A carbine for valour

The custom of rewarding exceptional bravery with honorific weapons, such as this French cavalry carbine, was regularised by First Consul Napoleon in 1799, says Mark Murray-Flutter

- Mark Murray-Flutter

THE PRACTICE of marking conspicuous acts of bravery or service with some form of physical item did not take hold until the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. In Britain we used presentation swords for naval valour provided by the Lloyd's Patriotic Fund (associated with the Lloyd's insurance organisation), so in effect these were awarded by a civilian organisation and not the state. After Waterloo the government did issue every man who served on the battlefield with a medal. Although not for valour, this was nonetheless the start of the issue of campaign and valour awards.