German Awards - Cross of Honor for loyal volunteers of non-commissioned officers and officers of the 2nd Landwehr Battalion (Fulda)

The honorary cross for officers and loyal volunteers of the 2nd Landver Battalion (Fulda) for 1814 was established on September 9, 1814 by Prince Henry XIII. donated by Reuss-Greitz. At the time he was Governor-General of Frankfurt. The starting point for the foundation was the uprising of July 30, 1814. After the war against France, the Landwehr battalion was expanded from 4 to 6 companies. The lack of food, housing and remoteness caused discontent among the teams. The Department of Fulda was to be ceded to the Elector of Hesse. This led to the desertion of 400 people marching in the direction of Fulda. However, the officers, 43 NCOs and 136 men remained loyal. The uprising failed on August 5, 1814 at Schlüchtern and the deserters were convicted in Frankfurt.
Prince Henry XIII. On 16 August 1814, the Conference on Reinforcement proposed the erection of a commemorative sign. The Conference's proposal for a cash award was rejected. The battalion commander, Major von Sobel, proposed a silver commemorative cross. The Conference on Arms requested a list of the names of the alleged carriers. The military commissar Hauptmann Meltzer was entrusted with the procurement. The crosses were made by silver worker Heinrich P. Schott in Frankfurt. The tape was delivered from Frankfurt by Ziegler. Officers received a cross made of gilded silver, non-commissioned officers and privates received a cross made of gilded copper.
The gilded copper cross depicted here was awarded only 53 times.

Gilded copper cross. The front and back sides are hand engraved. On the upper cruciform shoulder is a soldered ordinary eye with a ribbon ring.

Front side:

A
• short distance from the edge is a recessed line around the crosses .
• Distributed on cross sleeves: above - G. -, on the left - G. -, on the right - F. - for the Governor General of Frankfurt. The year number below is 1814. -.

Downside:

A
• short distance from the edge is a recessed line around the crosses.
• Distributed on cross sleeves: upper - M. G. -, horizontal - F. - D. - V. - lower - 1813. –
• For "With God," "For the German Fatherland," 1813.

Tape:

38 mm wide black, edges 2 mm, white side stripes of 6 mm, white central stripes 3 mm.

Photos courtesy of Arnold Auction House, Frankfurt/Main.
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