United States. A West Indies Naval Campaign Medal to P. O'Grady, United States Navy, USS Iowa

(Sampson Medal) - SANTIAGO (5), SAN JUAN. P.R (in bronze, engraved "P. O'GRADY. U.S. NAVY" on the edge, obverse illustrating the left-facing bust of Rear Admiral William T. Sampson, inscribed "U.S. NAVAL CAMPAIGN / WEST INDIES 1898" above, "WILLIAM T. SAMPSON" to the left and "COMMANDER IN CHIEF" to the right of the bust, engraver marked "B" (Charles E. Barber), reverse designed by George T. Morgan, illustrating a Navy officer, a Sailor and a Marine aboard ship, all three facing to the left, with water behind them and mountainous landscape in the distance, the figures standing upon a block identifying the action for which the medal was awarded, the block inscribed "SANTIAGO DE CUBA" with the date "JULY 3" below, measuring 38 mm in diameter, original ribbon, the five Santiago clasps dated "JULY 4.", "JULY 2.", "MAY 31.", "JUNE 6." and "JUNE 16." on their reverses, the San Juan P.R clasp dated "MAY 12." on the reverse, suspended from a hanger inscribed "U.S.S. IOWA " with brooch pinback, contact marks, very fine. 

Footnote: The West Indies Naval Campaign Medal (AKA Sampson Medal) is a commemorative medal of the United States Navy for service in the Spanish-American War. The medal was authorized by an Act of Congress in 1901 and was awarded to those personnel who served on ships in the fleet of Rear Admiral William T. Sampson during combat operations in the waters of the West Indies and Cuba. The Sampson Medal was also known as the Medal Commemorating Naval Engagements in the West Indies or West Indies Naval Campaign Medal, not to be confused with the West Indies Campaign Medal which was a separate award. A similar commemorative decoration was the Dewey Medal, considered senior to the Sampson Medal. It was first authorized by a Joint resolution of the United States Congress on March 3, 1901. The resolution authorized the Secretary of the Navy to have produced bronze medals to commemorate naval engagements in the West Indies and on the shores of Cuba during the Spanish-American War. The medal was to be presented to the officers and men of the United States Navy and Marine Corps who participated in engagements and battles that were deemed to be of sufficient importance to merit their commemoration. The resolution also stipulated that those who might be eligible for recognition for participation in more than one engagement would not receive a second medal, but would receive a "bronze bar appropriately inscribed, to be attached to the ribbon by which the medal is suspended." Suspending the ribbon of the medal is a brooch pinback with the name of the recipient's ship. The recipient's name is engraved on the edge of the medal, this being one of only two medals officially issued named to a recipient. Campaign clasps or engagement bars were authorized for wear on the ribbon, showing various battles and the ship name which had participated. The medal was issued for forty-seven engagements or skirmishes, with some awarded with several engagement bars. When worn as a ribbon on a military uniform, there were no devices authorized. USS Iowa (BB-4) was a United States Navy battleship. It was the first ship commissioned in honor of Iowa and was America's first seagoing battleship. Like the Indiana class, USS Iowa was classified as a "Seagoing Coastline Battleship", but she was a better sea boat than the earlier battleships. USS Iowa saw substantial action in the Spanish-American War, including the Battle of Santiago on July 3, 1898. While she was an improvement over the Indiana class because of a superior design, the warship became obsolete quickly in the first quarter of the twentieth century and was used for target practice and sunk on March 23, 1923 in Panama Bay by a salvo of 14-inch shells.