4th class Saint George order document hand-signed by Catherine the Great issued on November 26, 1792 to "Нашему Секунд Майору и Кавалеру Малье!/To Our Secund Major and Cavalier Mal'ye!" for his gallantry at the Siege of Izmail in December 1790, a key victory in the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792, and his subsequent exploits at Brailov on the Danube the following spring. The "second major/secund major" was the junior staff officer rank in the Imperial Russian Army in the 18th century. The rank existed from 1716 (in another source from 1711) until 1797 and followed the rank of captain (company commander).
"… at the storming of the fortress Izmail … you, in command of your force, broke the enemy relief force in front of the stone bastion, and put them to flight; and then on 30 March 1791 … you went up the Danube with six artillery boats, past the fortifications on the island opposite Brailov, under bombardment by case shot, and so encountered the enemy relief force in a cruel battle and drove them away, & sank a transport ship and two half-galleys, and then crossed and took part in the capture of the fortress … ".