Arctic Expedition Medal

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For over 150 years, explorers from the United States have been drawn to the North Pole. As late as the 1880s, some scientists believed there might be open water at the North Pole. The first polar expedition to be commemorated by a congressionally authorized medal was the ill-fated Arctic journey led by U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander George DeLong. DeLong planned to pass through the Bering Sea to reach the North Pole; sled dogs and drivers accompanied the expedition in case there was ice.

Financed by New York newspaper tycoon James Gordon Bennett Jr., DeLong purchased the ship Pandora in England in 1877. At Bennett’s urging, Congress passed a bill directing the U.S. Navy to oversee the expedition. The vessel’s name was changed to Jeannette, and it was commissioned by the U.S. Navy in 1879. DeLong then took it to San Francisco for provisioning and to have it refitted for the Arctic expedition. 

The Expedition

Once the construction ended, Jeannette steamed for Alaska on July 8, 1879, stocked with a two-year supply of provisions. The supply ship Francis Hyde, which carried extra coal and supplies, followed. After coaling in Iliuliuk, Alaska, DeLong continued to St. Michael, Alaska, on August 6, 1879. There, DeLong topped off his coal and supplies from Hyde, purchased Arctic clothing, and hired two experienced Inuit dog drivers, Alexy and An‘-i-gun (Aneguin) and their 40 sled dogs. 

The Secretary of the Navy Richard W. Thompson had given additional instructions for DeLong to search for another Arctic expedition aboard Vega that was long overdue. After leaving St. Michael on August 21, which was late in the Arctic fall season, DeLong spent valuable time searching for the lost Vega expedition, which, as it turned out, had already steamed south. The delay caused by the search would prove to be the expedition’s undoing. 

With the Arctic winter approaching, DeLong steamed for Wrangel Island, where he planned to camp for the winter. Just 28 miles from Wrangel Island, ice captured the Jeannette. The icebound ship drifted west, bringing it closer to the North Pole. DeLong and his crew remained optimistic that the ice would melt in the spring. The expected thaw never came, and the Jeannette had only one day to pick its way through the ice before it was trapped again.

Trapped in the Ice

It remained trapped for 21 months, and all hope of success vanished on June 13, 1881, when ice crushed the ship, and it began to sink. With no hope of reaching the North Pole, the crew fitted two small cutters and a whaleboat with skids, loaded them and several sleds with supplies, and set out for Siberia. Using their small boats, the crew trudged across ice packs, navigated ice-choked waters, and weathered brutal storms in an attempt to reach Siberia. 

By late August 1881, Arctic winter had returned, and storms became more frequent. During one storm on September 13, the cutters became separated, and one, commanded by Lieutenant Charles Chipp, sank. Four days later, the remaining two boats landed near the Lena River Delta, and the survivors headed to their agreed-upon rendezvous point at the village of Bulun. 

With the help of local Siberian natives, the survivors reached Bulun on October 29, 1881. They had survived but were not yet home. Chief Engineer George Melville immediately organized a search party to locate any other survivors. Although they succeeded in locating the bodies of DeLong, Ambler, and Collins, along with the important records that DeLong had insisted on preserving, they could not locate any other survivors. Of the 33 members of the expedition, only 13 survived, finally arriving in New York in May 1882. From there, they traveled to Washington, D.C., to deliver the Jeannette’s logbooks, the crew’s research notes, and DeLong’s personal journal. 

The Medal

Bowing to public pressure, much of it fomented by Bennett’s newspapers, Congress passed an act on September 30, 1890, authorizing a medal to be struck at the United States Mint “in commemoration of the perils encountered by the officers and men of the said Jeannette Arctic Expedition, and as an expression of the high esteem in which Congress holds their services.” The act also stipulated that the medal be presented to the next of kin of any deceased members of the expedition. This act also promoted Melville one grade in rank and permanently ranked him one number below the next eligible officer for promotion in his grade. Along with allocating funding for the medal, Congress directed the Navy to oversee the medal design and presentation. Secretary of the Navy Tracy approved the medal’s design on April 6, 1892, which U.S. Navy Assistant Engineer M.A. Anderson sketched. 

