Aside from the Serpent and Eagle symbols, there were also the Imago (a Standard displaying the image of the emperor), the Manus (an open hand at the top of the banner), the Vexillum (a rectangular cut cloth of a certain color, sometimes with a number, attached to a pole), and Banners which designated military hierarchy (a red banner, for example, would designate a general). The Vexillum designated the type of unit (legion or cohort) and which legion it was. The Manus of the open hand symbolized the loyalty of the soldiers and the trust they had in their leaders. The Imago reminded the troops of the emperor they fought for and symbolically stood for the will of Rome among them. A Standard would have more than one banner on it except for the
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16 CE the Roman general Germanicus (15 BCE-19 CE) led his troops into Germania, in defiance of Augustus' dictate that the Rhine should be the boundary of Rome, to retrieve the Standards lost by Varas' defeat. Augustus was dead by then and Tiberius ruled Rome but, still, the previous boundary stood. Historians since have agreed that Germanicus' campaign was driven by revenge, his desire to rally the troops around him and, as a symbol of their personal loyalty to him and to Rome, the retrieval of the Standards. He massacred as many of the indigenous people as he could in retribution for the Roman defeat and recovered two of the three Standards lost in the Battle of Teutoburg Forest. While the people of Rome applauded his victories, he was denied advancement by Tiberius for acting outside of the established policy and also, no doubt, for engaging in a campaign which would have contributed to Germanicus' popularity at Tiberius' …show more content…
There are, however, differences, particularly regarding the number of streamers and use of embroidered devices. The Army carries a separate streamer for each important action in all wars in which that service has participated, each embroidered with the name of the action commemorated. Currently, the Army allows 187[3] streamers, and the Air Force, employing the Army system, carries more than 60. Unlike the Army-Air Force practice, the Marines and Navy use one ribbon for each war, campaign, or theater of operations. Specific actions or battles are highlighted by bronze and silver stars embroidered on the ribbon. The Marine Corps shows more than 40 streamers, the Navy 32, and the Coast Guard uses 43, unadorned by either stars or lettering. Stars on the Marines and Navy streamers follow the practice initiated during the World War II period for ribbons and medals—that is, a bronze service star for each action, and a silver star in lieu of five bronze stars. The Navy applies stars to appropriate ribbons throughout its history, whereas the Marine Corps uses stars to commemorate service starting from 1900. The Navy's Presidential Unit Citation, Navy Unit Commendation, and Meritorious Unit Commendation streamers each carry a red number rather than stars, representing the number of times that the respective award has been conferred upon Navy
16 CE the Roman general Germanicus (15 BCE-19 CE) led his troops into Germania, in defiance of Augustus' dictate that the Rhine should be the boundary of Rome, to retrieve the Standards lost by Varas' defeat. Augustus was dead by then and Tiberius ruled Rome but, still, the previous boundary stood. Historians since have agreed that Germanicus' campaign was driven by revenge, his desire to rally the troops around him and, as a symbol of their personal loyalty to him and to Rome, the retrieval of the Standards. He massacred as many of the indigenous people as he could in retribution for the Roman defeat and recovered two of the three Standards lost in the Battle of Teutoburg Forest. While the people of Rome applauded his victories, he was denied advancement by Tiberius for acting outside of the established policy and also, no doubt, for engaging in a campaign which would have contributed to Germanicus' popularity at Tiberius' …show more content…
There are, however, differences, particularly regarding the number of streamers and use of embroidered devices. The Army carries a separate streamer for each important action in all wars in which that service has participated, each embroidered with the name of the action commemorated. Currently, the Army allows 187[3] streamers, and the Air Force, employing the Army system, carries more than 60. Unlike the Army-Air Force practice, the Marines and Navy use one ribbon for each war, campaign, or theater of operations. Specific actions or battles are highlighted by bronze and silver stars embroidered on the ribbon. The Marine Corps shows more than 40 streamers, the Navy 32, and the Coast Guard uses 43, unadorned by either stars or lettering. Stars on the Marines and Navy streamers follow the practice initiated during the World War II period for ribbons and medals—that is, a bronze service star for each action, and a silver star in lieu of five bronze stars. The Navy applies stars to appropriate ribbons throughout its history, whereas the Marine Corps uses stars to commemorate service starting from 1900. The Navy's Presidential Unit Citation, Navy Unit Commendation, and Meritorious Unit Commendation streamers each carry a red number rather than stars, representing the number of times that the respective award has been conferred upon Navy