Page:The Book of Orders of Knighthood and Decorations of Honour of All Nations.djvu/582

Rh 7. The right of nomination is vested in the Crown of Saxony, though the opinion and recommendation of the commanding Generals is each time taken into consideration on the subject.

This military Order is instituted solely for superior officers in the Saxon service, without regard to religious persuasion, birth, or length of service. Its sole claim rests on merit, or distinction in the field, added to loyalty to the King and devotion to the country: no officer is allowed to petition for it.

In promotions, the Knights Grand Cross are selected from the class of Commanders, and the latter from that of the Knights, so that no one can be admitted to a higher class without having first belonged to the inferior. Promotion, as stated above, depends solely on renewed distinction, without regard to seniority in years or service, The Grand Cross is, however, strictly limited to Lieutenant-Generals who have commanded a corps in the field, while the Commander-Cross, first class, is confined to Lieutenant-Generals, or Major-Generals who have commanded a brigade in the field, and that of the second class Commanders is reserved for staff-officers who have acted as such in a campaign.

With this Order, are connected as a fifth class, the gold and silver medals of military merit, which were first instituted on the 17th of March, 1796, for sub-officers and men. They are usually distributed on the field of battle, on the recommendation of the Commander-in-Chief.

These medals bear on the obverse the portrait of the founder with the usual inscription, and on the reverse a garland adorned with arms, and within it the words: 'Verdienst um das Vaterland' (Merit of the fatherland). They are worn at the second button-hole, suspended by a blue ribbon with yellow stripes at the borders, but narrower by one-third than that of the Order of St. Henry, The gold medal can only be granted to those