MovieChat Forums > She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) Discussion > Captain Brittles Medal?

Captain Brittles Medal?

posted 17 years ago by nd12strngs
7 replies | jump to latest

It is after 2:00 in the morning. I have seen this movie many many times. I am watching it on an old video tape right now and I just saw something that I hadn't noticed before.

Towards the end of the film, Captain Brittles is reviewing his troops for the last time. He is wearing only one medal, an upside down five pointed star pinned to his shirt. At first I thought that it might be the Congressional Medal of Honor, which is the only Army decoration I know of that uses this design, but after a quick scan of the internet I found that:

1) the Congressional Medal of Honor has slight design variations that identify it as having been awarded to a member of either the Army, the Navy, or the Air Force, and Captain Brittles' decoration has none of these features, and

2) the Congressional Medal of Honor is hung by a ribbon around the neck, not pinned to the shirt.

Now I understand that the Department of Defense is every bit as fussy about the unauthorized production of medals as the Treasury department is about the unauthorized production of money, so this might just be the prop department attempting to avoid prosecution.

In the grand scheme of things this isn't near the top of the list of things that need to be addressed, but if anyone can identify what Captain Brittles has pinned to his shirt I would like to hear about it.

[–] ctmapt-1 17 years ago

Captain Brittles Medal is in fact the Medal of Honor. The present medal is worn about the neck held by a blue ribbon with small white stars. The Civil War issue of the medal was fastened by a pin clasp that held a national colors ribbon that held an eagle that supported the medal itself. I am looking at one as I type this. It has been in the family since my great great uncle was awarded it during the Civil War.

[–] bobwjones 17 years ago

I'm sure the medal he wears in the scene you mention is a Civil War Officers GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) Medal 1861-1865 issued to veterans of the war.

The script makes it very clear that Brittles is a civil war veteran without actually stating it, just two examples;
Quincannon takes a quick slurp of Brittles hidden whiskey
Quincannon "Ah Capn Dahling I took the pledge after Chapultepec"
Brittles "And Bull Run and Gettysburg and Shiloh etc"
The next to last scene when Tyree presents him with orders from Washington;
Brittles "Look at those endorsements Phil Sheridan, William Tecumseh Sherman and Ulysses Simpson Grant. There's three aces for you boy"
Add to that that Ford was a very keen Civil War buff I think it highly unlikely that he would have allowed Brittles to wear an inaccurate or false decoration.

The Civil War Officers GAR medal was an upside down star with a red and blue state flag ribbon and eagle bar. A few turn up now and again on eBay.
Although you don't get a good close-up of the medal in the film the above description is close enough that five will get you ten that's the medal Brittles is wearing.
Bob.J.

[–] bobwjones 17 years ago

On reflection and scanning photographs of both medals ctmapt is correct it is a medal of honour. The CWO GAR although similar has the eagle bar on two crossed cannons supporting the ribbon where Brittles medal has the eagle supporting the medal making it a medal of honour.

I had assumed as the OP had that the medal of honour had always been worn around the neck and was confident Ford would not have made a mistake on Civil War decorations.

[–] Captain_Augustus_McCrae 16 years ago

In fact, the similarity in appearance between the original Medal of Honor and the GAR medal is what led to the re-design of the MoH in the 1890's, IIRC. BTW, on a recent re-broadcast of the series "Cheyenne", in which a slain hero of the Indian Wars is awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor, a close-up of the medal in his widow's hand shows it to clearly be a GAR membership medal. I got a good laugh out of that. I guess the GAR medal was as close as Warner Bros. could come to a real 1870's Medal of Honor.

[–] pwbuchan-1 15 years ago

The GAR badge was issued by the Grand Army of the Republic -- a veterans organization founded in 1866 by civil war era veterans. It is not a military decoration, and since Captain Brittles was still a serving officer in his dress uniform at the point in the film where he is shown with the medal, it would have been highly improper for him to display anything other than a military medal. In any case, he was still on active duty, rather than a veteran, so Captain Brittles would not have been eligible (I think) to even become a member of the GAR.

[–] Pervy_Grin 8 years ago

And it's clear he fought on the Union side since he refers to the Battle of Bull Run, not Manassas, and he's very pleased with endorsements from three Union generals. Somewhat less pleased with the suggestion that an endorsement from Robert E. Lee would make a "full hand".

[–] magolding-94772 8 years ago

He is wearing the 19th Century Medal of Honor correctly. The design was later changed.

Here, in the 4th post from the top, you can see a 19th medal of honor worn correctly.

http://civilwartalk.com/threads/5-12-15-so-young.113422/

Here is clearer picture.

http://www.badassoftheweek.com/index.cgi?id=302468225474

The Thread "Not a Goof" discusses Captain Parmenter's Medal in F troop

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058800/board/thread/176781380