A Heart Made of Cloth (National Purple Heart Day)

Quick answer: What is the origin of the Purple Heart?

On August 7, 1782, at Newburgh on the Hudson, George Washington ordered that any soldier performing a singularly meritorious action could wear a purple cloth heart over his left breast. Unlike European honors reserved for officers, it was open to all ranks. Only three sergeants are known to have received it.

On August 7, 1782, from his headquarters at Newburgh, George Washington issued an order for an army that had gone seven years short of nearly everything, including pay. Europe's armies reserved their crosses and stars for officers. Washington changed that in a paragraph. Any soldier who performed a singularly meritorious action could wear a heart cut from purple cloth over his left breast for life, pass guards with an officer's freedom, and have his name entered in a book of merit. He wrote: “The road to glory in a patriot army and a free country is thus open to all.” Only three men are known to have received it, all sergeants, among them Elijah Churchill, who led the charge at Fort St. George in 1780. Today's Purple Heart can't be earned by any act of will; it arrives on a soldier's worst day. John recalls sitting with John Gallina, wounded in Iraq, who said almost nothing about his own. The people who carry it rarely do.

Why it matters for leaders: Honor that's open to every rank tells people their actions matter more than their station.

Q: Who received Washington's original badge?

A: Three sergeants are known, including Elijah Churchill of the 2nd Continental Dragoons and William Brown of the 5th Connecticut. Churchill's badge survives in a museum.

Q: How is today's Purple Heart different?

A: It can't be earned by recommendation or an act of will; it reaches a service member wounded or killed in action.

Read the full essay on Substack → https://heroespath.substack.com/p/a-heart-made-of-cloth-national-purple

By John Fenzel, founder and CEO of Heroes' Path Foundation