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.
Read more about this topic: Service Stripe
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“There is a history in all men’s lives,
Figuring the natures of the times deceased,
The which observed, a man may prophesy,
With a near aim, of the main chance of things
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