The West Indies Campaign Medal was a United States military medal of the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

and

Marine Corps Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included raiding ashore (often in supp ...

issued for service in the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

campaign theater of the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

. The medal was established on 27 June 1908 and the first recipient of the award was

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

John E. Pillsbury John Elliott Pillsbury (15 December 1846 – 30 December 1919) was a Rear admiral (United States), Rear Admiral in the United States Navy. Biography Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, Pillsbury was appointed midshipman in 1862 and commissioned a ...

Design

The medal was designed by

Bailey Banks & Biddle Bailey Banks & Biddle was a retailer of jewelry and designer of US medals that was formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1832. History Bailey & Kitchen, as it was originally known, was founded at 136 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, on Septe ...

and resembled the Navy version of the

Spanish Campaign Medal The Spanish Campaign Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces which recognized those men of the U.S. military who had served in the Spanish–American War. Although a single decoration, there were two versions of the Spanish ...

both featuring the Morro fortress at the entrance to the Havana harbor.

Award criteria

To be awarded the West Indies Campaign Medal, a service member must have performed sea duty in the West Indies between 1 May 1898 and 16 August 1898. The award was a one time decoration only and there were no devices authorized for multiple engagements or combat participation. The decoration was rarely bestowed, since most Navy and Marine Corps personnel received the

Sampson Medal The Sampson Medal was a U.S. Navy campaign medal. The medal was authorized by an Act of Congress in 1901. The medal was awarded to those personnel who served on ships in the fleet of Rear Admiral William T. Sampson during combat operations in t ...

for West Indies service, and Navy regulations prohibited the bestowal of both the Sampson Medal and West Indies Campaign Medal for the same period of duty.

Obsolescence

The West Indies Campaign Medal was declared obsolete by the U.S. Navy in 1913, following a diplomatic request by Spain that the United States discontinue service medals which displayed Spain's national colors. As a result, those who had previously received the West Indies Campaign Medal were permitted to exchange the decoration for the

References

{{Authority control United States campaign medals Military awards and decorations of the Spanish–American War 1908 establishments in the United States Awards established in 1908 Spanish West Indies Military history of the Caribbean