Napoleonic Era
Aping the Romans, the French kings and then Napoleon, provided their marshals with ornate batons, sewn with stars or bees, respectively (see Marshal of France). Other armies copied the practice for their marshals.
The Duke of Wellington held the rank of field marshal or equivalent in eight European armies each of which presented him with a baton. In addition to his English baton he was presented with two British batons (see batons of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington). nine of the batons (along with some staffs of office) are displayed at his former home, Apsley House (The Russian baton was stolen on 9 December 1965 and has not been recovered).
Tsar Alexander I (1801–1825) presented five batons, one to the Duke of Wellington and four to Russian generals.
Read more about this topic: Baton (symbol)
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