A History of the Maltese Cross

Most American fire departments use the Maltese Cross as a logo on badges and shoulder patches.  A variety of badges went into use in American fire departments beginning in Boston in the 1830s.  Most of these badge designs looked like miniature helmet front pieces.  In 1865 the newly organized professional fire department of New York City introduced a cap badge based on a variety of the Maltese Cross.  

This design had been used as a logo by several corps of the Union Army in the Civil War.  It is likely that a New York fire officer or commissioner with a background in the Union Army introduced this variant of the Maltese Cross as part of a campaign to organize the department on semi-military lines.  The new department used uniforms that closely resembled U.S. Army uniforms as well as a military organization and rank structure; companies, battalions, divisions, lieutenants, captains, etc.  In 1870 the department settled on the version that is used to the present day.  By 1900 most departments had adopted one of the Maltese Cross variants as their standard badges.

Some historians like to associate the use of the Maltese Cross in fire departments to the Knights of Saint John in the 12th century, which used the Maltese Cross as a symbol of protection and a badge of honor.  The story is hundreds of years old when a courageous band of crusaders known as 'The Knights of St. John' fought the Saracens for possession of the holy land, and encountered a new weapon unknown to European warriors.  It was a simple, but a horrible device of war; it wrought excruciating pain and agonizing death upon the fighters for the cross. The Saracen's weapon was fire. 

Though these men were not firemen, their heroic efforts were recognized by fellow crusaders who awarded each a badge of honor - a cross similar to the one firemen wear today. Since the Knights of St. John lived for close to four centuries on a small island in the Mediterranean Sea named Malta, the cross came to be known as the Maltese Cross and a symbol of protection. The knights organized some of the world's earliest hospitals in addition to their military activities.  To this day, the Order operates ambulance services in Europe, however, they are not firefighters.

For more information about its history, please visit:

• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltese_cross

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