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Crankshaw UCV Cross of Honor


SARGE
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Gents,

 

I thought I would show a United Confederate Veterans (UCV) Cross of Honor made by Crankshaw in Atlanta, Georgia that I picked up at SOS. These particular badges are quite distinctive and slightly different from those made by Whitehead and Hoag (W&H) for the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC).

 

The Crankshaw badges usually have screwbacks and buttons on the suspension bar rather than the pin assembly usually found on Whitehead and Hoag examples. The Crankshaw badges are maker marked on the reverse of the top bar while W&H badges are maker marked on the cross in micro letters. Both badges are die struck from bronze but the W&H badge details appear to be a bit more precise. One interesting distinction of the Crankshaw badges is that lines from the steel dies often appear on the edges of the cross. These lines are not seen on the W&H examples.

 

Both of these badges have been reproduced so one must be careful when looking at them to make certain they are original and of the period. Many of the reproductions are castings made from an original cross and the details will be muddy. Many are also cast of brass and either polished, aged, or patinated to fool collectors.

 

 

UCV Cross.JPG

UCV Cross back.JPG

UCV Cross maker (2).JPG

UCV Cross die marks front.JPG

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I was hoping that someone would post one of these for viewing. I don't have one (and probably never will due to price). Nice one!

 

Kevin

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I wonder if many some other pictures of similar ones so we could have a photographic record in thread about it. Very neat to see. But I agree, too expensive for me. :(

 

I can still enjoy Sarge's though! :)

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wartimecollectables.com

Father & Son UDC Southern Cross of Honor pair with a Crankshaw Atlanta pinback Southern Cross of Honor.
86899736.jpg
86899741.jpg
86899739.jpg
86899744.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

Nice picture of really nice society decorations.

 

In this case the society is the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

 

The first medal (manufactured by Crankshaw of Atlanta) is named "The Southern Cross of Honor". It was created in 1900 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and was only presented to Confederate veterans that provided "loyal, honorable service to the South".

 

There are many variations of The Southern Cross of Honor, with the first type of medals being manufactured by Crankshaw, and the later types manufactured by Whitehead and Hoag.

 

The other medal pictured is the United Daughters of the Confederacy Cross of Military Service, which is presented (upon application) by a veteran that is lineal decendent of a confederate veteran. The particular CMS pictures is for service in World War I.

 

The UDC has had manufactured, and has presented The Cross of Military Service to lineal decendents of confederate veterans for the following conflicts:

 

Spanish American War

Philippines Insurrection

World War I

World War II

Korean Conflict

Vietnam Conflict

Global War on Terror.

 

The CMS medals for the Spanish American War, the Philippines Insurrection, and World War I have all been retired, as there are no living veterans from these conflicts.

 

There is an effort underway on the forum to track and identify the recipients of the Cross of Military Service based on the number of the medal.

Here is a link to the sticky thread on that subject:

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/203883-electronic-file-for-udc-cross-of-military-service/

 

and a theard on the topic of the Cross of Military Service.

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/182099-my-latest-southern-gem/?hl=%22cross+of+military+service%22

 

Nice medals guys. Thanks for sharing.

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Many thanks for the responses guys! I have been offline with a computer crash and burn and could not respond until now. It will take awhile to rebuild my data bases and get up to speed I am afraid.

 

I think it is important to show these Crankshaw crosses as they have been faked. The named one Andrew shows is the pin back style and helps illustrate what these original crosses should look like. Notice the die marks along the edges of the cross on both examples. Also notice the slightly muddied or squeezed edges while the die struck detail remains crisp in the center. It also shows the style of hand engraving that can be found on the bar. His and mine also show the common fact that recipients often reversed the drop so the Confederate flag would show when worn.

 

Here is another pin back by Crankshaw that has a slightly different pin.

 

 

 

 

UCV Crookshank medal back.jpg.JPG

UCV Crookshank pin bar,jpg.JPG

UCV Crookshank medal.jpg.JPG

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  • 2 years later...

I have a UDC military cross that was awarded to my grandfather for service in WWI. I am looking for a ribbon as it is missing. I also have a book published in 1927 that lists him and all recipients by state, with brief bios of their war service in WWI and their ancestors in the CSA. I can do look ups if anyone needs this kind of data. Meanwhile, if anyone knows how I can replace the ribbon on my grand pop's media, please let me know. DanB

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Dan,

 

Have you considered contacting the UDC to inquire about a replacement ribbon. I hear that they are pretty resistant to helping collectors with this kind of request. But, seeing as you are family, they might bend over backwards to assist one of their own.

 

http://www.hqudc.org/contact/

 

If and when you restore your grandfather's medal, would you be so kind as to post a picture for all of us to see?

 

Kevin

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Yes, I contacted the UDC and they were, as you say, very unhelpful. At least now, through your site, I have found what the ribbon looks like. I can't imagine there are loose ribbons around so I will have t content myself with having the medallion. Thank you for your help and interesting postings. I suspect other folks have the same book I do, but I am willing to help people look up other WWI vets. Most of the WWI records were lost in the St. Louis fire back in the 70s, so this reference is the only thing we have to my grandfather's war service, his exact units, dates of deployment, etc. And the entries usually include the same data for the CSA veterans too. Very helpful. Dan

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  • 6 months later...
skypilot6670

Two Southern crosses I thought would add to the conversation. First is a type 2b Cranckshaw that belonged to R.R. Thames of the 4th S.C. Cav , unusual because the unit designation is engraved on the cross itself,not the top bar. Second is a crankshaw with a large non standard top bar,engraved. Jas. D. Porter Adjutant Gen'l Cheathams Division 1861-65 . He wrote the articles of secession for Tennessee ,Porter was in all the major engagements of the army of Tennessee from Belmont to Bentonville.Then twice gov. of Tennessee,Asstaint Secretary of State under Grover Cleveland,Ambassador to Chile ,chancellor of the Univercity of Nashville,President of Peabody Colledge , president of ,Nashville Chattanooga and St.Louis RR. Further he and Jefferson Davis served as pall bearers for Nathan Bedford Forrest. All in all a very full life for a great Tennessean.And the center piece of my collection of crosses. post-137056-0-96898300-1500219178_thumb.jpgpost-137056-0-65556800-1500219196_thumb.jpg

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Two very neat Crankshaw crosses.

 

Is the large Porter top bar marked on the back? Could we see a view of the back?

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skypilot6670

Hi Sarge , Here's the images,I suspect the Porter top bar was Crankshaw made because the patina is very nice and the t bar pin and finding look like a Crankshaw 2D style . Having said that , the cross was in the jewlers box that I posted the image of , and could just as well have been jeweler made.Porters relatives sold off a group of his war time and associated pieces a couple of years ago and I was lucky to get this. post-137056-0-67407100-1500309793_thumb.jpgpost-137056-0-92436200-1500309859_thumb.jpgpost-137056-0-02364100-1500309915_thumb.jpg

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skypilot6670

A footnote on Crankshaw crosses. I quote here from Peter Bertram's book on southern crosses,"The Southern Cross Of Honor". "It has long been assumed that Crankshaw manufactured the Southern Cross of Honor because his logo is on the reverse of the bar.But Charles W. Crankshaw , a jeweler ar 22 Whitehall St. in Atlanta had neither facilities or staff to produce the crosses in quantity. Accordingly he subcontracted the manufacturing to the Schwaab Stamp & Seal Co. in Milwaukee Wisconsin".The book on crosses is well worth the money for anyone interested in collecting them. Fraternally Mike

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