We headed directly to the Smithsonian Museum of American History from the Air and Space Museum. I loved the tree lined walkways along the National Mall's north and south edges. It reminded me of the mall area in Central Park.
Opened in 1964, this museum collects, preserves, and displays over 3 million items from America's political, cultural, military, scientific, and social history. According the museum's website: "...we explore the infinite richness and complexity of American history. We help people understand the past in order to make sense of the present and shape a more humane future. More than ever before, the National Museum of American History today shines new light on American history. The museum works to ensure that our collections, exhibitions, research, publications, and educational programs all support the Museum’s basic mission—to inspire a broader understanding of our nation and its many peoples—and to make our exhibitions and programs as accessible as possible to all visitors."
I was excited for our visit to the American History Museum. I had been looking at their collections online because I knew we wouldn't have more than a couple hours to spend there, and I wanted to make sure that we used our time wisely. I was practically dragging Brian as we went inside.
First, we made our way to the information desk, where we asked for a map from the spunky, elderly lady stationed there. She walked us through the entire museum on the map before setting us loose.
Our first stop was the Star Spangled Banner display. We walked along a darkened hallway with signs containing information about the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key, and the composition of our national anthem. We turned the corner at the end of the hallway and found ourselves standing in front of THE flag that inspired our national anthem. I was expecting it to be a cool experience, but I wasn't prepared for the emotion it evoked. As soon as I saw it, I stopped walking and felt a jolt of surprise run through me. Instantly tears sprang to my eyes. The national anthem, named after this flag, was playing in the background.
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In 1813, Major George Armistead, commander of Fort McHenry, wanted a flag to fly over the fort, so an order was placed with Mary Pickersgill, a local flag maker, for two American flags. With the help of her daughter, two nieces, and an African American indentured servant, it took Mary seven weeks to make the 30-foot by 42-foot Star Spangled Banner, and a smaller 17-foot by 25-foot flag. The Star Spangled Banner was designed to have 15 stripes, each 2 feet wide, and 15 stars, each 2 feet in diameter. The flag flew over the fort during the British attack on September 12, 1814. After two days of fighting, including 25 hours straight of continuous shelling and rain, the flag was still flying above the fort on September 14. Frances Scott Key was being held on a nearby British ship during the fighting, and as he looked out on that morning, he saw the American Flag still flying, and knew that the fort had withstood the attack. He composed the poem Defiance of Fort McHenry, which was later renamed The Star Spangled Banner and accepted as America's National Anthem.
The flag is so much larger than I imagined it would be, and it's so threadbare. After the war, people wanted a keepsake and would cut strips from it to take home. Someone had even cut one of the stars out, so it only has 14 of the original 15 stars. At first the flag was loaned out and displayed for patriotic holidays and occasions, but it became so tattered that the owner, Mary Pickersgill's son, stored it away in a safety deposit box in NYC. He eventually donated it to the Smithsonian Museum, which put it out on display in the Flag Hall for a long time. In 1998 they decided to take it down, and a conservation team worked to preserve it. Today it is housed in this darkened glass case. You can read more about the flag here.
After we exited the flag display, I told Brian that if we saw nothing else during our time at the museum I would be totally happy. That was such a moving experience for me.
Next, we made our way to the American Stories Gallery, where we saw the ruby slippers that Judy Garland wore during the filming of The Wizard of Oz. I was so excited to see these shoes. My sisters and I have each always wanted a pair of ruby slippers.
They are covered in red sequins. Seeing the shoes up-close brought back that desire to own a pair!
In that same gallery, we found a sunstone from the original Nauvoo Temple. It was salvaged from the ruins after the temple was destroyed, and preserved by a local historical society until they donated it to the Smithsonian. It was neat to see a bit of our LDS history included in the midst of the other items.
They have Miss Piggy on display. She is a lot bigger than I imagined, standing at least 3 feet tall. We've been watching all the Muppet movies lately on Netflix so it was fun to see her.
We stopped at this display case holding Archie Bunker's chair from the tv show All in the Family, Bob Dylan's leather jacket, Muhammad Ali's boxing gloves and some of John Coltrane's sheet music. Brian was excited about the music.
We thought this early DNA model template was interesting.
This sewing machine is from 1889, and is one of the early patent models that was capable of making buttonholes.
We got to see all sorts of patent models and early inventions. Below: (from left to right) Alexander Graham Bell's big box telephone from 1876, an 1891 incandescent lamp from the Edison General Electric Company, Thomas Edison's tinfoil phonograph from 1878, and a Western Union Telegraph Company stock ticker from 1900.
We found a bronze cast of Abraham Lincoln's life mask, made in 1886. Life masks were taken while the person was still alive. Next to the mask sit the wrist and foot shackles used on John Wilkes Booth after he was captured.
