Thanks of Congress

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Thanks of Congress

The Thanks of Congress are a series of formal resolutions passed by the United States Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the Bicameralism legislature of the Federal government of the United States of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
originally to extend the government's formal thanks for significant victories or impressive actions by American

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
military commanders and their troops. Although it began during the American Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , also known as the American War of Independence, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Thirteen Colonies on the North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers....
, the practice peaked during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
. Similarly, the Confederate Congress also passed resolutions honoring extraordinary performance to individuals or military units.

During the American Revolution, the official Thanks of Congress from the Continental Congress

Continental Congress

The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
was often accompanied by a specially struck commemorative gold or silver medal.

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Encyclopedia

The Thanks of Congress are a series of formal resolutions passed by the United States Congress

United States Congress

United States

American Revolutionary War

American Civil War

Continental Congress

George Washington

George Washington was the leader of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States of the United States of Americas ....
, Horatio Gates

Horatio Gates

Horatio Lloyd Gates was a United Kingdom soldier turned United States general during the American Revolutionary War. He took credit for the American victory at the Battle of Saratoga and was blamed for the defeat at the Battle of Camden....
, John Eager Howard

John Eager Howard

John Eager Howard was an United States soldier and politician from Maryland. He was born in and died in Baltimore County, Maryland. Howard County, Maryland, is named for him....
, John Stark

John Stark

John Stark was a general who served in the American Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He became widely known as the "Hero of Bennington" for his exemplary service at the Battle of Bennington in 1777....
, Baron von Steuben

Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben

Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin von Steuben was a Kingdom of Prussia army officer who served as inspector general of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War....
, and Henry Lee (See also List of Congressional Gold Medal recipients
List of Congressional Gold Medal recipients

This is a list of recipients of the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor bestowed by the United States Congress....
).

Other recipients in the early years of the United States include Alexander Macomb (War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812, between the United States of America and the British Empire , was fought from 1812 to 1815.There were several immediate stated causes for the U.S....
) (1814), Charles Gratiot

Charles Gratiot

Charles Gratiot, Jr. was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He was the son of Charles Gratiot, Sr., a fur trader in the Illinois country during the American Revolution, and Victoire Chouteau, who was from an important mercantile family....
in the same war, and Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States . He was List of governors of Florida of Florida , commander of the American forces at the Battle of New Orleans , and eponym of the era of Jacksonian democracy....
(epilogue to the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812, between the United States of America and the British Empire , was fought from 1812 to 1815.There were several immediate stated causes for the U.S....
) (1815) and Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor was an Military of the United States and the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States.Known as "Old Rough and Ready", Taylor had a 40-year military career in the United States Army, serving in the War of 1812, Black Hawk War, and Seminole Wars before achieving fame leading U.S....
(1847).

During the Civil War, the Thanks of Congress citations were published in the Congressional Record

Congressional Record

The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published by the United States Government Printing Office, and is issued daily when the United States Congress is in session....
to honor officers and enlisted men from late 1861 through May 1866. A total of thirty men received this recognition during the war, fifteen in the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the army that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S....
and fifteen in the Union Navy

Union Navy

File:USSMonitor1862.1.ws.jpgThe Union Navy is the label applied to the United States Navy during the American Civil War, to contrast it from its direct opponent, the Confederate States Navy ....
. The award was "Highly prized and . . . almost always included in any biographical sketch of a Union officer."

Admiral David Dixon Porter

David Dixon Porter

David Dixon Porter was a United States Navy admiral who became one of the most noted naval heroes of the American Civil War.Porter was one of the first U.S....
was honored on a record four separate occasions. The first citation recognized "the gallant and patriotic services of the late Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Lyon

Nathaniel Lyon

Nathaniel Lyon was the first Union Army General officer to be killed in the American Civil War and is noted for his actions in the state of Missouri at the beginning of the conflict....
, and the officers and soldiers under his command at the Battle of Wilson's Creek

Battle of Wilson's Creek

The Battle of Wilson's Creek, also known as the Battle of Oak Hills, was fought on August 10, 1861, near Springfield, Missouri, Missouri, between Union Army forces and the Missouri State Guard, early in the American Civil War....
, 10 Aug. 1861."

Later honorees included Admiral George Dewey

George Dewey

George Dewey was an admiral of the United States Navy, best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War....
(1898) and Captain Arthur Rostron

Arthur Rostron

Captain Sir Arthur Henry Rostron, Order of the British Empire, Decoration for Officers of the Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Navy was a Captain for the Cunard Line and was the master of the ocean liner RMS Carpathia when it rescued the survivors of the RMS Titanic which sank on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg....
(1914).

