Golden St. George’s weapon “For Courage” is an award ranked in the Russian Empire in the period from the 19th to the 20th centuries. It was made of precious metals, encrusted with diamonds, emeralds and other stones. About St. George's weapons, its varieties, history and manufacture will be discussed in the article.
Appearance story
St. George’s weapon for courage was a special distinction awarded to high military ranks. He was handed over in cases of manifestation of personal courage and selflessness in the battles for the homeland.
Awarding with various types of weapons has been practiced for a long time. However, documented facts of early awarding date back to the 17th century. In the Tsarskoye Selo Museum-Reserve, protected by the state, there is a saber on which there is an inscription made by the method of gold etching. It says that the weapon was donated by Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich. The stolnik Bogdan Matveevich from Khitrovo received a gift, but for what merits it is unknown, history is silent about this. In this regard, the historical reckoning of the appearance of the tradition of awarding weapons began to lead from the reign of Peter the Great.
History of tradition in the 18th century
For the first time, the rewarding of St. George's weapons for courage, courage and valor shown in battles was at the end of July 1720. Then Prince M. Golitsyn for military merits was awarded a sword trimmed with gold and encrusted with diamonds. It was received because, under the command of General-General M. Golitsyn, the galley flotilla attacked and boarded five Swedish ships, subsequently capturing them. Among the ships were four frigates and one battleship.
In the future, in history, there are many cases of rewarding with St. George's arms with diamonds and other precious stones. On blades, gunsmiths or jewelers made inscriptions, for example, “For courage”, “For courage”, “For courage”, etc. In exceptional cases, an inscription was made about rewarding for any particular feat.
It is known that in the 18th century 300 such awards were presented, 80 of which were encrusted with diamonds. During the reign of Catherine II, 250 awards of St. George's weapons were held.
End of the 18th century
They presented various types of knives: swords, sabers, broadswords, drafts and daggers. Most often the most refined and unique were swords. They can be attributed to samples of not only weapons, but also jewelry. So, for example, a sword presented to Field Marshal Rumyantsev was estimated at 10, 787 rubles, which at that time was an astronomical sum.
It is worth noting that this was an exceptional case: on average, swords cost the treasury 2, 000 rubles and a little more, which was also considered serious money.
In mid-1788, for fierce battles with the Turks at Ochakovo, officers who did not have the rank of general were officially marked (the fact itself was documented for the first time). Until this year, officers of the rank of general were exclusively awarded with St. George’s weapons. For the Ochakov battles, the heroes of the battles received swords on which specific merits were described.
For these awards, an account has been preserved to this day, which indicates the amount of 560 rubles per sword. By the way, with this money at that time it was possible to purchase a whole herd of horses.
Museum weapons
In the museum of the Cossacks in the city of Novocherkassk there is an award St. George's weapon. A saber made in 1786 is stored there, on which the inscription "For courage" is made in gold. Here is St. George’s weapon with diamonds, belonging to the chieftain M.I. Platov. He received it for a Persian campaign, committed in 1796, from Catherine II herself.
The blade of the saber belonging to Platov was made of damask steel, and the hilt of the sword was cast from pure gold, adorning it with 130 precious stones, including diamonds and emeralds.
On the back of the hilt a golden inscription was made with the words: "For courage." Reciprocating scabbard was made of wood and covered with high quality velvet. All elements on the sheath were made of gold with an ornament consisting of 306 diamonds, rock crystal and rubies.
Award weapon in the 19th century
During the reign of Paul I, St. George’s arms were not awarded. Instead, the emperor established a new order - St. Anne of various degrees. This order was awarded for merits in battles and was attached to the hilt of a saber or sword.
The tradition of rewarding was renewed at the beginning of the 19th century, when Alexander I ascended the throne. At the end of September 1807, a list of those awarded with St. George’s weapons “For Courage” and other merits was compiled and signed. Then the awarded officers were added to the general list of gentlemen.
Types of award weapons
After some time, three types of weapons were created that officers were awarded with:
- Golden - “For courage” with inlaid with diamonds (diamonds).
- Golden - “For courage” without precious stones.
- Anninsky - the third and fourth, lower degrees of the Order of St. Anne.
It should be noted that Anninsky was a special award weapon, although he was not considered such. This was due to the fact that they were not awarded - they issued him, as well as the Order of St. Anne, fastened on a hilt. Since 1829, the inscription “For courage” appeared on such weapons, which was on the hilt of a sword or saber.
During the war with Napoleon, a large number of people appeared who were awarded the St. George gold weapons. A total of 241 sabers (swords) were awarded, and 685 people were awarded this award for overseas campaigns (Russian-Turkish war).
In March 1855, the sovereign issued a decree according to which, upon awarding, the lanyard was supposed to be attached to the St. George’s golden weapon. This is the St. George ribbon, belt or brush, which was attached to the hilt of the edged weapon. This was done in order to especially highlight its significance.
Weapons at the end of the 19th century
In 1859, a special provision was determined, according to which it was possible to reward the St. George Golden Blade with almost any officer with the rank of ensign to captain. In this case, the recipient should have the Order of St. Anne or St. George 4th degree for courage. The generals were awarded weapons encrusted with diamonds.
At the beginning of September 1869, those awarded with the golden blade were ranked among the gentlemen of St. George - Georgievsky. However, it was still a distinctive mark. At that time, 3384 officers, as well as 162 generals, were awarded with George weapons.
Since 1878, the general, who was awarded a saber with inlay, was obliged at his own expense to make an ordinary gold, having a lanyard. This was done so that the generals wore a simple saber in the ranks or military campaigns. On the hilt of the weapon, the order of St. George was also to be attached.
Weapons in the twentieth century
In the twentieth century, for the war with Japan from 1904 to 1905, four generals were awarded with George’s arms with the inscription “For Courage” and inlaid with precious stones, and 406 officers without incrustation.
In 1913, the Statute of the Order of St. George was published, according to which the golden weapons received as a reward were equated with the order, that is, it became one of the differences of the order. He was officially assigned the name - "St. George". Since that time, the golden cross of the Order of St. George was made on hilt with and without inlaid gold weapons. It was small and had a size of 17 by 17 mm. On the new St. George’s weapons, the characters were slightly different.
There was another significant difference between inlaid and non-inlaid gold weapons. It consisted in the fact that on the first the cross of St. George, mounted on a hilt, was decorated with diamonds, and on the second - not. In the first case, the feat itself was described on a saber or epee, for which a reward was received, and in the second the inscription “For courage” was made. In the photo of St. George's weapon, this difference is immediately visible.
