History
In the United States, the concept of a service stripe dates back to 1782 when, during the American Revolution George Washington ordered that enlisted men who had served for three years "with bravery, fidelity and good conduct" should wear "a narrow piece of white cloth, of angular form" on the left sleeve of the uniform coat. In the American Civil War sleeve stripes denoted a successful completion of a standard enlistment. Earlier they had been used in Napoleon Bonaparte's army, with a chevron awarded for each seven years of enlistment.
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Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The principle that human nature, in its psychological aspects, is nothing more than a product of history and given social relations removes all barriers to coercion and manipulation by the powerful.”
—Noam Chomsky (b. 1928)
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—Eric Hoffer (1902–1983)
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—Mary B. Clay, U.S. suffragist. As quoted in History of Woman Suffrage, vol. 4, ch. 3, by Susan B. Anthony and Ida Husted Harper (1902)