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the grace of God) that continued on the reverse: DOMN STZPINITOR A TOATZ ЦARA ROMANEASCZ (ruler of the entire Wallachia). The center of the reverse (Figure 2) has on four lines: ПENTRU / DESTOINIЧIE / ШI OSARDIE / 1851 (For skill and perseverance 1851). Above the text is engraved the Eye of Providence, a symbol used by both the Freemasons and the local Orthodox Church (also found of the United States one dollar bill). Under the text is an oak branch merged with a palm branch. We don’t know how many of these medals were minted, but two genuine examples are preserved in the collections of museums in Bucharest. The color of the ribbon is unknown.

The text on the medal suggests it was meant to reward special merit, but nothing else is known about it. The medal is not mentioned at all in the correspondence of Barbu Stirbei in the documents from his reign at the National Archives or in the history books dedicated to him. We can only guess that Stirbei wanted to establish it in secret in order not to provoke the Russians and the Turks.Perhaps he planned to wait for a favorable moment that never came, as Wallachia was again occupied by foreign armies at the beginning of the Crimean War in 1853 and the prince had to flee the country. Judging from the style and execution of the medal, it was perhaps minted in one of the German-speaking countries, possibly in Vienna or Berlin. A partial list of awards received by Barbu Stirbei includes the Russian Order of St. Anne 1st Class and 2nd Class, the Russian Order of St. Stanislas 2nd Class, the Commander Class of the Order of Nisam-i-Iftihar, and the Medjidie Order 1st Class o, the 1st Class of the Greek Order of the Redeemer. No doubt the tradition and prestige of these orders inspired his attempt to establish a national medal. These efforts would be continued by Cuza and Carol I. Even if it represents just an unofficial obscure project,

the history of Romanian orders and medals starts in 1851 with the Medal of Skill and Perseverance.

The attempts of Alexandru Ioan Cuza to establish a national award system

In January 1859, the Romanian principalities of Wallachia and Moldova were united against the wishes of the Great Powers by the election of Alexandru Ioan Cuza as prince in both states. Right after this double election, Cuza resumed the efforts of Barbu Stirbei to found a national award. Even if no awards were officially awarded during Cuza’s reign (1859-1866) he established the first official Romanian medal (Pro Virtute Militari) that became the first to be awarded after his abdication. Cuza’s other projects were the core of the national system still in use today. A total of six awards and projects are known from the time of Alexandru Ioan Cuza. The Order of the Golden Sheaf (1859)

From the first year of his rule in the United Principalities, Cuza tried to exercise the right of an independent sovereign to mint coins and grant awards. He sent Victor Place (French consul in the Moldavian capital of Iasi and a good friend of the prince) to Paris to secure a credit for the United Principalities that was to be used to produce coins and medals in one of the Paris mints. The consul managed to get a credit of 60000 francs with a favorable interest rate, but the loan was rejected by the Moldavian Chamber of Deputies.

However, the project of establishing an award was not abandoned. In the spring of 1859, the Foreign Minister of Moldova (the two principalities still had separate governments), poet Vasile Alecsandri, asked emperor Napoleon III to accept the insignia of an order that Prince Cuza planned to establish, and to permit French citizens to wear it. After some consideration, the emperor accepted both requests.

On December 30, 1859 Alecsandri proposed the founding of the Order of the Golden Sheaf (Jerba de Aur). The name was chosen to show “the fertility of our lands” and the minister’s report described it as:

“a five-pointed star, in the national colors, having on one side the arms of both Principalities: the aurochs and the eagle with the motto Onoare si Patrie (Honour and Motherland) chosen by his Highness the Prince for the Romanian army, and on the other side, in relief, a golden sheaf with the motto In Uno Omnia.”

According to Alecsandri, it was the government’s “duty

Figure 2: Reverse of the first Romanian medal.

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to create an honorable national reward that would awaken the noblest ambition in the hearts of the people.” The five-pointed star design was inspired by the French Legion of Honour.

The project was approved by the Moldovan government led by Ion Ghica and sent to the Central Commission at Focsani, the first common institution of the Principalities whose task was to unify their legislation ahead of the full union. The order was meant to serve “as a reward for military and civil servants of the state.”

Nothing else is known about this project, and for some reason it was never discussed by the Central Commission. It was probably abandoned due to the strong opposition of the Ottoman Empire and the difficult diplomatic context (as the personal union under Cuza was not yet accepted by the European powers), anticipated by Victor Place from the start of his mission. It’s unlikely that any prototype was ever produced.

