United States Marine Corps Spanish Campaign Medal (1898)

United States Marine Corps Spanish Campaign Medal (1898), an American military campaign medal authorised on 27 June 1908 to recognise eligible United States Marine Corps personnel who served during the Spanish-American War. The conflict began in April 1898 and involved American military operations in Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Guam. The medal recognised qualifying service afloat in the theatre of operations or ashore in designated locations between 20 April 1898 and 10 December 1899. It commemorates the Marine Corps’ role in the conflict, including the landing at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba, where Marines secured a position for American naval operations.

The bronze medal features a coastal fortress, identified as Morro Castle in Havana, above a group of cannonballs. The obverse bears the inscription “SPANISH CAMPAIGN” and the date “1898”. The reverse depicts an eagle perched upon an anchor, surrounded by a wreath of oak and olive branches, with the inscriptions “UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS” and “FOR SERVICE”. The Marine Corps version shares its general design with the United States Navy Spanish Campaign Medal, with the service inscription distinguishing the two. The ribbon was originally issued in red and yellow, but the colours were changed in 1913 to blue and yellow. This medal is of interest to collectors of early United States Marine Corps decorations, Spanish-American War memorabilia and nineteenth-century American campaign medals.

Condition

As new