Page:The Book of Orders of Knighthood and Decorations of Honour of All Nations.djvu/494

Rh 3. and 4. Distinction in Service—On the 18th June, (the anniversary of the battle of Waterloo), 1825, King Frederick William III. founded:

a. A golden cross for officers who had served twenty-five years, bearing on the obverse the crowned initials: ' F. W. II.' and on the reverse the number 'XXV.' It is worn on the left breast suspended by a blue ribbon. (Tab. IV. No. 23).

b. Buckles with the initials 'F. W. III.' worn on the left breast by sub-officers and privates, suspended by a blue ribbon with yellow borders, for twenty-one years' service. (Tab. IV., No. 24), by a blue ribbon with white and blue borders for fifteen years' service, (Tab. IV. No. 25), and by a blue ribbon with black borders for nine years' service. (Tab. IV. No. 26). Years of war count double.

5. Medal for Military Merit in 1793, was founded on the 14th of June, 1793, by Frederick William II. for the military who had distinguished themselves in that campaign. It is of gold for officers, and of silver for sub-officers and privates. The obverse shows the initials of the King with a crown above, and the year '1793' below, and the reverse, the inscription within a laurel wreath: ' Verdienst um den Staat' (Merit of the State). It is worn suspended by a black ribbon. (Tab. IV. No. 20).

6. The Silver Medal of Military Merit, or the Military Decoration, second class.— King Frederick William III. founded on the 30th September, 1806, a gold and silver medal as a military decoration of honour for the soldiers who might distinguish themselves by valour in the pending war. The first distinction was to be rewarded by the silver, and the second by the gold medal. By a government ordinance, however, of the 27th March, 1807, it was determined that he who should capture a General, a cannon, or a standard, should receive the gold Medal of Merit, with the additional