United States "Belt Revolver" .31 caliber with Maynard primer.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 allowed the two states to decide the issue of slavery by a popular ballot. The fight in Kansas was so intense that the state earned the nickname “Bleeding Kansas.” John Brown bought 2,000 of these revolvers and sent them to Kansas for the “Free-Soilers.” New England abolitionists helped bankroll “Free-Soilers” to move to the settlement of Lawrence, Kansas. In 1856, after abolitionists were attacked in Lawrence, John Brown led a raid on scattered cabins along the Pottawatomie Creek, killing five people. Kansas would not become a state until 1861, after the Confederate states seceded.
Top and bottom of red-and-white-striped cloth which quickly faded to the pinkish-gray color. Initials "CAC" stenciled on patch.
Specific History
These two-toned, "pink" striped "pajamas" were issued to and worn by Commander Allan "Al" Carpenter, USN, a prisoner of war from November 1, 1966, to March 4, 1973. He was flying an A4E Skyhawk with squadron VA-72. His Vietnamese name "CAC" is stenciled on the white aiming patch on the pajamas.
General History
Americans were held as prisoners of war in North Vietnam, but also in Cambodia, China, Laos, and South Vietnam.
From 1961 to 1973, the North Vietnamese and Vietcong held hundreds of Americans captive. In North Vietnam alone, more than a dozen prisons were scattered in and around the capital city of Hanoi. American POWs gave them nicknames: Alcatraz, Briarpatch, Dirty Bird, the Hanoi Hilton, the Zoo. Conditions were appalling; food was watery soup and bread, prisoners were variously isolated, starved, beaten, tortured—for countless hours—and paraded in anti-American propaganda. "It's easy to die but hard to live," a prison guard told one new arrival, "and we'll show you just how hard it is to live."
American prisoners were held at the Hoa Lo prison, nicknamed the “Hanoi Hilton” from August 11, 1964 to March 28, 1973. The French completed construction of this prison in 1901.
French silver-hilted officer's small sword with silvered guard and knuckle bow.
Specific History
This artifact is part of the large collection of firearms and militaria from the Charles Bremner Hogg Jackson collection.
Brem Jackson (1910-1979) was by all accounts a modest and intensely private individual. He was unknown as a collector to neighbors and other military connoisseurs. Born in New York, he was raised with a French governess who told him stories of the Napoleonic Era and instilled in him an early fascination for the French emperor.
His family moved to Florence, Italy, for 14 years. While there he studied and became fluent in French, German, and Italian. While traveling Europe, touring battlefields and military cemeteries, he began collecting and making miniature model soldiers. After World War II, he moved to Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where his collection further grew with the addition of original uniforms. He collected enough antique gear and uniforms to field a small army. He began but never completed cataloging his collection of items ranging in date from Classical Greece through World War I and housed in a large barn known locally as "Brem's Place." The barn, wagon shed, and ship studio contained not only the collection but also a master craftsman's studio and forge and an outstanding military reference library. From here Jackson gathered, restored, and researched his world-class holdings of militaria. He had an underground firing range on the property and occasionally even fired off cannons outside the barn. Although he occasionally corresponded with the Smithsonian's curators of military history, he never met with them and gave no notice of his intended bequest to the nation.
Much of his collection was part of a large bequest to the Smithsonian at his death in 1979.
General History
This type of sword was used by both French and American officers during the American Revolution.
Small metal box to protect matches, two-piece lantern, metal frying pan, and cup. Hardtack.
General History
A match safe, lantern, frying pan, and cup would have been part of a soldier’s equipment. Hardtack is the name given to a thick cracker made of flour, water, and sometimes salt. While it has been called by several nicknames, the Union Army of the Potomac referred to the ration as hardtack, and the name stuck. When stored properly, hardtack would last for years. Because it could be prepared cheaply and would last so long, hardtack was the most convenient food for soldiers. The army furnished hardtack by weight, but in most units the biscuits were doled out by number, with a ration generally being nine or ten.
This canteen was said to have been used at Gettysburg.
