The Book of Merit documents one of the earliest systems of military recognition in American history, established by General George Washington in the final year of the Revolutionary War. On August 7, 1782, Washington authorized the Badge of Honorary Distinction to acknowledge enlisted soldiers who had completed three or more years of faithful service, a rare formal recognition at a time when honor was seldom extended beyond rank.
Unlike the Badge of Military Merit, which would later be revived as the Purple Heart, the Badge of Honorary Distinction survived chiefly in written form. It appeared as a notation on soldiers’ discharge papers, entered by commanding officers at the moment of separation from service. Those handwritten endorsements, preserved today within the Revolutionary War pension files of the National Archives, form the foundation of this volume.
The book reproduces and documents those surviving discharges as they exist in the archival record. Drawn from the Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files (M804), the materials presented here reflect both the breadth and fragility of the historical record, shaped by changing pension laws, uneven documentation, and catastrophic record losses in the fires of 1800 and 1812.
More than a catalog of documents, The Book of Merit restores visibility to the enlisted men whose long and faithful service earned formal acknowledgment at the close of the Revolutionary War. Their discharge papers often became the only enduring proof of honorable service carried into civilian life. As the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of its independence, these records stand as a reminder that the American tradition of honoring merit began not with medals of metal, but with ink on paper and the judgment of character. The Book of Merit: Honorary Badges of Distinction is a documentary record of Revolutionary War service, honor, and endurance.
Kenneth Wayne Virgil, now retired from a career in computer programming, devotes his time to researching his family’s past and the broader history of early America. He is affiliated with multiple genealogical and historical societies, including the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, the Bunker Hill Society, the Society of the Descendants of Washington’s Army at Valley Forge, the Order of the Founders and Patriots of America, and the Society of Colonial Wars.
