In the beginning of the 1956 feature film, The Searchers, directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne as Ethan Edwards, one of his most enduring characters, Ethan presents a medal to his niece which looks like this:
The medal has a blue and white maltese cross with an enamalled rondelle in the center featuring an insignia that is hard to make out. Was this medal an actual historical medal or based on a particular medal?