General History
The scene painted on this canteen is a snapshot of camp life, preserved as a memento of the war like a letter home or a diary entry. At right, a soldier appears to be on guard duty beside a tent over which flies an American flag. To the left, another soldier sits on a log before a fire. The scene evokes the rituals and chores of camp life: pitching tents, standing guard, gathering firewood, and preparing food. Soldiers accustomed to the orderliness of camp life as depicted here faced a stark contrast when they entered battle at Gettysburg and other chaotic killing grounds. Memories of camp and its monotonous routine could be soothing to men who endured grueling campaigns, which may explain why this unknown soldier-artist chose to depict that theme on an object that meant much to him.
Song and Service Book for Ship and Field, Army and Navy, edited by Ivan Loveridge Bennett. Gilt title on maroon boards, 192 pp.
General History
The Song and Service Book for Ship and Field, Army and Navy, edited by Ivan Loveridge Bennett, features prayers, hymns, and patriotic songs used in various military ceremonies and religious services.
The Division of Military History and Diplomacy has been collecting recruiting posters for more than fifty years. Recruiting as an activity of the military is important to the understanding of who serves in uniform, during both war and peace, and the visual materials used to market military service. The collection contains examples of early Civil War broadsides, World War I posters, including the original artwork for Uncle Sam as drawn by Montgomery Flagg; and World War II posters, which show the recruiting of men and women for all services and auxiliary organizations. The collection contains primarily Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II recruiting posters for the army, navy and some marines. More modern day recruiting materials are also contained in the collections, and cover a broad range of army recruiting slogans.
General History
Posters during World War II were designed to instill in people a positive outlook, a sense of patriotism, and confidence. They linked the war in trenches with the war at home. From a practical point, they were used to encourage all Americans to help with the war effort. The posters called on every man, woman, and child to endure the personal sacrifice and domestic adjustments to further the national agenda. They encouraged rationing, conservation, and sacrifice. In addition, the posters were used for recruitment, productivity, and motivation as well as for financing the war effort. The stark, colorful graphic designs elicited strong emotions. The posters played to the fears, frustrations, and faith in freedoms that lingered in people's minds during the war.
Japanese Arisaka Type 38 rifle, 6.5 mm with forged-steel bayonet; partially eradicated chrysanthemum stamp on receiver.
General History
The Japanese Arisaka Type 38 rifles were all turn bolt-operated, with five-round non-detachable staggered row box magazines. They were loaded with five-round stripper clips, a flat metal piece holding a five-round stack, which was inserted at the top of the magazine, the rounds thumbed down into position, and the metal piece sent flying when the bolt was closed. This rifle was named for Colonel Nariakira Arisaka. During the 1890s he headed a commission charged with developing a new rifle to replace earlier models such as the Murata. The Arisaka rifles were designated with the year of the current emperor's reign. Thus, the Type 38 rifle was designed in the thirty-eighth year of the reign of Emperor Meiji which would have been 1905. The rifle was stamped on the receiver with a sixteen-petal chrysanthemum, the symbol of the Japanese emperor. The chrysanthemum stamp showed the rifle was manufactured for the Imperial Japanese Army and therefore belonged to the emperor. As a face-saving gesture, Japanese soldiers who surrendered after the war made an attempt to grind the symbol off their rifles.
This knife, fork, and plate was issued to prisoner of war Colonel John S. Crocker, 93rd Infantry Regiment, New York Volunteers, by the commandant of Libby Prison, Richmond, Virginia, and used by him at Libby and Salisbury prisons, 1862.
General History
Libby Prison's three buildings were designed and built as a warehouse by John Enders, who died before putting them to use. Following his death, the warehouse sold to Luther Libby from Maine, who erected a sign "L. Libby & Son, Chip Chandlers". At the beginning of the war, Libby was given 48 hours to vacate the building so it could be used as a prison. The only thing Libby left behind was his sign; the building became Libby Prison. During the war, Libby held over 125,000 men, mostly Union officers. On February 9, 1864, the most bold and daring of prison escapes happened at Libby. One hundred nine Union army officers managed to escape by crawling through a fireplace, sliding down a chimney, and slithering through a 53-foot-long tunnel. The escape came after months of digging with tools smuggled into the prison by a Northern sympathizer, Elizabeth Van Wert, a.k.a. Crazybet. Libby was vacated just before the Union army captured Richmond, and spent the rest of the war empty.
Packet of blue-gray paper with a red border bearing the "V-mail" logo and information.
