On the 13th of October, 1862, the following act was approved by the Confederate Congress:
The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized to bestow medals with proper devices upon such officers of the armies of the Confederate States as shall be conspicuous for courage
and
good conduct on the field of battle; 
and also
to confer a badge of distinction upon one private or noncommissioned officer of
each company after every signal victory it shall have assisted to achieve. The noncommissioned officers and privates of the company who may be present on the first dress parade thereafter may choose, by a majority of their votes, the soldier best entitled to receive such distinction, whose name shall be communicated to the President by commanding officers of the
company; and if the award fall upon a deceased soldier, the badge thus awarded him shall be delivered to his widow, or, if there be no widow, to any relative the President may adjudge entitled to receive it.
This act was published in an order from the office of the Adjutant and Inspector General, at Richmond, on the 22nd of November, 1862, and a "Roll of Honor" was prepared, bearing the names of those considered worthy of rewards provided for in it. The medal and badge of distinction were never conferred, and there is no record of any medal having been prepared, for this or any other purpose, by the Confederate Government; it follows, therefore, that what we can class as Confederate War Medals emanated from other sources.