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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The Moselle at Cochem
- Description
- Charcoal drawing on paper. The sketch depicts a river (the Moselle) in the foreground; one of its banks can be seen on the left. A hill rises sharply from the river; atop the hill is the rebuilt castle at Cochem. Houses and other buildings line the river, below the castle. A long column of soldiers move along the river's bank.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Peixotto, Ernest Clifford
- ID Number
- AF.25882
- catalog number
- 25882
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Braubach and the Marksburg
- Description
- Charcoal and ink wash sketch. The sketch depicts a village on the far bank of a river. On the near bank, in the foreground, are three empty rowboats. The sketch is done on thin green paper, which is affixed to slightly thicker white card. This mount is then affixed to a large piece of heavy card board. A label underneath the sketch reads: "BRAUBACK AND THE MARKSBURG/BY E. PEIXOTTO/TRANSFERRED FROM THE WAR DEPARTMENT/2971."
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Peixotto, Ernest Clifford
- ID Number
- AF.25813
- catalog number
- 25813
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Crossing the Mosel
- Description
- A pencil and watercolor sketch on paper of a river crossing on the Mosel in Treis, Germany. There is a ferry on the Mosel River in the foreground. On the opposite bank is the small town of Treis.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Smith, J. Andre
- ID Number
- AF.25967
- catalog number
- 25967
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
American Trucks in a Side Street Montabaur
- Description
- Charcoal sketch on paper. American army trucks and troops on a street leading through a village. Buildings on either side of street. The sketch is affixed to a larger piece of heavy cardboard. A label under the sketch, on the larger cardboard mount, reads: "AMERICAN TRUCKS IN A SIDE STREET/MONTABAUR/BY E. PEIXOTTO/TRANSFERRED FROM THE WAR DEPARTMENT/2965."
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Peixotto, Ernest Clifford
- ID Number
- AF.25807
- catalog number
- 25807
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Boppard on the Rhine in the American Sector
- Description
- Charcoal sketch on off-white paper. The work depicts the town of Boppard, Germany from across the Rhine river. Two steamships are shown on the river. A church is visible on the river bank in the left of the sketch.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Peixotto, Ernest Clifford
- ID Number
- AF.25811
- catalog number
- 25811
- 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
-
Lining up Before the Commissary, Cochem
- Description
- Charcoal and ink wash sketch on paper. The work depicts a street leading through the town of Cohcem, Germany at the end of World War I. Soldiers are lined up in the street outside of the Commissary. A tall building with a spire is visible in the background.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Peixotto, Ernest Clifford
- ID Number
- AF.25840
- catalog number
- 25840
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
German Billets in a Village Near Montabaur
- Description
- A charcoal, watercolor, and pastel sketch on paper. In the drawing, six soldiers are standing in front of several timber frame buildings in a village near Montabaur, Germany. Debris is scattered around the outside of the buildings.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Smith, J. Andre
- ID Number
- AF.25991
- catalog number
- 25991
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Street in Cochem, Germany
- Description
- Charcoal and watercolor sketch on paper. Street scene of Cochem, Germany after the Armistice of World War I. There are four armed soldiers marching through the street.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-12
- artist
- Smith, J. Andre
- ID Number
- AF.26056
- catalog number
- 26056
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
The Main Square, Montabaur
- Description
- Charcoal and graphite sketch on paper. The sketch shows three sides of the main square of Montabaur, a town in Germany that is about 20 kilometers northeast of Koblenz. The drawing is framed on the left by the large Neo-Gothic Town Hall and several timber-frame buildings. People are walking along the square, and in and out of the gothic arches of the Town Hall. There are two automobiles in the square (the catalog card indicates that they are Army trucks). In the background, is the Schloss Montabaur, or castle of Montabaur.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Peixotto, Ernest Clifford
- ID Number
- AF.25878
- catalog number
- 25878
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
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
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