The Commemorative medal of the 1859 Italian Campaign (french: Médaille commémorative de la campagne d'Italie de 1859) was a French commemorative medal established by Napoleon III, following the 1859 French campaign in Italy during the

Second Italian War of Independence The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Franco-Austrian War, the Austro-Sardinian War or Italian War of 1859 ( it, Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana; french: Campagne d'Italie), was fought by the Second French Empire and t ...

. Early in 1815, there was a powerful popular movement in favour of national unification throughout the Italian peninsula. This idea, championed by the

King of Sardinia The following is a list of rulers of Sardinia, in particular, of the monarchs of the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica from 1323 and then of the Kingdom of Sardinia from 1479 to 1861. Early history Owing to the absence of written sources, little ...

Victor Emmanuel II Victor Emmanuel II ( it, Vittorio Emanuele II; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was King of Sardinia from 1849 until 17 March 1861, when he assumed the title o ...

, was opposed by Pope Pius IX and the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence ...

who occupied the provinces of Lombardy and

Veneto it, Veneto (man) it, Veneta (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...

. In Europe, Italian unification was only supported by Emperor

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

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 it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

being invaded by 100,000 Austrian soldiers on April 26, 1859, France declared war on the

on May 3, 1859. In spite of the lack of preparation of the French army, the soldiers, alongside their

and Sardinian allies were to illustrate themselves in several famous battles, including that of

Magenta Magenta () is a color that is variously defined as pinkish- purplish- red, reddish-purplish-pink or mauvish-crimson. On color wheels of the RGB (additive) and CMY (subtractive) color models, it is located exactly midway between red and blu ...

on June 4, which allowed Napoleon III and Victor Emmanuel II to enter triumphantly in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

on 8 June. Then, on June 24, the Franco-Piedmontese forces took the village of

Solferino Solferino ( Upper Mantovano: ) is a small town and municipality in the province of Mantua, Lombardy, northern Italy, approximately south of Lake Garda. It is best known as being close to the site of the Battle of Solferino on 24 June 1859, par ...

after a terrible battle culminating in an armistice signed at

Villafranca Villafranca (Basque: ''Alesbes'') is a town and municipality located in the province and the autonomous community (Comunidad Foral) of Navarre, northern Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo ...

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 Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

Achille Baraguey d'Hilliers Louis-Achille Baraguey d'Hilliers (6 September 1795 – 6 June 1878), 1st Comte Baraguey d'Hilliers, was a Marshal of France and politician. Baraguey d'Hilliers was born in Paris, the son of the French revolutionary general Louis Baraguey d'H ...

and

François Certain de Canrobert ) is most senior serving (oldest or responsible) and leading figure in a particular function of society (religious, education, diplomatical, governmental). In this case, the Dean is referring to de Canrobert, at the époque, as the most senior fi ...

, Generals

Patrice de Mac-Mahon Marie Edme Patrice Maurice de MacMahon, marquis de MacMahon, duc de Magenta (; 13 June 1808 – 17 October 1893) was a French general and politician, with the distinction of Marshal of France. He served as Chief of State of France from 1873 to 1 ...

Adolphe Niel Adolphe Niel (4 October 180213 August 1869) was a French Army general and statesman. He was born at Muret, Haute-Garonne and entered the École Polytechnique in 1821. Niel entered the engineer school at Metz, became lieutenant in the Engineer ...

and

Auguste Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angély Auguste Michel Étienne Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angély, later 2nd Count Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angély (30 July 1794, Paris – 1 February 1870 Cannes) was a Marshal of France, soldier and politician. Biography Auguste was the illegitimate son ...

. 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.

Award statute

The Commemorative medal of the 1859 Italian Campaign was awarded by the Emperor, on propositions of the ministers for war and for the navy, to all soldiers, sailors and other military and support personnel of the French forces who took part in the 1859 Italian Campaign. All recipients also received a certificate of award. A later imperial decree dated 24 October 1859 confirmed that all recipients were to adhere to the code of conduct as set by the Imperial decree of 18 March 1852 under the authority of the Grand chancellor of the

Legion of honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

. A revised list of all French naval units who participated in the campaign was submitted on 18 February 1860 resulting in a 22 March 1860 amendment to the disposition of the award to navy recipients.

Award description

The Commemorative medal of the 1859 Italian Campaign, a work of Albert Désiré Barre, was a 30 mm in diameter circular silver medal. Its obverse bore the left profile of Emperor Napoleon III crowned with a laurel wreath surrounded by the relief inscription "NAPOLEON III" "EMPEREUR" (English: "NAPOLEON III" "EMPEROR"). A 4 mm wide relief laurel wreath ran along the entire circumference of both the obverse and reverse of the medal. On the reverse, within the laurel wreath, the circular relief inscription CAMPAGNE D'ITALIE 1859 (English: ITALIAN CAMPAIGN 1859). At the centre, the relief inscription on six lines of the campaign's major battles MONTEBELLO,

PALESTRO Palestro is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Pavia. It is located on the banks of the river Sesia. History Although located in area settled by Celts, Etruscans, ancient Rome, Romans and Lombards, Palestro is mentioned for the first time ...

TURBIGO Turbigo ( Milanese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about west of Milan, along the Naviglio Grande canal. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 7,486 and an area of . Tu ...

MAGENTA Magenta () is a color that is variously defined as pinkish- purplish- red, reddish-purplish-pink or mauvish-crimson. On color wheels of the RGB (additive) and CMY (subtractive) color models, it is located exactly midway between red and blu ...

, MARIGNAN,

SOLFERINO Solferino ( Upper Mantovano: ) is a small town and municipality in the province of Mantua, Lombardy, northern Italy, approximately south of Lake Garda. It is best known as being close to the site of the Battle of Solferino on 24 June 1859, par ...

. The medal hung from a 36 mm wide silk moiré ribbon bearing six 4 mm wide red stripes and five 2 mm wide white stripes. A variant bearing the imperial crown as an integral part of the suspension ring is called variant of the "100 guards" (French: Cent-Gardes).

Notable recipients (partial list)

Philip Kearny Philip Kearny Jr. (; June 1, 1815 – September 1, 1862) was a United States Army officer, notable for his leadership in the Mexican–American War and American Civil War. He was killed in action in the 1862 Battle of Chantilly. Early life and c ...

(first American to receive the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

) * 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

References

External links

Museum of the Legion of Honour
(in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Commemorative medal of the 1859 Italian Campaign Military awards and decorations of France Awards established in 1859 1859 establishments in France French campaign medals Second Italian War of Independence France–Italy military relations

Award statute

Award description

Notable recipients (partial list)

See also

References

External links