On March 20, 1776 General George Washington wrote to the Continental Congress declaring his victory over General Howe and the retreat of the British from Boston harbor. The following day, Secretary John Adams enthusiastically proposed a gold medal be awarded to Washington for his successful leadership. This was the first award of a Congressional gold medal and the first Comitia Americana medal to be commissioned. It was the sixth, however, to be engraved and offered to the war hero. The medal’s design and production was as messy as the early battles of the Revolution. It took two failed committees, a failed design, and at least 14 years before Washington would receive his medal, the sixth Comitia Americana produced despite being the first commissioned.
