Order of Military Merit (France)

For the newer order of the same name, see Ordre du Mérite militaire (France).

The Order of Military Merit, which was initially known as the Institution of Military Merit (French: Institution du Mérite militaire), was a French military order that was created on 10 March 1759 by King Louis XV for non-Catholic military officers who had assisted the French state.^[1]

Order of Military Merit Ordre du Mérite Militaire
Knight's Cross of the Order
Awarded by the King of France
Type	Meritorious award
Established	10 March 1759
Country	France
Royal house	House of France
Motto	Latin: Pro virtute bellica
Eligibility	Non-Catholic military officers
Awarded for	Military merit
Status	Temporarily abolished in 1830 by the July Revolution of France
Founder	Louis XV of France
Precedence
Next (higher)	Order of Saint Michael
Equivalent	Order of Saint Louis Awarded to Catholics

History

There were by the 18th Century regiments of Swedish, German, and Swiss troops in service to France, the most famous of which were the Swiss Guards. Since many of these regiments' officers were Protestant, they were ineligible for conferral with Roman Catholic orders of chivalry such as the Order of Saint Louis. King Louis XV initially created the Institution du Mérite militaire as an award, but not as an order, because French orders were exclusive Catholics.^[1] The three classes of the Institution du Mérite militaire, which were decreed in 1785, were Knight, Commander or Gran Cordon and Grand Cross, the latter limited to four and two receivers, respectively.^[2] King Louis was careful to promote the prestige of the award by appointing the most talented officers. One of the first Grand Crosses was received by William Henry, Prince of Nassau-Saarbrücken.^[3] In 1791, during the French Revolution, the Order of Military Merit was incorporated into the Order of St. Louis to create a single Décoration Militaire, to which King Louis XVIII of France made appointments until he on 28 November 1814 reinstituted the Order of Military Merit, and increased the number of available Grand Crosses to four and the number of available Grand Cordons to eight, and changed the colour of their sash to that of the Order of St. Louis.

Decoration

1. Knight
2. Commander
3. Grand Cross

Medal and insignia

Knight	Commander	Grand Cross

Notable recipients

• John Paul Jones
• Johann de Kalb
• Axel von Fersen
• Curt von Stedingk
• Władysław Grzegorz Branicki
• Charles-Daniel de Meuron
• Sir James Leith (Knight Grand Cordon)^[4][5][6]
• Thomas Moody (1779 - 1849) (Knight)^[5][6]
• Richard Clement Moody (Knight Grand Cross)^[7][8]

• 
  John Paul Jones wearing the Order of Military Merit (by Charles Wilson Peale, c. 1781)
• 
  Johann de Kalb wearing the Order of Military Merit
• 
  Sir James Leith

References

1. "Les ordres et décorations de mérite sous l'Ancien Régime" (PDF). musee-legiondhonneur.fr. Le Musée de la Légion d’honneur. Retrieved 1 May 2012.^{[permanent dead link]}
2. "Institution du Mérite militaire".
3. Marc Champenois. "Institution du Mérite militaire" (in French). France-phaleristique.com. Archived from the original on 2012-04-01. Retrieved 2012-05-01.
4. "No. 17194". The London Gazette. 23 November 1816. p. 2226.
5. Bulletins and Other State Intelligence Compiled and Arranged from the Official Documents published in the London Gazette, 1820. R. G. Clarke, Cannon Row, Westminster. 26 May 1820. p. 220.
6. Hart, Captain H. G. (1844). Hart's Annual Army List, Special Reserve List, and Territorial Force List, Volume 5. John Murray, Albemarle Street, London. p. 288.
7. The New Annual Army List for 1848, p.683. Au Bureau Du Spectateur Militaire, 1848.
8. "Statue of R. C. Moody in Sash and Star of Knight Grand Cross of Institution du Mérite Militaire (1848)". Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Col. R. C. Moody. Retrieved 25 April 2022.