Military - Overview
The Museum's superb military collections document the history of the men and women of the armed forces of the United States. The collections include ordnance, firearms, and swords; uniforms and insignia; national and military flags and banners; and many other objects.
The strength of the collections lies in their enormous depth. Some 3,000 military small arms and 2,400 civilian firearms document the mechanical and technological history of the infantryman's weapons from the beginning of the gunpowder era to the present. Among the 4,000 swords and knives in the collection are many spectacular presentation pieces. The collections also include Civil War era telegraph equipment, home front artifacts from both world wars, early computers such as ENIAC, Whirlwind, and Sage, and materials carried at antiwar demonstrations.
"Military - Overview" showing 21 items.
Page 1 of 3
American Artillery Relieved at Deumx After Days of Hard Fighting
- Description
- Charcoal sketch on illustration board. The work depicts the exhausted members of an artillery unit moving away from the line at Deumx, France. A line of soldiers, horses, wagons, and artillery pieces are moving through a forest. Many of the soldiers, whether riding on horses, vehicles, or walking, are slouched and stooped.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-07
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- depicted
- 1918-07-19
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Morgan, Wallace
- ID Number
- AF*25758
- catalog number
- 25758
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Bomb Proof Billets and Chow
- Description
- Charcoal sketch on white paper. In this outdoor scene, soldiers prepare and eat a meal. The outdoor mess area is framed by a house on the right, and dugouts built into a rise in the ground. A caisson is in the center foreground.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Morgan, Wallace
- ID Number
- AF*25763
- catalog number
- 25763
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Dugouts of the 5th Marines
- Description
- Charcoal sketch on white paper. The work depicts American soldiers at their dugouts in a forested area.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Morgan, Wallace
- ID Number
- AF*25765
- catalog number
- 25765
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
American Soldiers on the March
- Description
- Charcoal sketch on board. Troops marching through a shell-torn village. In the foreground are several soldiers and a horse-drawn wagon; these are in shadow. The background of the picture is in light and includes more troops, trucks, buildings, and trees.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-07
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- referenced
- 1918-07-10
- associated person
- War Department
- maker
- Morgan, Wallace
- ID Number
- AF*25759
- catalog number
- 25759
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Artillery Horses in the River at Andilly
- Description
- Charcoal and ink wash sketch on white paper. Soldiers lead teams of horses across a river. In the background are several buildings, trees, more horses, and vehicles. There is a bridge on the right. Beneath the sketch are two printed labels affixed to the cardboard mount. The label below the center of the sketch reads: "ARTILLERY HORSES IN THE RIVER AT / ANDILLY / BY W. MORGAN / TRANSFERRED FROM THE WAR DEPARTMENT / 2919". The label beneath the sketch and to the right reads "8. x15397 / ARTILLERY HORSES IN THE RIVER AT ANDILLY. / W. MORGAN".
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Morgan, Wallace
- ID Number
- AF*25761
- catalog number
- 25761
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Dressing Station in Ruined Farm
- Description
- Charcoal with watercolor sketch on white paper. The scene is of two ambulances in front of a large building. Many wounded soldiers are sitting on the ground and receiving treatment. Several soldiers sit under the tree in the right of the sketch.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- referenced
- 1918-06-19
- associated person
- War Department
- maker
- Morgan, Wallace
- ID Number
- AF*25767
- catalog number
- 25767
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
In Billets
- Description
- Charcoal and color sketch on paper. Large wagon in foreground. On the right, sitting up against a building, a line of American troops and French women are stripping willow boughs for baskets. Team of mules on the left. Trees in the background and hills in the distance. A label affixed to the lower right corner of the drawing reads: "1. x16392/IN BILLETS. American boys helping French women strip willow/bows [sic] for baskets./Reherry." The sketch is affixed to a larger piece of cardboard.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- maker
- Morgan, Wallace
- ID Number
- AF*25770
- catalog number
- 25770
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
In the Argonne Forest
- Description
- Charcoal and color sketch on paper. Forest scene with bare and fallen trees. Wire entanglements on left; pool of water in the foreground.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- maker
- Morgan, Wallace
- ID Number
- AF*25771
- catalog number
- 25771
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Infantry and Tanks Advancing on Field
- Description
- Charcoal sketch. In the foreground is a mounted soldier and a soldier on foot next to him; both of them are wearing French helmets. Beyond these two figures is a line of advancing infantrymen. On the left are two Renault FT-17 tanks. In the background, on the right, are trees and shell-torn buildings. Plumes of smoke streak the horizon.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-07
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- maker
- Morgan, Wallace
- ID Number
- AF*25773
- catalog number
- 25773
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Machine Gun Outfit Near Esnes
- Description
- Charcoal sketch. Shell bursts light up the horizon in the background. Soldiers in foreground, crouched and on the move. A horse is hitched to machine gun equipment. Three denuded trees between the soldiers and the horizon.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- maker
- Morgan, Wallace
- ID Number
- AF*25774
- catalog number
- 25774
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center