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.

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1944-11-01
ID Number
2015.0074.0143
accession number
2015.0074
catalog number
2015.0074.0143
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1940s
ID Number
2017.0309.0070
accession number
2017.0309
catalog number
2017.0309.0070
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1945
ID Number
2016.0143.07
catalog number
2016.0143.07
accession number
2016.0143
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1943-03-09
ID Number
2015.0074.0133
accession number
2015.0074
catalog number
2015.0074.0133
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1944-04-20
ID Number
2015.0074.0136
accession number
2015.0074
catalog number
2015.0074.0136
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1945-07-08
ID Number
2016.0143.20
catalog number
2016.0143.20
accession number
2016.0143
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1945-07-06
ID Number
2016.0143.14
catalog number
2016.0143.14
accession number
2016.0143
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1940s
ID Number
2017.0309.0014
accession number
2017.0309
catalog number
2017.0309.0014
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1940s
ID Number
2017.0309.0044
accession number
2017.0309
catalog number
2017.0309.0044
Press print; two photos below caption describing photographs. left photo is a young African-American U.S.
Description (Brief)
Press print; two photos below caption describing photographs. left photo is a young African-American U.S. marine; at right is his father, seated at a table, holding a handkerchief to his face; Dan Bullock, left; Brother Bullock, right (Brother Bullock is Dan's father)
Bullock lied about his age and enlisted at age 14.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1969-06-12
ID Number
2016.0293.0006
accession number
2016.0293
catalog number
2016.0293.0006
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1940s
ID Number
2017.0309.0021
accession number
2017.0309
catalog number
2017.0309.0021
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1945
ID Number
2016.0143.10
catalog number
2016.0143.10
accession number
2016.0143
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1940s
ID Number
2017.0309.0082
accession number
2017.0309
catalog number
2017.0309.0082
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1940s
ID Number
2017.0309.0030
accession number
2017.0309
catalog number
2017.0309.0030
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1940s
ID Number
2017.0309.0052
accession number
2017.0309
catalog number
2017.0309.0052
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1945-07-06
ID Number
2016.0143.13
catalog number
2016.0143.13
accession number
2016.0143
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1944
ID Number
2015.0074.0137
accession number
2015.0074
catalog number
2015.0074.0137
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1945
Associated Date
1945
depicted (sitter)
Hitler, Adolph
maker
Anonymous
ID Number
2013.0327.1104
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.1104
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1940s
ID Number
2017.0309.0004
accession number
2017.0309
catalog number
2017.0309.0004
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1940s
ID Number
2017.0309.0034
accession number
2017.0309
catalog number
2017.0309.0034
Black and white photographic portrait of Medal of Honor recipient Lewis C. Shepard, wearing medal, for service during the Civil War.
Description
Black and white photographic portrait of Medal of Honor recipient Lewis C. Shepard, wearing medal, for service during the Civil War. The sitter also wears an 1893 New York Gettysburg anniversary veteran badge.
The inscription on the reverse indicates that Shepard served as an Ordinary Seaman during the Civil War onboard the U.S.S. Wabash. Shepard was mentioned for "gallant conduct in the assault on Fort Fisher, January 15, 1864," having approached and entered the enemy fort while facing heavy fire.
Official Citation:
SHEPARD, LOUIS C.
Rank and organization: Ordinary Seaman, U.S. Navy. Born: 1843, Ohio. Accredited to: Ohio. G.O. No.: 59, 22 June 1865. Citation: Served as seaman on board the U.S.S. Wabash in the assault on Fort Fisher, 15 January 1865. Advancing gallantly through severe enemy fire while armed only with a revolver and cutlass which made it impossible to return the fire at that range, Shepard succeeded in reaching the angle of the fort and in going on, to be one of the few who entered the fort. When the rest of the body of men to his rear were forced to retreat under a devastating fire, he was forced to withdraw through lack of support and to seek the shelter of one of the mounds near the stockade from which point he succeeded in regaining the safety of his ship.
ID Number
AF.11778.41
accession number
51057
catalog number
11778.41
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1940s
ID Number
2017.0309.0057
accession number
2017.0309
catalog number
2017.0309.0057
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1940s
ID Number
2017.0309.0060
accession number
2017.0309
catalog number
2017.0309.0060
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2015.0074.0144
accession number
2015.0074
catalog number
2015.0074.0144

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.