Acknowledging valor on the field of battle is a military tradition that dates back centuries. In the U.S., President George Washington awarded his men the Badge of Military Merit, the second-earliest medals awarded in the United States (one earlier medal was established by the Continental Congress but soon discontinued), for distinguished service in the Revolutionary War. After the Civil War began, Congress authorized the distribution of medals of honor to sailors and marines, and within two months a resolution was signed into law establishing the Congressional Medal of Honor.

On this day, July 12, in 1862, the congressional act expanding the awards to the Army as well as Navy was signed into law, creating the Medal of Honor in its current form. The Air Force established its own distinctive Medal of Honor in 1956.

The Confederate States during the Civil War had their own version of the Medal of Honor, but unlike the U.S. chose to let the soldiers themselves decide on the recipients. Non-commissioned officers and privates selected by majority who in their company would receive the “Badge of Distinction.”