bryan Museum.
Recipients
Recipients
Below is a list of recipients of the Davis Guards Medal. On February 8, 1864, all members of the artillery company also received the "thanks of Congress." • Patrick Abbott • George H. Bailey • Michael Carr • Abner R. Carter • Patrick Clair • James Corcoran • Hugh Deagan • Michael Delaney • Thomas Daughtery • Jefferson Davis (Honorary) • John A. Drummond • Daniel Donovan • Richard W. Dowling • Michael Eagan • David Fitzgerald • Patrick Fitzgerald • James Fleming • John Flood • William Gleason • John Hassott • James Higgins • Timothy Hurley • John Hennessey • Thomas Hagerty • Timothy Huggins • William Hardin • W. L. Jett • Patrick Malone • Thomas McKernon • John McKeever • Alexander McCabe • Timothy McDonough • Patrick McDonnell • John McGrath • John McNealis • Daniel McMurray • Michael Monoghan • Richard O'Hara • Laurence Plunkett • Edward Pritchard • Maurice Powers • Charles Rheins • N. W. Smith • Thomas Sullivan • Michael Sullivan • Patrick Sullivan • Matthew Walsh • Jack W. White • John Wesley • Joseph Wilson
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Davis Guards Medal”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q40889867: Davis Guards Medal
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Davis Guards Medal. Bullock Texas State History Museum.
- 2.Heroes of Sabine Pass. The Galveston Daily News. LIV. 54. 3. May 17, 1895.
- 3.Belden, Bauman L. War Medals of the Confederacy. American Journal of Numismatics. American Numismatic Society. 48. 195–204. 1914. 43587815.
- 4.Davis Guards Medal. Bullock Texas State History Museum.
- 5.U.S. War Department, comp. War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I–Volume XXVI–In Two Parts. Part I. Government Printing Office. 915. 1889.
- 6.Michael Carr. Texas State Cemetery.
- 7.John Flood. Texas State Cemetery.
- 8.William Hardin. Texas State Cemetery.
- 9.Thomas Sullivan. Texas State Cemetery.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Medals
1,069 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Czechoslovak War Cross 1918Terminology
- Danie Theron MedalTerminology
- Dardanelles campaign medalTerminology
- Darjah Utama Bakti CemerlangTerminology
- De Wet DecorationTerminology
- Decoration for Merit in GoldTerminology
- Decoration for Officers of the Royal Naval ReserveTerminology
- Decoration of the Cross of Honour of the DannebrogTerminology
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own an object connected with Davis Guards Medal?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.