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 19 items.
Page 1 of 2
Behind Montmirail, American Division
- Description
- Crayon, pastel, and charcoal on white paper. The work depicts a group of troops and wagons moving across a bridge near Montmirail, France.
- A large tree borders the road, where American and French soldiers ride horses or horse-drawn wagons.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-07
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Harding, George Matthews
- ID Number
- AF*25736
- catalog number
- 25736
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Dispatch Motor Cycle
- Description
- Charcoal and crayon sketch on paper. The work depicts a dispatch carrier on a motor cycle near a fortified hill. The hill, with structures on the side (possibly dugouts) dominates the background of the work. On the left are several soldiers pushing a piece of heavy artillery. A low building is visible behind the dispatch carrier.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-07
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Harding, George Matthews
- ID Number
- AF*25741
- catalog number
- 25741
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
St. Juvin
- Description
- Charcoal and graphite sketch on paper. The sketch shows several shell-torn buildings in Saint-Juvin, France during World War I. In the foreground of the work, surrounding a dirt road, are damaged buildings, debris, a broken telephone pole, and a motor truck.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918
- artist
- Peixotto, Ernest Clifford
- ID Number
- AF*25864
- catalog number
- 25864
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
American Motor Trucks at Langres
- Description
- A charcoal and watercolor sketch on paper. A large building, La Porte de Moulins, rises above several other buildings and a clearing where army vehicles are grouped. American soldiers are roughly sketched and appear to be working on one of the trucks.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-06
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Smith, J. Andre
- ID Number
- AF*25902
- catalog number
- 25902
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
A View of Headquarters and Chaumont
- Description
- Pencil and watercolor sketch on paper. The work depicts the city of Chaumont, France, the site of the American Expeditionary Force headquarters during World War I. A stream and an open field dotted with trees in the foreground leads to a bluff, topped with buildings, in the background.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-03-23
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Smith, J. Andre
- ID Number
- AF*25917
- catalog number
- 25917
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
A Billet Village on the Marne
- Description
- A charcoal and watercolor sketch on paper. The sketch depicts a small village in France where American soldiers were billeted during World War I. The Marne river, seen here in the right background, was
- the line a German offensive in the spring and summer of 1918.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-06
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Smith, J. Andre
- ID Number
- AF*25944
- catalog number
- 25944
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Chaumont
- Description
- A pencil and watercolor sketch on paper of a view of Chaumont, France. The twin spires belong to the Basilique St. Jean Baptiste (Basilica of John the Baptist). The right of the spires, atop a hill, is the remains of the castle of the Counts of Champagne.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-03-23
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Smith, J. Andre
- ID Number
- AF*25966
- catalog number
- 25966
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Chaumont American Headquarters
- Description
- Mixed media drawing on paper. The focal point of this view of Chaumont, France is the castle of the Counts of Champagne, which looms over the town in the drawing. Chaumont was the location of the American Expeditionary Force's Headquarters during World War I.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Smith, J. Andre
- ID Number
- AF*25970
- catalog number
- 25970
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Grandpre
- Description
- A charcoal sketch on paper. This landscape shows Grandpre, France. In the foreground is a battleground with dugouts, barbed wire entanglements, and a bare tree on the left. Beyond the battleground are shell torn buildings, including a large church in the center that has some roof damage. The church is most likely the Église Saint-Médard.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Smith, J. Andre
- ID Number
- AF*25989
- catalog number
- 25989
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
In the Trail of the Retreating Germans
- Description
- Charcoal sketch on paper. The sketch shows a large crater, created by shell fire, that is partially filled with water. Two American soldiers stand on the lip of the crater. There are bare trees that surround the hole, and in the background there are houses.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Smith, J. Andre
- ID Number
- AF*26000
- catalog number
- 26000
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
- Next Page