United States. A West Indies Naval Campaign Medal to Leading Seaman James Abbott, U.S.S. Massachusetts

(JAMES ABBOTT, LDS.), 4 Clasps - SANTIAGO (all four). In bronze, the recipient's name is officially engraved on the edge, each SANTIAGO clasp is engraved with a date on the reverse (JUNE 6., JUNE 16., JULY 2., JULY 4. respectively), measuring 38.5 mm in diameter, suspended from a 40 mm (w) x 8.5 mm (h) bar hanger (brooch) inscribed "U.S.S. MASSACHUSETTS" with pinback, spotting, very light contact, replacement ribbon, near extremely fine. 

Footnotes: 

1. The Sampson Medal was a U.S. Navy campaign medal. The medal was 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. It 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 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." The Sampson Medal was also known as the 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. The obverse of the medal was designed by Charles E. Barber. It depicts a bust of Admiral Sampson. The reverse was designed by George T. Morgan. It depicts a Navy officer, Sailor, and Marine standing upon a block identifying the action for which the medal was awarded. Suspending the ribbon of the medal is a brooch pin with the name of the recipient's ship. The recipient's name is engraved on the lower rim 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 and some were awarded with several engagement bars. When worn as a ribbon on a military uniform, there were no devices authorized.

2. U.S.S. Massachusetts was an Indiana-class, pre-dreadnought battleship and the second United States Navy ship comparable to foreign battleships of its time. Authorized in 1890, and commissioned six years later, she was a small battleship, though with heavy armor and ordnance. The ship class also pioneered the use of an intermediate battery. She was designed for coastal defense and as a result, her decks were not safe from high waves on the open ocean. Massachusetts served in the Spanish-American War as part of the Flying Squadron and took part in the blockades of Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba. She missed the decisive Battle of Santiago de Cuba after steaming to Guantánamo Bay the night before to resupply coal. After the war she served with the North Atlantic Squadron, performing training maneuvers and gunnery practice. During this period she suffered an explosion in an 8-inch (203 mm) gun turret, killing nine, and ran aground twice, requiring several months of repair both times. She was decommissioned in 1906, for modernization.

3. Leading Seaman James Abbott served aboard U.S.S. Massachusetts at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba, a decisive naval engagement that occurred on July 3, 1898 between an American fleet, led by William T. Sampson and Winfield Scott Schley, against a Spanish fleet led by Pascual Cervera y Topete. The significantly more powerful US Navy squadron, consisting of four battleships and two armored cruisers, decisively defeated an outgunned squadron of the Royal Spanish Navy, consisting of four armored cruisers and two destroyers. All of the Spanish ships were sunk for no American loss. The crushing defeat sealed the American victory in the Cuban theater of the war, ensuring the independence of Cuba from Spanish rule. Abbott received four "Santiago" clasps for his West Indies Naval Campaign Medal (AKA Sampson Medal), each one designated by a separate battle date on the reverse.