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.
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Scroll of Aragon
- Description
- Continuous roll of 10 sketches by Harvey Dunn, official artist with the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) during World War I. Depicted on the scroll from left to right are the following sketches: 1) "Cunel" A charcoal sketch showing dead horses and howitzer at left foreground and soldiers advancing towards a house at top center. 2) A rough charcoal sketch showing a soldier lying dead at left foreground and soldiers firing as they advance at top center background. 3) "Seichsprey / 26th Division / May 16th / 1918" A color crayon sketch showing a bunker in the middle of a cemetery. A soldier stands at the entrance of the bunker, surrounded by tombstones. 4) A color crayon sketch showing a village street. Civilians stand among the white buildings with brown roofs. 5) A color crayon sketch showing a woman sitting on a chair next to a building in the middle of a village street. 6) Color crayon sketch showing a horse and wagon in front of a building at left. A man is standing by the wagon and another is visible walking down the street at right. 7) Color crayon sketch of a village street. Three connected buildings are shown at center and right with white walls and brown and green roofs. Part of a fourth building is visible at left. 8) "Seichprey / May 16th" A color crayon sketch showing six American soldiers standing in a trench at foregound. The soldiers at left are looking toward a village visible in the distance. 9) Watercolor and charcoal sketch showing an American soldier running through a yellow field with a revolver in his right hand. A line of trees is visible in the background. 10) "Our Heavies / on the Marne - July 23, 1918" A watercolor and charcoal sketch showing a gun crew in yellow with two big guns. The men are in the middle of a green field with two trees. They are pointing the guns toward the left distance.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918
- artist
- Dunn, Harvey Thomas
- maker
- Dunn, Harvey Thomas
- ID Number
- AF.67853m
- accession number
- 229290
- catalog number
- 67853M
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Village in Germany
- Description
- Graphite, black crayon, sanguine crayon, and white gouache sketch. Village scene with traditional houses around a road. Several children, a woman, and a dog are in the road, along with two American soldiers and a horse. On the far right of the sketch, several men are sitting together next to a fence. The sketch is done on dark gray wove paper and mounted on tan card ruled with decorative lines. Written beneath the sketch, on the tan card, is the following inscription: "An invaded village in Germany-/Zone of the American Army of Occupation".
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-12-15
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- maker
- Duncan, Walter Jack
- ID Number
- AF.25704A
- catalog number
- 25704A
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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A Forced Landing
- Description
- Pencil and crayon sketch on paper. The work depicts an airplane which has crashed on a sand beach while making a forced landing during World War I. The airplane is virtually upright, resting on its engine housing and wings with its tail sticking into the air. Three people are gathered to the immediate right of the airplane with a fourth person running toward them.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Smith, J. Andre
- ID Number
- AF.25928
- catalog number
- 25928
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Camouflaged Barracks for Colored Troops, Airing the Bedding on Sunday
- Description
- Ink wash sketch of African-American troops and small camouflaged buildings. The soldiers are moving about the buildings, carrying mattresses. Sketch done on heavy white paper.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Peixotto, Ernest Clifford
- ID Number
- AF.25815
- catalog number
- 25815
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Flirey
- Description
- Charcoal sketch on paper. The work depicts a ruined church spire atop a hill in Flirey, France. Troops and army trucks are in the road near the remains of a communicating trench in the foreground.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Peixotto, Ernest Clifford
- ID Number
- AF.25827
- catalog number
- 25827
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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German Outpost, Montfaucon
- Description
- Charcoal sketch on light green paper. The sketch shows a German outpost at Montfaucon, France during World War I. The outpost consists of a large trench with walls reinforced by wooden posts. The upper left corner of an entryway, perhaps to an underground shelter, is just visible in the trench. Glued to the card underneath the sketch is a label that reads "GERMAN OUTPOST, MONFAUCON/Looking toward Hill 204/BY E. PEIXOTTO/TRANSFERRED FROM THE WAR DEPARTMENT/2990."
