Military

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.

Physical DescriptionDark-blue cloth, double-breasted, with two parallel rows of buttons. Standing collar and cuffs of dark-blue velvet; the collar and cuffs are embroidered in gold, with oak leaves and acorns, according to the designs in the Topographical Bureau.
Description
Physical Description
Dark-blue cloth, double-breasted, with two parallel rows of buttons. Standing collar and cuffs of dark-blue velvet; the collar and cuffs are embroidered in gold, with oak leaves and acorns, according to the designs in the Topographical Bureau. Buttons bear the shield of the United States and the letters "T.E." in old English characters.
Chapeau for Officers of Topographical Engineers
The chapeau is of black beaver felt and is described in the regulations as "cocked without binding; fan or back part not more than eleven inches, nor less than nine inches; the front or cock not more than nine inches, nor less than eight inches; each corner, six inches; black ribbons on the two front sides." The ends are decorated with tassels of gold bullion; the front has a black silk cockade under a gold loop, eleven inches long, ornamented with a gilt spread eagle, a scroll, and the button of the Corps. The plume is of black swan feathers, drooping from an upright stem, feathered to the length of eight inches.
Specific History
This coat and hat were part of the uniform of a Topographical Engineer.
General History
Topographical Engineers were authorized for War Department duty by a March 3, 1813 act, to conduct engineering surveys for military purposes and to explore routes for the passage of troops. Specifically the duties of the topographical engineers were "to make such surveys and exhibit such delineations as the commanding generals shall direct; to make plans of all military positions which the army may occupy and of their respective vicinities, indicating the various roads, rivers, creeks, ravines, hills, woods, and villages to be found therein; to accompany all reconnoitering parties sent out to obtain intelligence of the movements of the enemy or of his positions; to make sketches of their routes, accompanied by written notices of everything worthy of observation therein; to keep a journal of every day's movement when the army is in march, noticing the variety of ground, of buildings, of culture, and distances, and state of roads between common points throughout the march of the day; and lastly, to exhibit the positions of contending armies on the fields of battle, and the dispositions made, either for attack or defense."
date made
ca 1830
associated date
1839
ID Number
AF.22702
catalog number
22702
accession number
64127
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1987
agent
Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador
ID Number
1987.0383.08.a
catalog number
1987.0383.08.a
accession number
1987.0383
This lithograph, Passage de l’armé française à; l’hospice du Mont Saint-Bernard 15 Mai 1800 by Hippolyte Bellangé, shows Napoleon’s daring crossing of the Alps via the Great St. Bernard Pass on the Italian-Swiss border with his army of 40,000 men.
Description
This lithograph, Passage de l’armé française à; l’hospice du Mont Saint-Bernard 15 Mai 1800 by Hippolyte Bellangé, shows Napoleon’s daring crossing of the Alps via the Great St. Bernard Pass on the Italian-Swiss border with his army of 40,000 men. It was published with eleven other military views, including the Battle of Marengo, in a portfolio. Entitled Souvenirs militaires de la Republique, du Consulat et de l’Empire (Military Memories of the Republic, the Consulate, and the Empire), the firm of Gihaut introduced the album in 1834. It was the last but one in an annual series that Bellangé inaugurated in 1823. The prints in these portfolios included military views and some genre scenes.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1833
graphic artist
Bellangé, Hippolyte
ID Number
GA.15317
catalog number
15317
accession number
94830
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1944-06-06
maker
Capa, Robert
ID Number
PG.007448
accession number
255885
catalog number
7448
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1944-06-06
maker
Capa, Robert
ID Number
PG.007450
accession number
255885
catalog number
7450
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1944-06-06
maker
Capa, Robert
ID Number
PG.007445
accession number
255885
catalog number
7445
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1944-06-06
maker
Capa, Robert
ID Number
PG.007447
accession number
255885
catalog number
7447
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1944-06-06
maker
Capa, Robert
ID Number
PG.007446
accession number
255885
catalog number
7446
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1944-06-06
maker
Capa, Robert
ID Number
PG.007451
accession number
255885
catalog number
7451
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1944-06-06
maker
Capa, Robert
ID Number
PG.007449
accession number
255885
catalog number
7449
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1944-06-06
maker
Capa, Robert
ID Number
PG.007452
accession number
255885
catalog number
7452
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1919
Circa 1919
Circa 1919
ca 1919
associated date
1917 - 1918
associated person
Stanley-Brown, Rudolph
Stanley-Brown, Katharine
artist
Stanley-Brown, Rudolph
ID Number
AF.59710M
catalog number
59710M
accession number
216896
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1918
1918
Circa 1918
associated date
1917 - 1918
associated person
Stanley-Brown, Rudolph
Stanley-Brown, Katharine
artist
Stanley-Brown, Rudolph
ID Number
AF.59713M
catalog number
59713M
