History of the United States Army Military Police Corps

Military Police Corps
Cross Pistol Insignia History

The insignia of crossed pistols for the Military Police Corps was approved in 1923. The insignia is not crossed dueling pistols as many people believe. The device is a scale model of the Harpers Ferry Army officers' sidearm and holster pistol of a century and a half ago.
The original pistols, for the design were in the collection of Major Jerome Clark, U.S. Army. The device and its development were the idea of Captain George M. Chandler, War Department General Staff, U.S. Army. The drawings for the insignia were made in 1922 by the Heraldic Section, Quartermaster General.

In 1920, when a reorganization of the Army occurred, the original staff study assigned 5000 infantrymen to the military police mission. Chief of Infantry, Major General Farnsworth, protested this arrangement because it charged him with troops that he would never have under his control. He won his point with the general staff, and the War Department created another temporary arm of the service--The Corps of Military Police. A new corps insignia was needed, and a new collar mark had to be devised.

The infantryman carried a musket, the cavalryman wore a saber, and the military policeman carried a billy-club. The draftsman was instructed to draw crossed billy-clubs. The result was a failure. At saluting distance the MP could not be distinguished from the field artilleryman. The club insignia looked like crossed cannon.

Next the medieval military club, the mace, was tried. Beautiful drawings were made but looked like crossed potato mashers. The MP was armed with a .45 caliber automatic pistol. This was tried as an insignia but looked like carpenter's squares. The .45 caliber pistol, like the others, made inartistic devices.

The heraldic section was reminded of the Harpers Ferry Army Arsenal flintlock pistol. Everyone interested in the new insignia agreed, and the Chief of Staff, General Pershing, signed the drawings and later approved the metal collar mark which is now worn by the Army Military Police.

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