Original Item: Only One Available. This is a fantastic example of a rim numbered Spanish War Service Medal for Corporal George H. Hummel of the 1st Maryland Volunteer Infantry. While these medals are often encountered with Rim Numbers, it’s not very often that you can trace them back to the soldier it was awarded to! We were fortunate enough to be able to confirm the number as being Corporal Hummel’s from the Orders & Medals Society of America where you can confirm the number if you would wish to do so.

The Spanish War Service Medal was a United States military medal of the U.S. Army which was established by an act of the U.S. Congress on 9 July 1918 (40 Stat. 873). The medal recognizes those members of the Army and of the U.S. Volunteers who performed active duty during the Spanish–American War, but did not qualify for the Spanish Campaign Medal.

The primary purpose for the creation of the Spanish War Service Medal was to recognize units of the Army which had performed homeland defense in the United States during the years of the Spanish–American War. The award was also presented extensively to members of the United States National Guard who had been federalized for active military duty but had not been deployed to actual combat in the Spanish–American War.

To be awarded the Spanish War Service Medal, a service member must have served on active duty in the United States Army between 20 April 1898 and 11 April 1899. Those who were awarded the Spanish Campaign Medal were ineligible to receive the Spanish War Service Medal.

The Spanish War Service Medal was a one time decoration and there were no devices authorized to the medal. The award was also strictly for Army personnel, since United States Navy and Marine Corps personnel, who had served in the Spanish–American War, qualified for the Spanish Campaign Medal regardless if overseas duty was performed.

The medal is made of bronze and is 1+3⁄8 inches (35 mm) wide. The obverse of the medal is a Roman sword hanging on a tablet bearing the inscription FOR SERVICE IN THE SPANISH WAR. The tablet is surrounded by a wreath, while the sword is sheathed representing the service of the National Guard within the Continental United States, not in combat. The reverse bears the coat of arms of the United States over a scroll inscribed FOR SERVICE surrounded by a wreath with the insignia of the Infantry at left, Artillery at the bottom and Cavalry at right. The ribbon is emerald green 1+3⁄8 inches (35 mm) wide. At the edges are golden yellow stripes 1⁄4 inch (6.4 mm) wide. The rim of the medal was usually engraved with the number assigned to the recipient, with this one reading as 13498.

A beautiful Spanish War Medal with some minor tarnishing and staining, but nothing damaging that subtracts from the overall beauty. This example comes more than ready for further research and display.

General:
The First Maryland Volunteer Infantry served its term of service in the continental United States. It did not see overseas service.

Unit History:
Following President McKinley's call for volunteers, the regiment began organizaing from elements of the First Maryland Volunteer National Guard. The regiment was sent to Camp Wilmer at Pimlico, Maryland. Here between May 16 and May 29, 1898, the unit was mustered into the federal service as the 1st Maryland Volunteer Infantry. At the time of muster in, the regiment consisted of forty-three officers and 1,044 enlisted men.

In late May, the regiment was sent to Fort Monroe, at Hampton, Virginia as part of the military Department of the East. Here the regiment spent its time in training. The men expected a transfer to take part in the invasion of Puerto Rico.The transfer came too late. The fighting of the war ended by armistice on August 12, 1898. In September, the regiment was transferred to the First Brigade of the Second Army Corps. The regiment was ordered to Camp Meade, at Middletown, Pennsylvania, with the Second Army Corps and was present there from mid-September until at least until Mid-October, 1898. At Camp Meade, the 1st Maryland was encamped next to the 10th Ohio and 35 Michigan volunteer infantry regiments

Eventually, the regiment was ordered to Augusta, Georgia, where it was mustered out of service on February 28, 1899. The Spanish American War had ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898.

At the time of its muster out, the regiment consisted of forty-nine officers and 1,070 enlisted men. During its term of service, the regiment lost twelve enlisted men to disease, and one man to an accident. Thirty-two enlisted men were discharged on disability and fifty-threee men deserted.