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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U.S. Troops Entering Coblenz
- Description
- Charcoal, color crayon, and possibly ink wash sketch on board. Scene of a large square filled with civilians. Several soldiers can be seen among the crowd on horseback or, on the left, on a wheeled vehicle. The civilians are carrying umbrellas in the rain. The square is lined with buildings.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- maker
- Morgan, Wallace
- ID Number
- AF.25792
- catalog number
- 25792
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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The River Front at Coblenz
- Description
- Pencil sketch on paper. The sketch shows a riverbank, with the river on the left and the village on the right, in the town of Coblenz (now known as Koblenz), Germany shortly after the Armistice of the First World War.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-12-14
- artist
- Smith, J. Andre
- ID Number
- AF.26066
- catalog number
- 26066
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Distant View of Coblenz
- Description
- A pencil sketch on paper Coblenz, Germany (now known as Koblenz). The Rhine river occupies most of the sketch. On the right bank, there are several buildings, but one tall building stands out on the right edge of the sketch (possibly Basilica St. Kastor).
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-12-16
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Smith, J. Andre
- ID Number
- AF.25978
- catalog number
- 25978
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Crossing the Rhine at Coblenz
- Description
- A pencil and watercolor sketch on paper of the first American soldiers to cross the Rhine river at Coblenz, Germany (now known as Koblenz) after the Armistice of World War I. A pontoon bridge provides a crossing over the Rhine River. On the left of the bridge is a column of soldiers; a few vehicles are on the right.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-12-13
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Smith, J. Andre
- ID Number
- AF.25968
- catalog number
- 25968
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
First Americans Crossing the Rhine
- Description
- Charcoal sketch on paper. The work depicts American troops crossing a bridge over the Rhine in the city of Koblenz, Germany. The bridge, made of planks laid over a series of boats, cuts vertically through 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.25826
- catalog number
- 25826
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