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Peixotto, Ernest Clifford
- ID Number
- AF.25832
- catalog number
- 25832
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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A General View of Base Hospital No. 16, at Bazoilles
- Description
- Pencil and watercolor sketch on paper mounted on brown card. The subject of the drawing is Base Hospital No. 16, at Bazoilles-sur-Meuse, France, during World War I. The perspective is from a northeast position looking southwest toward two sets of hospital buildings on opposite sides of the river. The hospital complex on the right is composed of tents and barracks set up in orderly rows in front of a grove of trees. Several town buildings are in the center of the work including a tower which might be the steeple of a church.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-08
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Smith, J. Andre
- ID Number
- AF.25927
- catalog number
- 25927
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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A Street Scene in Thiaucourt
- Description
- Charcoal sketch on paper. The focal point of this street scene is a large pile of debris in front of what appears to be a ruined church. Soldiers marching through the road.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Smith, J. Andre
- ID Number
- AF.25930
- catalog number
- 25930
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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On the Trail of the Hun - St. Mihiel Drive
- Description
- Watercolor and gouache drawing on paper. The work depicts an army on the march. The foreground features wagons ascending a hill; American soldiers ride in and walk along side the wagons. Half of the sky is covered by dark clouds. In the background on the left side are tents, while in the right background are the buildings of what appears to be a small town. Several airplanes are in the sky.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Aylward, William James
- ID Number
- AF.25662
- catalog number
- 25662
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Returning Refugees Hatton Chattel
- Description
- Charcoal, ink wash, and gouache drawing on beige textured paper. The work depicts refugees returning to a shell torn village in Hatton Chattel, France. Older men, women, children, sheep and a mule laden with clothing gather in front of a severely damaged building. An American soldier is standing in the center of the drawing. In the foreground on the left, a man in dark clothes stands looking at the crowd.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Aylward, William James
- ID Number
- AF.25664
- catalog number
- 25664
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
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
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Building the Hospital at Bazoilles
- Description
- Mixed media sketch on paper. A complex of buildings and temporary structures make up the hospital at Bazoilles, which was one of the largest hospitals in France during World War I. An inscription beneath the drawing reads, "Showing an extension of the hospital; workmen shown here are Chinese. The hospital will eventually provide 10,000 beds. The ward buildings are built on both sides of the river."
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-06
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Smith, J. Andre
- ID Number
- AF.25959
- catalog number
- 25959
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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The Bridge at Chateau Thierry
- Description
- Pencil sketch on paper. The focal point of the drawing is a demolished bridge in the center of the scene. Soldiers in the river are working on the bridge. The opposite bank of the river is lined with buildings. People and soldiers are standing along the bank of the river.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-08-02
- artist
- Smith, J. Andre
- ID Number
- AF.26075
- catalog number
- 26075
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Out from Battle
- Description
- Charcoal sketch, with some color, on card. The drawing depicts two soldiers carrying a wounded man on a stretcher; other wounded soldiers follow them. Barbed wire entanglement on right. There appears to be smoke on the horizon. Something indistinct sits in the sky on the left.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- maker
- Morgan, Wallace
- ID Number
- AF.25777
- catalog number
- 25777
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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A Battlefield at Mezy
- Description
- A pencil and charcoal sketch on paper. Landscape of an area that was part of the Second Battle of the Marne during World War I. A railroad track runs through the center of the sketch, bordered by fields where some of the fighting took place. An inscription at the bottom of the sketch reads, "2nd Battle of the Marne - Railroad Embankment at Mezy - Sector of the 38 Regt."
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-08-02
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Smith, J. Andre
- ID Number
- AF.25949
- catalog number
- 25949
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Front Held by the 88th Division
- Description
- Graphite, black crayon, and sanguine crayon sketch highlighted with turquoise gouache (or conte crayon). The scene is of a road lined with houses. A dead horse in the road is surrounded by descending crows. The half-timber houses are in ruins. Turquoise clouds in the background. The sketch is done on brown wove paper and then mounted on tan card. An inscription on the lower edge of the mount reads: "Front held by the 88th Division, October, 1918./Balschwiller, Alsace."
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-10
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- maker
- Duncan, Walter Jack
- ID Number
- AF.25704B
- catalog number
- 25704B
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Effects of Shell Explosion in Town
- Description
- Charcoal sketch on white paper. The work depicts several damaged buildings in a village near Toul, France after a shell attack. A road winds through the sketch between the buildings and a church on the left. Three soldiers are shown walking along the road. A label attached to the cardboard under the sketch reads: "EFFECTS OF SHELL EXPLOSION IN TOWN/ON NORTH TOUL SECTOR/BY E. PEIXOTTO/TRANSFERRED FROM THE WAR DEPARTMENT/2982"
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-06
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Peixotto, Ernest Clifford
- ID Number
- AF.25824
- catalog number
- 25824
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Billeting Village Near Neufchateau, Farm Building
- Description
- Charcoal, watercolor, and gouache on heavy white card paper. The work depicts a set of buildings on a farm near Neufchâteau, France. The farm buildings are detailed with their bricks, roofs, and chimneys. There is an outline of a road. A building is in the immediate foreground on the left although the entire building is not shown. The sky is partially blue, and there are some trees in the background.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Aylward, William James
- ID Number
- AF.25647
- catalog number
- 25647
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Wagon Train at Viffort
- Description
- Charcoal, crayon, and gouache on paper. This village street scene depicts a wagon train; mounted soldier in center of drawing.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Aylward, William James
- ID Number
- AF.25681
- catalog number
- 25681
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Exploded Boche Dump at Cierges
- Description
- Charcoal, crayon, and pastel drawing on heavy textured laid paper. The work depicts a destroyed German army dump at Cierges, France during World War I. In the center of the drawing is a large crater in the ground surrounded by vehicle parts, trees, ammunition shells, and other debris. Several deceased German soldiers are lying in the foreground. Damaged buildings are visible in the background.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Harding, George Matthews
- ID Number
- AF.25756
- catalog number
- 25756
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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