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America Joins The Allies Medal

Period1917

MediumBronze

Dimensions0.19 × 2.63 in. (0.5 × 6.7 cm)

SignedThe artist's signature and date appear on the medal's obverse along the far left edge, reading "Rene Gregoire / Paris 1917." On the reverse, the artist's monogram "RG" appears at the far left edge by the figure of Columbia. The cornucopia mark of the Paris Mint and "BRONZE" are stamped along the rim edge of the medal.

ClassificationsThe Robert Hartshorne World War I Collection

Credit LineGift of Mary Minturn Adams in memory of her Hartshorne Ancestors, 2018

Object number2018.10.20.15

DescriptionA circular medal of struck bronze, with the obverse featuring a bust image of President Woodrow Wilson (1856 - 1924), flanked on the left by a torch labeled "LIBERTE" and on the right by a fasces bundle labeled "DROIT." Below Wilson is the word "WILSON," and below is depicted the American eagle. Along the edge of the obverse are forty five-pointed stars. On the reverse, allegorical figures Britannia (Great Britain) and Marianne (France) greet Columbia (America) to the battlefield. In the far left background is Reims cathedral in flames. Below the figures is the inscription "Le Droit est plus precieux que / la Paix...Nous nousbattons / pour la Liberte." The medal is accompanied by an early display stand of pale blue velvet covered cardboard, with a shallow circular depression to accomodate the medal and a hinged easel tab on the back of the frame panel.
Curatorial RemarksThis medal was designed to commemorate the Unites States' entry into World War One on 6 April 1917. President Woodrow Wilson was determined to keep America out of the European conflict, and in fact one of the slogans for his 1916 second term was "He kept us out of the war." The sinking of the Lusitania in April 1915, and Germany's reinstatement of unrestricted submarine warfare in early 1917 were two major reasons the United States joined the war. The reverse of the medal depicts allegorical figures Britannia and Marianne welcoming Columbia onto the war-torn battlefield. To underscore the brutality and destruction of the conflict, the Cathedral of Reims burns in the background. Notre Dame de Reims, built between 1211 and 1427, was the site of the coronation of numerous French kings and was considered a jewel of Gothic architecture. Early in the war, German troops occupied the French city of Reims between September 4 and 12 1914. Forced to withdraw, German artillery lobbed over 24 shells directly at the structure, setting its oaken roof timbers aflame. What the 1914 shelling and resulting fire did not destroy, subsequent German bombardments in April of 1917 and July of 1918 did. Artist Rene Gregoire was born in France in 1918. He studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and was influenced by the great French sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840 - 1917).NotesThis medal was collected by Robert Hartshorne during his service in the First World War. Hartshorne joined the American Red Cross in 1916. His association with that organization apparently put him in touch with the American Committee for Devastated France, which intended to introduce modern American farming methods in those battlefield areas heavily damaged near Rheims. Hartshorne arrived in France in May of 1918 and returned to the United States at the end of December the same year. Hartshorne collected numerous medals, uniform insignia, and souvenirs commemorating his time abroad. For a more complete biography of Robert Hartshorne, please see the portrait miniature of Robert Hartshorne (accession number 2018.10.9).

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