accession number
216896
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1918
Circa 1918
ca 1918
associated date
1917 - 1918
associated person
Stanley-Brown, Rudolph
Stanley-Brown, Katharine
artist
Stanley-Brown, Rudolph
ID Number
AF.59730M
catalog number
59730M
accession number
216896
Charcoal and watercolor on paper. Soldiers firing a line of 155mm howitzers into the dark in a World War I engagement.
Description
Charcoal and watercolor on paper. Soldiers firing a line of 155mm howitzers into the dark in a World War I engagement. Barbed wire runs in front of the guns.
Lines of wire entanglements, like the one depicted here, were used to prevent advances across the No Man's Land between the parallel lines of enemy trenches.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1918
Circa 1918
ca 1918
associated date
1918
artist
Stanley-Brown, Rudolph
ID Number
AF.59729M
catalog number
59729M
accession number
216896
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Associated Date
1815 01 08
ID Number
AF.67316M
catalog number
67316M
accession number
241874
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1918
Circa 1918
depicted
October 1918
date made
ca 1918
associated date
1917 - 1918
associated person
Stanley-Brown, Rudolph
Stanley-Brown, Katharine
artist
Stanley-Brown, Rudolph
ID Number
AF.59707M
catalog number
59707M
accession number
216896
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1919
ca 1898
associated date
1898
ID Number
ZZ.RSN82660W24
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1898
associated date
1898
ID Number
ZZ.RSN82660W23
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1899
maker
Underwood & Underwood Illustration Studios
ID Number
2006.0142.24
accession number
2006.0142
catalog number
2006.0142.24
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1886
copyright date
1886
associated date
1865 04 01
maker
Kurz & Allison-Art Studio
Kurz & Allison-Art Studio
ID Number
AF.58119M
catalog number
58119M
accession number
204114
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1893
associated date
1863 04 02
copyright date
1893
maker
Kurz & Allison-Art Studio
Kurz & Allison-Art Studio
ID Number
AF.58134M
catalog number
58134M
accession number
204114
Physical DescriptionAmerican-made pistol, .38 caliber.Specific HistoryOne of a pair of flintlock pistols Andrew Jackson presented to his friend Lemuel P. Montgomery when he was commissioned as a Major in the 39th U.S. Infantry.
Description
Physical Description
American-made pistol, .38 caliber.
Specific History
One of a pair of flintlock pistols Andrew Jackson presented to his friend Lemuel P. Montgomery when he was commissioned as a Major in the 39th U.S. Infantry. Montgomery was killed in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, March 27, 1814. Montgomery County, Alabama is named for the Major.
General History
Andrew Jackson had a long history with the Indians. During the War of 1812, he led militia forces in a war against Creek Indians. One faction of the Creek sided with the British and fought the United States along the western frontier. This group, known as Red Sticks because of their bright-red war clubs they carried, followed the teachings of the charismatic Shawnee, Tecumseh. The Red Sticks believed that Indians of many tribes needed to unite against the United States.
Andrew Jackson received a plea for help from a tribe of allied Creeks at Talladega. Jackson mobilized an army of 1,200 infantry and 800 cavalry and set out for the Creek fort at Talladega, arriving there in the early morning of November 9, 1813. Jackson surrounded the town with a brigade of militia under General Isaac Roberts on the left and a brigade of volunteers led by General William Hall on the right. The Creek attacked the line held by Roberts’ brigade, and the brigade retreated, allowing hundreds of Creek to escape. The gap was quickly filled by reserves and the position repaired. Within fifteen minutes the battle was over. At least 300 Creek perished on the battlefield while American losses amounted to fifteen killed and eighty-six wounded.
date made
ca 1812
user
Montgomery, Major L. P.
associated person
Jackson, Andrew
manufacturer
Bellah, J.
ID Number
AF.16090
catalog number
16090
accession number
13152
catalog number
2322
Physical DescriptionLithographic print.General HistoryGeneral Robert E. Lee’s first invasion of the North culminated in the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest single-day battle in American history.
Description
Physical Description
Lithographic print.
General History
General Robert E. Lee’s first invasion of the North culminated in the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest single-day battle in American history. More soldiers were killed or wounded at Antietam than all the American dead in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War and the Spanish-American War combined. On September 17, 1862, General Robert E. Lee and 30,000 Confederate troops faced Major General George McClellan and 60,000 Union troops. It should have been a clear victory for McClellan, especially since his army had captured Lee’s Special Order No. 191 which directed Stonewall Jackson to march on Harpers Ferry. McClellan failed to use this information wisely, choosing instead to remain cautious. Jackson took Harpers Ferry and moved his 45,000 troops on to Antietam to reinforce Lee’s troops. McClellan was recalled to Washington and was relieved of his command.
date made
1888
copyright date
1888
associated date
1862 09 17
maker
Kurz & Allison-Art Studio
Kurz & Allison-Art Studio
ID Number
AF.58125
accession number
204114
catalog number
58125

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