Pro Virtute Militari (1860/1866)

The Battle of Spirii Hill on September 13, 1848 has gained legendary status in Romania. This fight against the odds was the first combat action of a local unit since the Middle Ages and marks the rebirth of the Romanian Army. Naturally, the first official award of the country is linked to this event.

The clash of September 13th represents the end of the Wallachian Revolution of 1848. After the revolutionary government failed to obtain Russian recognition, Ottoman armies crossed the Danube and entered the principality. Their main goal was to precede the expected invasion of the Russian troops. Since resisting the overwhelming combined armies of the two empires was futile, the revolutionary government decided to send most troops away from the capital (Bucharest) to the town of Ramnicu Valcea, where a force of about 6000 soldiers and volunteers were assembling under the command of Gheorghe Magheru.

Even if the battle is today associated with the military firemen, most of the Romanian units engaged were actually line infantry. When the Turkish army entered Bucharest, the barracks of Spirii Hill at the outskirts of the city was occupied by a battalion from the 2nd Infantry Regiment (about 600 troops) and the 7th Company from the 1st Infantry Regiment (150 men), under the command of Colonel Radu Golescu. The company of military firemen, with 165 troops under Captain Pavel Zaganescu, was stationed in the police headquarters in a different

location in the capital to prevent an eventual breakdown of public order. The total number of Romanian troops present was 900 men, while the Ottomans had a force of around 6000, including cavalry and artillery units. The orders of General Christian Tell were for Golescu to wait for the Turks to arrive and to surrender at the barracks, while Zaganescu was to lead his unit to Spirii Hill and lay down his weapons.

At the arrival of the Ottomans, Colonel Golescu disobeyed his orders and refused to surrender, telling envoy Kerim Pasha that the duty of a soldier is to die fighting and he would only be disarmed by force. Impressed by his determination, the Ottoman commander decided to avoid combat and ordered his units to proceed to the center of the town. As the Turks start marching, they encountered the firemen company of Zaganescu, which was returning to their barracks as ordered.

According to a participant, Dimitrie Papazoglu, the battle started with a minor incident. In March, Senior Lieutenant Dincă Balaşan touched a Turk major with his elbow and the Turk hit him with his sword scabbard. The Romanian officer then killed the major and also shot at Kerim Pasha, wounding his horse. The firemen company was attacked by the entire Ottoman army and withdrew fighting to the barracks on Spirii Hill where they were joined by the infantry garrison and continued to resist. Colonel Golescu was badly wounded at the start of the fight and command was assumed by Captain I. Deivos. After about three hours of fighting, the Romanian units ran out of ammunition and scattered, allowing the enemy to occupy the barracks. There were 80 soldiers and two officers dead on the Romanian side, while the Turks lost around 200 men.

The idea to award a medal to commemorate the battle was suggested by Pavel Zaganescu, the commander of the firemen. In 1859, he asked liberal politician Vasile Boerescu to make a proposal in the Elected Assembly of Wallachia that stated “the country must do its best to encourage the part of the population that carries arms, who sooner or later can be called to form our national army.” The project was supported by the future Prime Minister and reformer Mihail Kogalniceanu.

On May 24, 1860 a decree was signed by Alexandru Ioan Cuza establishing the first official Romanian medal. It was to be awarded to all the survivors of the battle of 1848. The soldiers wounded on Dealul Spirii also received a lifetime pension of 15 lei per month, with the severely wounde who were unable to earn their living granted an extra one leu per day.

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The Pro Virtute Militari is round and made of copper, with a weight of 19 grams. While the princely decree stated a diameter of 20mm, all the surviving medals are 33mm in diameter. The obverse (Figure 3) shows the Wallachian heraldic crowned eagle with the Moldovan aurochs on his chest, above it is the circular text PRO VIRTUTE

MILITARI and below the identity of the engraver, Caque F. Graveur de L’Empereur a Paris.” On the reverse (Figure 4) in five lines is 13 / SEPTEMBRIE / 1848 / DEALUL / SPIREI (13 September 1848 Spirii Hill) surrounded by a laurel wreath. The original medals have a mark on the lower part of the rim in the shape of a pointing hand and the word CUIVRE (the French word for copper), that indicate that they were produced at the Paris mint.

Figure 3: Obverse of the Pro Virtute Militari.

Figure 4: Reverse of the Pro Virtute Militari.

Figure 4: Certificate for the Pro Virtute Militari awarded to Captain Theodor Ratescu.