We got to see the Gunboat Philadelphia. From the Smithsonian's website: "The Gunboat Philadelphia is the oldest surviving American fighting vessel. Built in 1776, it was sunk in Lake Champlain during a naval battle with the British in the same year. The Continental Congress authorized the building of this 54 foot, 29-ton gunboat and eight other similar vessels for the defense of the Champlain Valley - the northern frontier of the colonies considered the key to the success or failure of the American Revolution. In the summer of 1776, under the leadership of the charismatic and controversial Brigadier General Benedict Arnold, Philadelphia and her sister-ships were hurriedly organized into what historians consider “the first American Navy.” The Philadelphia rested on the bottom of the lake until it was discovered and recovered with much of its equipment intact in 1935. It came to the museum in 1964, complete with the 24-pound ball that sent the gunboat to the bottom. "
There is a whole section devoted to America's military history called The Price of Freedom: America at War. It starts with the Revolutionary War and leads up to the present day. It's a fascinating exhibit and I wish we would have had more time there. They have civil war artifacts on display, but since we had seen a lot of the same kind of stuff at Gettysburg we walked quickly through all of that.
We took some time in the WWI section. On display is a doughboy uniform and gas mask. Nearby (on the left) sits a Liberty 12A engine, a 12 cylinder first produced during WWI and used to power DeHavill and DH4 biplanes. We also got to see bread tins and canteens where the soldiers kept their rations. The dog in the picture below is a stuffed dog named Stubby. This dog was owned by Private J. Robert Conroy of the 102nd Infantry, 26th Yankee Division. He ended up smuggling Stubby to the front lines in France in 1918, where he became the mascot for that division. At one point, Stubby was injured in a gas attack, but was nursed back to health at a nearby field hospital. After that attack, he was sensitive to the gas and was able to warn the soldiers when he detected the tiniest trace of it. He saved lots of lives and prevented many injuries.
From WWI we moved on to WWII. They have a whole wall of war posters promoting bond purchases, rationing, encouraging enlistment, patriotism, and the like. Our first thought was that the helmeted soldier looks like Darth Vader.
Next, we found a small section about Hollywood stars going to war. On display in that section is Clark Gable's Army Air Forces Uniform.
We got see the star flags that families hung in their windows during the war. Each blue star on the flag represented a family member that was enlisted in the military. If a family member died, the blue star was replaced by a gold star. I remember reading a book in middle school about a girl whose brothers had gone to war. One of her brothers was killed and I remember the book describing the star flags and the heartbreak of changing the blue star to a gold one. That has always stuck with me for some reason, so it was neat to see some actual flags.
The war section has all sorts of medals on display. This Purple Heart was awarded posthumously to Edward C. Morse, who died on the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor. His family donated it to the Smithsonian. We learned that the Purple Heart was created by General George Washington, is the oldest military decoration in the world in use today, and was the first American award available to the common soldier.
This U.S. M3 Submachine Gun was nicknamed the "Grease Gun" because of its appearance. It's made of stamped metal, so was inexpensive to produce and resulted in a lightweight weapon.
The museum has a lot of items from Nazi Germany on display. Below is a German Army officer's dagger and scabbard, a Nazi flag, and a 9 mm German P38 pistol.
Brian got excited about this M2 flamethrower from the WWII exhibit. In backpack form, it was worn by foot soldiers and carried into battle. It could shoot flames up to 130 feet. Later versions were used in the Korean War and Vietnam War.
The portion of the exhibit about the Vietnam War included this Bell UH1 Iroquois helicopter. Nicknamed Huey Helicopters, the U.S. used around 4,000 of them in the war. This particular aircraft served in Vietnam starting in 1966 as part of the 173rd Assault Helicopter Company, also call the "Robin Hoods." Its use continued after the war until 1995 when it was decommissioned.
Other items on display include two small pieces of the Berlin Wall, pieces from the World Trade Towers from the 9/11 attacks and various items from the War in Afghanistan.
This carriage belonged to Ulysses S. Grant who purchased it during his first term as president. He rode in this carriage on the way to his second inauguration in 1873. We have visited Grant's Tomb here in NYC.
We only toured a small section of the Power Machinery and America on the Move sections. We briefly looked at the John Bull locomotive, an early steam locomotive imported from England in 1831 that pulled passenger cars back and forth between New York and Philadelphia. They had to attach a set of guide wheels to it to keep it from derailing on the uneven American tracks.
Also for my Dad, a picture of a Hand-Pumped Fire Engine built in 1842. This engine was pulled by hand to the fire. A crew of 20 men would push and pull the two pump arms up and down to cause the water to flow. This engine was capable of expelling over 100 gallons of water per minute, generating a water stream that could reach a distance of 150 feet or more. It's quite ornate for a fire engine.
This picture of a Conestoga Wagon from the 1840's is for my Dad.
In the display cases nearby the museum's backdoor exit we found a few more Muppets. We saw the Swedish Chef, Oscar the Grouch, Bert and Ernie, Cookie Monster, and Scooter.
Farther along in that same section of display cases, we came across Bruce Lee's costume from Enter the Dragon. Brian got really excited. I don't know why I didn't get a picture with him standing next to it.
Next to Bruce Lee's costume sits the costume Bette Davis wore during the 1939 film Dark Victory. I've never seen the movie, but the costume was cool. Look at the waist on it! She must have been a tiny lady.
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