Napoleon and the Legion of Honour

The National Order of the Legion of Honour (French: Ordre national de la
Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour
(Ordre royal de la Légion d'honneur), is the highest French order of merit,
both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, it
has been retained (and slightly altered) by all later French governments
and régimes.

The order's motto is Honneur et Patrie ("Honour and Country"), and its
seat is the Palais de la Légion d'Honneur next to the Musée d'Orsay, on
the left bank of the Seine in Paris.

The order is divided into five degrees of increasing distinction:
Chevalier (Knight), Officier (Officer),
Commandeur (Commander),
Grand officier (Grand Officer),
and Grand-croix (Grand Cross) or the Grand Eagle.

Foundation

This order was founded on 19  May 1802. 

The idea

During the French Revolution, all of the French orders of chivalry
were abolished and replaced with Weapons of Honour. It was the wish
of Napoleon Bonaparte, the First Consul, to create a reward to commend
civilians and soldiers. From this wish was instituted a Légion d'honneur,
a body of men that was not an order of chivalry, for Napoleon believed
that France wanted a recognition of merit rather than a new system of
nobility. However, the Légion d'honneur did use the organization of the
old French orders of chivalry, for example, the Ordre de Saint-Louis.
The insignia of the Légion d'honneur bear a resemblance to those of
the Ordre de Saint-Louis, which also used a red ribbon.

Napoleon originally created this award to ensure political loyalty.
The organization would be used as a façade to give political favours, gifts,
and concessions. The Légion d'honneur was loosely patterned after a
Roman legion, with legionaries, officers, commanders, regional "cohorts"
and a grand council.