Type Commemorative medal Status Obsolete Total awarded 8 gold, 25 silver | Awarded for Perils encountered Established September 30, 1890 | |
Eligibility Officers and men of the Jeannette Expedition | ||
The Jeannette Medal is a Congressional Gold Medal awarded in 1890 to officers and crew of the Jeannette Expedition. Silver versions where also struck.
The statute awarding the medal (51st Congress, 26 Stat. 552) promoted Chief Engineer George W. Melville one grade in rank and read:
That suitable medals be struck at the United States Mint in commemoration of the perils encountered by the officers and men of the said Jeannette Arctic Expedition, and as an expression of the high esteem in which the Congress holds their services in the said expedition; and that one of the said medals be presented to each of the survivors of said expedition, and one to the heirs of each of the deceased members.
Recipients
8 gold and 25 silver medals were struck, in decoration form (unusual for a Congressional Gold Medal, which are normally presented as a non-portable table medal) and distributed as follows (those reported deceased in italics):
It is unclear what precedence the medal took on a military uniform, though an undated photograph shows Melville wearing it in the senior position.