4th-class Order of Red Eagle

The Order of the Red Eagle was established in 1705 in Brandenburg-Bayreuth. After the incorporation of this principality into Prussia (1792) it passed into Prussian hands and took second place in the hierarchy, after the Order of the Black Eagle. It was awarded to military men and civilians for bravery and faithful service or other achievements. From 1812, it had four classes, available for officers and noblemen. The Cross of the Order of the 4th Class was in the form of the Maltese Cross, with smooth silver arms that symbolise the four virtues of chivalry: fidelity, honour, valour and temperance. The red eagle of Brandenburg with a laurel wreath in its talons is in the central circular white enamelled shield. On the reverse side, the crowned royal monogram FW is placed in the shield. The presented Order belonged to Tadeusz Dzierżykraj-Morawski (1821-1888), social and political activist in the Grand Duchy of Posen, chamberlain to the Prussian King Wilhelm I. This meritorious citizen of Wielkopolska was the son of Franciszek, a general, poet, translator, participant of the Napoleonic wars, and Minister of War during the November Uprising (1831). Tadeusz Morawski, as a subject of the Prussian monarchy, received the Orders of the Red Eagle of the 3rd and 4th class for civilian merits. However, it is not known when the decoration took place. There is no information on this subject in Morawski's short biographies. Tadeusz Morawski's legacy (three orders: of the Holy Sepulchre with two stars and a ribbon, an Eagle of the Red 3rd and 4th Class, and a chain with a set of five miniatures) were acquired by the National Museum in Szczecin in 1975 from a resident of Szczecin, Mrs Anna Morawska. Together with these decorations, the Museum obtained the orders of his father, General Franciszek Dzierżykraj-Morawski.

Genowefa Horoszko