Charles E. Barber, the chief engraver of the U.S. Mint, executed the final medal design and incorporated many of Anderson’s design elements, and the U.S. Mint struck the medal in 1892. The medal consists of a 1.5-inch pendant suspended from an elaborate brooch with JEANNETTE in a rectangular tablet surmounted by an eagle with outstretched wings. The eagle’s head is facing left, which is a sign of peace, whereas on U.S. military medals, the eagle faces right, symbolizing war. The width of the brooch, including the wingspan of the eagle, is 1.8 inches, and the length of the brooch is 0.6 inches. Suspended from a white ribbon, the entire medal measures 3.5 inches long. The rim of the pendant is raised slightly above the field on both the obverse and reverse.

The Design

The obverse features the Jeannette being crushed by ice while DeLong and his team watch from a distance with their dogs and small cutters. The reverse features a smooth field with the legend JEANETTE ARCTIC EXPEDITION 1879-1882 around the rim. Within the field is the inscription IN COMMEMORATION OF PERILS ENCOUNTERED AND AS AN EXPRESSION OF THE HIGH ESTEEM IN WHICH CONGRESS HOLDS HIS SERVICES. ACT APPROVED SEPT. 30. 1890. Above the inscription at the top center is a space for the recipient’s name, which is inscribed in an arch. Gold medals also include the recipient’s rank or position below the name. Silver medals have only the name. 

A total of 33 medals were produced. The mint struck 8 medals in gold for the officers and senior members of the expedition, and 25 medals in silver for the other members. Like the wearable version of the Cardenas medal that followed the Spanish–American War, the Jeannette medal pendant is mounted on a swivel, allowing either the obverse or reverse to face forward. The medals were presented in a purple velvet case with purple silk lining.

At least one older collector copy of a silver medal exists. The quality of the strike is less sharp than the original medals, and the suspension clasp is soldered to the pendant like those on campaign medals. 

Secretary of the Navy Tracy presented the first medal on October 11, 1892, to Melville. The Navy Department then set about locating mailing addresses for the deceased’s next of kin and the survivors. Evidence suggests that a certificate accompanied the medal. However, none has been found so far.. 

Jeannette Medal Recipients

Gold Medal

Lt. Commander George W. DeLong, Commander, USN† – Died on expedition. Medal presented to his wife, Emma W. DeLong. 

Lt. Charles W. Chipp, Executive Officer, USN† – Died on expedition. Medal presented to his father, Warren Chipp. 

Lt. John W. Danenhower, Navigator, USN† – Died in 1887. Medal presented to his wife, Helen. 

*George W. Melville, Chief Engineer, USN – Collected in person. 

James M. Ambler, surgeon† – Died on expedition. Medal presented to his brother, Richard C. Ambler.

Jerome J. Collins, meteorologist, civilian† – Died on expedition. Medal presented to his brother, Daniel F. Collins. 

William M. Dunbar, ice pilot, civilian† – Died on expedition. Medal presented to the administrator of his estate. 

Raymond L. Newcomb, naturalist, civilian – Collected in person.

Silver Medal

Alexy, civilian, hunter† – Died on expedition. Medal presented to his wife. (Medal in USNA museum.)

Aneguin, civilian, hunter† – Died shortly after returning to the United States. (Medal in USNA museum.)

James H. Bartlett, Fireman First Class, USN

George W. Boyd, Fireman, USN†

John Cole, Boatswain, USN†

Adolph Dressler, civilian

Hans H. Erickson, civilian

Carl A. Görtz, civilian†

John Cole, Boatswain, USN†

Adolph Dressler, civilian

Hans H. Erickson, civilian

Carl A. Görtz, civilian†

Nelse Iverson, civilian†

Peter E. Johnson, civilian†

Heinrich H. Kaack, civilian

George H. Kuehne, civilian†

George Lauderbach, Fireman, USN

Herbert W. Leach, civilian

Walter Lee, Machinist, USN†

Frank E. Mansen, civilian

William F. C. Nindemann, Quartermaster, USN

Louis P. Noros, civilian

Ah Sam, Steward/Cook, USN†

Walter Sharvell, Fireman, USN†

Charles Tong Sing, Steward/Cook, USN* (Medal at the Naval History and Heritage Command.)

Edward Starr, civilian†

Alfred Sweetman, Carpenter, USN†

Henry D. Warren, civilian†

Henry Wilson, civilian

† Posthumous award

*Served on USS Thetis, commanded by Commander Willam S. Schley, during the 1885 Greeley Relief Expedition.