Recipients

Recipient	Date of Approval	Military Action
George B. McClellan George B. McClellan George Brinton McClellan was a Major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army....	July 16, 1861	Rich Mountain, 1861 Battle of Rich Mountain The Battle of Rich Mountain took place on July 11, 1861, in Randolph County, West Virginia as part of the Operations in Western Virginia Campaign during the American Civil War....
Nathaniel Lyon Nathaniel Lyon Nathaniel Lyon was the first Union Army General officer to be killed in the American Civil War and is noted for his actions in the state of Missouri at the beginning of the conflict....	December 24, 1861	Wilson's Creek, 1861 Battle of Wilson's Creek The Battle of Wilson's Creek, also known as the Battle of Oak Hills, was fought on August 10, 1861, near Springfield, Missouri, Missouri, between Union Army forces and the Missouri State Guard, early in the American Civil War....
Andrew H. Foote	March 19, 1862	Fort Henry Battle of Fort Henry The Battle of Fort Henry was fought on February 6, 1862, in western Tennessee, during the American Civil War. It was the first important victory for the Union and Brigadier general Ulysses S.... and Fort Donelson Battle of Fort Donelson The Battle of Fort Donelson was fought from February 11 to February 16, 1862, in the Western Theater of the American Civil War of the American Civil War....
David G. Farragut	July 11, 1862	Forts Jackson & St. Philip, 1862 Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip The Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip in the American Civil War was the decisive preliminary for the capture of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana by the Union naval force under Flag Officer David G....
John L. Worden	July 11, 1862	Hampton Roads, 1862 Battle of Hampton Roads The Battle of Hampton Roads, often referred to as the Battle of Monitor and Merrimack , was the most noted and arguably the most important naval battle of the American Civil War from the standpoint of the development of navies....
Andrew H. Foote	July 19, 1862	Island No. Ten, 1862 Battle of Island Number Ten The Battle of Island Number Ten was an engagement at the New Madrid Bend or Kentucky Bend on the Mississippi River during the American Civil War, lasting from February 28 to April 8, 1862....
Nathaniel P. Banks	January 28, 1863	Port Hudson, 1863 Siege of Port Hudson }\|-\|\|}The Siege of Port Hudson occurred from May 21 to July 9, 1863, when Union Army troops assaulted and then surrounded the Mississippi River town of Port Hudson, Louisiana, during the American Civil War....
Charles H. Davis Charles Henry Davis Charles Henry Davis was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy, serving primarily during the American Civil War and with the United States Coast Survey....	February 7, 1863	Memphis, 1862 Battle of Memphis The First Battle of Memphis was a naval battle fought on the Mississippi River immediately above the city of Memphis on June 6 1862, during the American Civil War....
David D. Porter	February 7, 1863	Arkansas Post, 1863
William S. Rosecrans	March 3, 1863	Stones River, 1862-1863 Battle of Stones River The Battle of Stones River or Second Battle of Murfreesboro, Tennessee , was fought from December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863, in Middle Tennessee, as the culmination of the Stones River Campaign in the Western Theater of the American Civil War of the American Civil War....
Winfield S. Hancock	July 3, 1863	Gettysburg, 1863 Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg , fought in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign, was the battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War and is frequently cited as the war's Turning point of the American Civil War....
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant, born Hiram Ulysses Grant , was an United States general and the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States ....	December 17, 1863	"The Rebellion American Civil War The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States.... "
Ambrose E. Burnside	January 28, 1864	Knoxville, 1863
Joseph Hooker Joseph Hooker Joseph Hooker was a career United States Army officer, fought in the Mexican-American War, and was a Major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War....	January 28, 1864	Gettysburg Campaign, 1863 Gettysburg Campaign File:Meade and Lee.jpgThe Gettysburg Campaign was a series of battles fought in June and July 1863, during the American Civil War. After his victory in the Battle of Chancellorsville, Confederate States Army Full General Robert E....
Oliver O. Howard Oliver O. Howard Oliver Otis Howard was a career United States Army officer and a Union Army General officer in the American Civil War. He was a corps commander noted for suffering two humiliating defeats, at Battle of Chancellorsville and Battle of Gettysburg, but he recovered from the setbacks while posted in the Western Theater of the American Civil War,...	January 28, 1864	Gettysburg, 1863 Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg , fought in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign, was the battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War and is frequently cited as the war's Turning point of the American Civil War....
George G. Meade	January 28, 1864	Gettysburg, 1863 Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg , fought in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign, was the battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War and is frequently cited as the war's Turning point of the American Civil War....
William T. Sherman	February 19, 1864	Chattanooga, 1863
David D. Porter	April 19, 1864	Vicksburg, 1863
Joseph Bailey Joseph Bailey (general) Joseph Bailey was a Brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War....	June 4, 1864	Red River Campaign, 1864 Red River Campaign The Red River Campaign or Red River Expedition consisted of a series of battles fought along the Red River in Louisiana during the American Civil War from March 10 to May 22, 1864....
Philip H. Sheridan	November 8, 1864	Cedar Creek, 1864 Battle of Cedar Creek The Battle of Cedar Creek, or The Battle of Belle Grove, October 19, 1864, was one of the final, and most decisive, battles in the Valley Campaigns of 1864 during the American Civil War....
William T. Sherman	January 19, 1865	Atlanta Campaign Atlanta Campaign The Atlanta Campaign was a series of battles fought in the Western Theater of the American Civil War throughout northwest Georgia and the area around Atlanta, Georgia, during the summer of 1864, leading to the eventual fall of Atlanta and hastening the end of the American Civil War.... and March to the Sea, 1864
David D. Porter	January 24, 1865	Fort Fisher, 1865 Second Battle of Fort Fisher The Second Battle of Fort Fisher was a joint assault by Union Army and naval forces against Fort Fisher, outside Wilmington, North Carolina, near the end of the American Civil War....
Alfred H. Terry	January 24, 1865	Fort Fisher, 1865 Second Battle of Fort Fisher The Second Battle of Fort Fisher was a joint assault by Union Army and naval forces against Fort Fisher, outside Wilmington, North Carolina, near the end of the American Civil War....
George H. Thomas	March 3, 1865	Nashville, 1864 Battle of Nashville The Battle of Nashville was a two-day battle in the Franklin-Nashville Campaign that represented the end of large-scale fighting in the Western Theater of the American Civil War of the American Civil War....
David G. Farragut	February 10, 1866	Mobile Bay, 1864 Battle of Mobile Bay The Battle of Mobile Bay of August 5, 1864, was an engagement of the American Civil War in which a Federal fleet commanded by Rear Admiral David G....

Thanks of Congress

Recipients

External links