General History
During World War II, V-Mail became a popular way for soldiers and their loved ones at home to correspond. V-mail was written on specially designed sheets— a combination letter and envelope. These sheets were sent to the government where they were reduced to thumbnail size on microfilm. The microfilm was flown overseas and then developed at a lab close to the recipient's position. The V-mail letter-sheets, now about one-quarter of their original size, were mailed and delivered to the soldiers or their families back home. The development of the V-Mail system reduced the time it took a soldier to receive a letter by a month— from six weeks by boat to twelve days or less by air.
However, the main advantage of V-Mail was its compact nature. Reduction in the size and weight of the letters translated into more space for crucial military supplies on cargo planes. One roll of film weighing about seven ounces could hold over 1,500 letters. Putting that another way, two pounds of microfilm replaced 100 pounds of letters! Over a billion letters were sent via V-Mail between 1942 and 1945. In all, about 556.5 million pieces of V-Mail were sent from the United States to military post offices and over 510 million pieces were received from military personnel abroad. Think of it as the earliest form of e-mail.
Date the Monitor sunk off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
1862-12-31
maker
Arthur G. Henning Inc.
ID Number
AF.58707N
accession number
235954
catalog number
58707-N
Description
Physical Description
Wood model with plastic parts.
General History
Built by contract with John Ericsson at Green Point, Long Island, and launched January 30, 1862, the USS Monitor saw its first naval action at Hampton Roads, Virginia, on March 9, 1862. Despite the CSS Virginia being almost twice its size, with ten guns, the Monitor with its two eleven-inch turret guns held its own. The engagement ended in a draw. The Monitor sank in a gale off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, on December 31, 1862.
Light khaki jacket with blue facings with epaulettes and gold-colored buttons. Wool felt hat with cotton braids and gilt threads.
Specific History
Jacket and hat worn by Colonel Leonard Wood in Cuba.
While serving as an assistant surgeon in the Apache Campaign of the summer of 1886, Wood was awarded the Medal of Honor. In 1895, he was the White House physician to President Grover Cleveland. He began his long friendship with Theodore Roosevelt during his years in Washington. Following the Spanish-American War, he served as military governor of Cuba until 1902. As a brigadier general he fought the Moros during the Philippine Insurrection in 1904 and less than a year later was named army chief of staff by President William Howard Taft. In less than a decade, he had jumped from a captain in the Medical Corps to the highest post in the army.
Colt manufactured approximately 291,000 of these .38 caliber revolvers between 1892 and 1907. It was the first double action swing out cylinder revolver issued to the U.S. military. In 1902 complaints about the inadequacy of the .38 caliber cartridge came in from combat troops in the Philippines. The Army went back to a .45 caliber side arm in 1909.
Congressional Medal of Honor awarded to Frank E. Brownell, private, Company A, 11th New York Infantry. On May 24, 1861, Brownell killed James W. Jackson, who killed Brownell's commanding officer, Colonel Elmer Ellsworth. Ellsworth was the first Union officer killed in the Civil War. He was shot by Jackson as he lowered a Confederate flag flying from the Marshall House Inn in Alexandria, Virginia. Seconds later, Brownell shot and bayoneted Jackson. Brownell received two Medals of Honor; the first one issued to him was inscribed on the reverse: "The Congress to Sergeant Frank E. Brownell Co. 4 11th New York Volunteers." Brownell was not pleased with the inscription and sent the medal back. He was given a new medal with an inscription he had written himself: "The Congress to Sergt. Frank E. Brownell, 11th N.Y. Vol Inf'y for gallantry in shooting the murderer of Col. Ellsworth at Alexandria, VA, May 24, 1861."
Cream-colored silk, with thirteen stars above an eagle. Just inside the border is an embroidered floral pattern of pink roses, green leaves, and gold-brown stems. Near the lower border is the motto "God Armeth The Patriot."
Specific History
Captain David Deaderick is credited with risking his life in the thick of combat to save this flag when it fell from the hands of a wounded standard bearer.
General History
The Creek War began on August 30, 1813, when a faction of Creek known as the Red Sticks attacked a contingent of 553 American settlers at Lake Tensaw, Alabama, north of Mobile. The British were believed to be a main ally of the Indians. In response to the Alabama attack, Jackson led 5,000 militiamen in the destruction of two Creek villages, Tallasahatchee and Talladega. The fighting lasted into the next year, culminating in Jackson’s troops destroying the Creek defenses at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.
