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.


-
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
-
Saint Aignan, Headquarters of the Forty-First Division
- Description
- Pencil and ink wash sketch on paper. Scene of a village from across a river. Trees line the opposite bank; a large chateau or house is in the right background. On the left of the drawing is a church.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-07
- associated person
- War Department
- maker
- Peixotto, Ernest Clifford
- ID Number
- AF.25863
- catalog number
- 25863
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
View of Chateau Thierry
- Description
- Pen and ink wash sketch with touches of graphite. Hills and battleground in distance. In the foreground, houses are being shelled; smoke rises from the shell targets. Parachutists in sky at left. The sketch is done on white wove paper mounted on tan card ruled with decorative lines. A printed label is attached to the mount beneath the sketch; it reads: "VIEW OF CHATEAU THIERRY/BY W. J. DUNCAN/TRANSFERRED FROM THE WAR DEPARTMENT/2862"
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-06-07
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- maker
- Duncan, Walter Jack
- ID Number
- AF.25704
- catalog number
- 25704
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
A Street Corner at Badonviller
- Description
- Pencil and watercolor on paper. The work depicts a street corner at Badonviller, France during World War I. A large pile of bundled supplies sits in front of a building with a sign reading "Cafe Des Halles."
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-04
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Smith, J. Andre
- ID Number
- AF.25940
- catalog number
- 25940
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
American Observation Post ... Near Verdun ... Handimont
- Description
- Black and white sketch. A soldier stands at the top of a set of stairs in a shell-torn building. The sketch is done on heavy white card; this is affixed to a larger piece of white cardboard.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- maker
- Peixotto, Ernest Clifford
- ID Number
- AF.25802
- catalog number
- 25802
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Barn with Mules, Boucq
- Description
- A charcoal and watercolor sketch on paper of a barn in Boucq, France during May of 1918.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-05
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Smith, J. Andre
- ID Number
- AF.25958
- catalog number
- 25958
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Billets in Cell of the Old Monastery of Rangeval
- Description
- Charcoal sketch on blue-gray paper. The work depicts a group of soldiers billeted in a cell of the old Monastery of Rangeval near Boucq, France. A drawing on the wall above the sleeping pallets shows France (the woman) killing "the German monster." Soldiers are lounging on cots beneath the drawing. A line of drying laundry hangs on the left side 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.25809
- catalog number
- 25809
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
German Artillery Position Near Essey - St. Mihiel Sector
- Description
- A pencil sketch on paper. This captured German artillery position near Essey is in the St. Mihiel Sector in France. The scene depicts a dugout covered with wood and leaves on top of a hill. This position would have provided optimal cover and range for artillery strikes. An American soldier sits on the ground in the right foreground.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-09
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Smith, J. Andre
- ID Number
- AF.25992
- catalog number
- 25992
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
The Army Cook, Reherrey
- Description
- Charcoal sketch on paper. The sketch shows an American soldier cooking on a moveable range in the archway of a building. Another soldier stands in the shadows of the archway.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918
- artist
- Smith, J. Andre
- ID Number
- AF.26034
- catalog number
- 26034
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
The Plains of Is-sur-Tille
- Description
- Charcoal sketch, with touches of watercolor, on paper. This landscape shows a flat expanse with a river in the background. At the left are men working, a locomotive, and a structure with a smokestack and another tall projectile. On the opposite side of the river, across the bridge, these same structures are repeated. In the foreground are several large, uncut lumber logs with men in between them. The catalog card for this drawing indicates that the men are troops engaged in erecting buildings.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-07-12
- artist
- Smith, J. Andre
- ID Number
- AF.26070
- catalog number
- 26070
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
At Brieulles-sur-Meuse, Argonne Sector
- Description
- Pencil and watercolor sketch on beige paper mounted on brown card. The work depicts shell-torn buildings at Brieulles-sur-Meuse in the Argonne sector of France during World War I. The building in the right foreground is severely damaged at one end, with roof beams and interior rooms visible through the debris. Two soldiers are standing next to the damaged area. The building in the background has less extensive damage, but makeshift stairs have been built to enter the building at its first and second floors.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-05
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Smith, J. Andre
- ID Number
- AF.25932
- catalog number
- 25932
- 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
-
The Argonne Country
- Description
- Pencil and watercolor sketch on paper. The sketch shows an American soldier standing in the foreground on the left. He is next to an elaborate cross on a hill, looking out over a village, which is in the background on the right. The Argonne forest was the site of a major battle during World War I.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-11
- artist
- Smith, J. Andre
- ID Number
- AF.26063
- catalog number
- 26063
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Mandres
- Description
- Pencil sketch on paper. In this French village scene from World War I, American soldiers walk down a road leading through a small town. On the building on the right is a sign that reads "MANDRES" hanging from an entryway.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-10
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Smith, J. Andre
- ID Number
- AF.26015
- catalog number
- 26015
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Mine Crater, on the Road to Varennes
- Description
- Charcoal, ink wash, and crayon sketch on white paper. The drawing depicts a large crater, filled with water, on a road to Varennes, France. The ridges around the crater are lined with American soldiers. Museum records pertaining to this object indicate: "This great mine crater, 160 feet wide, was in the main road and American engineers are here seen lowering its top and filling it in preparatory to bridging it over."
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Peixotto, Ernest Clifford
- ID Number
- AF.25847
- catalog number
- 25847
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
A Billet at Peronne
- Description
- A watercolor and pencil sketch on paper of a billet at Peronne, France. The sketch depicts buildings in disrepair with several soldiers standing in the street. A stack of timber sits in front of the buildings.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-04
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Smith, J. Andre
- ID Number
- AF.25901
- catalog number
- 25901
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
In a German Abri, Buillonville
- Description
- Charcoal drawing on paper. The work depicts the interior of a German abri, or underground shelter, near Bouillonville, France during World War I. Two indistinct figures are visible behind one of the supports in the background. A label pasted on the mount below the drawing reads "This abri was dug in the side of a hill and was very extensive. It had two entrances, thus assuring the safety of those within."
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Peixotto, Ernest Clifford
- ID Number
- AF.25839
- catalog number
- 25839
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
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
-
In the Church at Beaumont
- Description
- Mixed media sketch on paper. The sketch shows two American soldiers sitting in the open air in what was the interior of a church in France during World War I. The only surviving part of the church that is visible is the front wall. There are large piles of debris throughout the sketch, and one of the soldiers is sitting on a pile of rubble.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Smith, J. Andre
- ID Number
- AF.26007
- catalog number
- 26007
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
In the Argonne Forest
- Description
- Charcoal and color sketch on paper. Forest scene with bare and fallen trees. Wire entanglements on left; pool of water in the foreground.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- maker
- Morgan, Wallace
- ID Number
- AF.25771
- catalog number
- 25771
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History