Order of the Red Eagle

However, there was a medal of the order, which could be awarded to non-commissioned officers and enlisted men, lower ranking civil servants and other civilians.

The predecessor to the Order of the Red Eagle was founded on 17 November 1705, by the Margrave Georg Wilhelm of Brandenburg-Bayreuth as the Ordre de la Sincérité.

Following the Kaiser's abdication at the close of the First World War, a new German constitution was signed into law on 11 August 1919, effectively putting a legal end to the monarchy.

By the time of World War I, the order had evolved into four classes, two of them divided in two divisions each, and an affiliated medal: Within these seven grades, however, were a bewildering array of variations.

The central disc bore the red eagle on a white enamel background on the obverse, with the royal cipher of King Friedrich Wilhelm surmounted by the Prussian crown on the reverse.

After September 16, 1848, awards of all classes (except the medal) bestowed for military merit had two golden swords crossed through the central medallion.

Portrait of Frederick William III of Prussia by Thomas Lawrence , 1818
Georg Wilhelm, Markgraf of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, who founded the Ordre de la Sincerité
Großadmiral Alfred von Tirpitz, wearing his Order of the Red Eagle, Grand Cross
Karl August Fürst (Prince) von Hardenberg, ca 1822, by Friedrich Georg Weitsch. Hardenberg wears the badge of the Order of the Red Eagle, 1st Class, above his other orders
Giustino Fortunato, Prime minister of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
Order of the Red Eagle, 2nd Class, badge & neck ribbon
ADM Curt von Prittwitz, wearing the badge & star of the 2nd Class
Order of the Red Eagle, 3rd Class, with Crown and Swords
Admiral Sir William De Salis, R.N., awarded the Cross, second class, in 1904.
Order of the Red Eagle, 4th Class
Order of the Red Eagle Medal (for enlisted men)