he exhibition of 1781, and those of
of General and of Lieutenant-Colonel Washington, and Lieutenant-Colonel
Howard, in that of 1789.[11]

[Footnote 11: See G, page xlv.]

In those by Gatteaux, the personification of America as an Indian
queen with an alligator at her feet is noteworthy.

With the exception of the Treaty of Commerce medal (1822), and perhaps
of that of Captain Truxtun, our medals after the War of Independence
were engraved and struck at home. Before that time, indeed, the one
voted in 1779 to Major Henry Lee had been made by John Wright, of
Philadelphia. From the close of the eighteenth century down to (p. xxiv)
1840 John Reich and subsequently Moritz Fuerst were the engravers of
the national medals. Reich's works are valued; unfortunately they are
few in number. They consist of the medal voted in 1805 to Captain
Edward Preble for his naval operations against Tripoli, of another
voted in 1813 to Captain Isaac Hull for the capture of the British
frigate Guerriere, and of those of Presidents Jefferson and Madison.
That of President Jefferson especially deserves attention for its
beauty.

But little can be said in commendation of the works of Fuerst, whose
numerous medals are very inferior to Reich's, and still less worthy of
being compared with those of the French engravers. While wishing to
avoid undue severity, I cannot but endorse the opinion of General
Scott, given in a communication addressed to the Honorable William L.
Marcy, Secretary of War, in regard to the medal voted to General
Zachary Taylor, for victories on the Rio Grande:

To the Honourable HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
William L. MARCY, Washington, July 25, 1846.
Secretary of War.

As medals are among the surest monuments of history, as well as
muniments of individual distinction, there should be given to
them, besides intrinsic value and durability of material, the
utmost grace of design, with the highest finish in mechanical
execution. All this is necessary to give the greater or
adventitious value; as in the present instance, the medal is to
be, at once, an historical record and a reward of distinguished
merit. The credit of the donor thus becomes even more than that
of the receiver interested in obtaining a perfect specimen in the
fine arts.

The within resolution prescribes _gold_ as the material