On March 27, 1814 the battle ended with 800 Creek warriors killed and 500 women and children captured. On August 9, 1814, Major General Andrew Jackson signed the Treaty of Fort Jackson ending the Creek War. The agreement provided for the surrender of twenty-three million acres of Creek land to the United States. This vast territory encompassed more than half of present-day Alabama and part of southern Georgia.
United States Colt M1892 revolver, .38 caliber, serial # 13700.
Specific History
Colt revolver carried by Captain Allyn K. Capron.
General History
Captain Allyn Capron was the son of West Point graduate E. Allyn Capron. The younger Capron was killed during the Spanish-American War on June 24, 1898. A contemporary report stated: "It was predicted that the Rough Riders would give a good account of themselves, but few were prepared for such an exhibition of dash and bravery as was witnessed in their first fight with the enemy on June 24, 1898. Captain Allyn Capron, Jr. stood behind his men, revolver in hand, using it whenever a Spaniard exposed himself. His aim was sure, and two of the enemies were seen to fall under his fire. Just as he was preparing to take another shot, and shouting orders to his men at the same time, his revolver dropped from his grasp and he fell to the ground with a rifle ball through his body. His troop was badly disconcerted for a moment, but with all of the strength he could muster, he cried 'Don't mind me boys, go on and fight.' He was carried from the field as soon as possible, and lived for only a few more hours."
These crutches were used by John Mosby during the Civil War. Mosby stated, “These crutches were made for me during the war by a slave named Isaac who belonged to my father. They were first used in August 1863 when I went home wounded. My mother kept them for me and I again used them in September 1864 & December 1864.” General Robert E. Lee once said to Mosby, after seeing him on crutches at his headquarters, “The only fault I have to find with your conduct, Colonel Mosby, is that you are always getting wounded.”
General History
John Mosby was wounded on August 24, 1863. He was shot through the side and thigh as he attacked the 2nd Massachusetts Cavalry, which had halted to water the horses at Billy Gooding's Tavern on the Little River Turnpike in Virginia. He was carried into the woods and was attended to by Doctor W. L. Dunn. Due to the painful nature of his wounds, Mosby was slow to travel so he was carried into the pines and concealed as the pursuing federal troops passed through searching for him. Once clear of the danger, Mosby returned to the South to recuperate.
Smith & Wesson First Model Schofield revolver, .45 caliber.
Specific History
This Smith & Wesson was found loaded at the Little Big Horn Battlefield in 1883.
General History
The Smith & Wesson Schofield revolver, .45 caliber, was manufactured from 1875 to 1878. The vast majority of the 9,000 guns went to the U.S. Army. Many saw service in the Indian Wars, though they were reported in use as late as the Spanish-American War and Philippine Insurrection. The First Model Schofield has a latch configuration that is rather pointed at the top and has a circle around the screwhead at the bottom. Serial-number range will give you an indication of whether it is First or Second Model; the numbers change from the First Model to the Second Model at a little over 3,000.
This white ironstone covered vegetable dish was made by E. F. Bodley and Company, of Burslem, Staffordshire, England, and bears the motto of the C.S.S. Alabama, “AIDE TOI ET DIEU T'AIDERA” or "God helps those who help themselves."
Originally the covered vegetable dish was part of a service intended for the C.S.S. Alabama, but it was ultimately divided amongst other ships in the Confederate Navy. This particular dish came into the possession of Captain Michael Philip Usina, who at that time was a subordinate of Captain Semmes of the C.S.S. Alabama. Due to economic hardship after the war, Captain Usina asked Mr. Willax, a shopkeeper in St. Augustine, Florida, to sell the dish for profit. According to museum records, the dish came into Dr. James Kimball's possession in 1878 as compensation for treatment of Mrs. Willax for yellow or typhoid fever. The dish was handed down from father to son and then made it into the museum's collection in 1959 by way of gift from the late Mr. Samuel Eastman Kimball.
French Charleville Model 1763 musket, surcharged "US" with bayonet.
Specific History
This French Charleville musket is stamped "US" on the metal lock plate.
General History
During the American War of Independence the French government supplied large quantities of muskets to the Continental army. Several arsenals in France produced muskets but the Charleville Model 1763 was the most common and soon all French muskets were referred to as "Charlevilles." In March 1777, some 25,000 Charleville muskets were received from France. George Washington implemented a resolution by the Continental Congress to stamp firearms as United States property to reduce theft.