Explore treasures of our museum and library collections in our video series, Collections Corner. Each short video segment features a member of our staff discussing rare items in our collections, from prints and manuscripts to weapons and portraits.
The Patriot’s Monitor
It’s back to school season! To celebrate, this month’s Collections Corner features the Institute’s director of education, Stacia Smith, discussing The Patriot’s Monitor, an 1810 American primer written by Rev. Ignatius Thomson of Pomfret, Vermont. As…
Debating a French Way of War in the Eighteenth Century
Coping with the sunset that followed Louis XIV’s death, battered by a string of costly military defeats, and influenced by the intellectual currents of the Enlightenment, the French army was primed for reform in the mid-18th century. Scholar…
Early French Eagle Insignias of the Society of the Cincinnati
The Society of the Cincinnati’s Eagle insignia has been the most recognizable symbol of the organization and its members for more than two hundred years. Designed in 1783 by Pierre-Charles L’Enfant, the double-sided gold insignia bears…
The New Game of the American Revolution
This segment of Collections Corner features the Institute’s director of education, Stacia Smith, discussing The New Game of the American Revolution, a 2022 acquisition from our library’s Robert Charles Lawrence Fergusson Collection. Created in 1844 by the author…
A Handkerchief Commemorating the Reign of King George III
Museum Collections and Operations Manager Paul Newman discusses a commemorative handkerchief charting the reign of King George III, ca. 1812, through various political appointments, government ministries, and events of national and global interests. This handkercheif is a valuable artifact in…
Friedrich Wilhelm Steuben’s Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States
On February 23, 1778, Gen. George Washington welcomed Gen. Friedrich Wilhelm Steuben of Prussia at Valley Forge. Throughout the Revolutionary War, Steuben was instrumental in transforming the Continental Army into a professional fighting force. This month’s edition of Collections…
Six Letters Written by Capt. Jonathan Birge
This segment of Collections Corner features the Institute’s research services librarian, Rachel Nellis, sharing a remarkable series of six surviving letters written from New York in the summer and fall of 1776 by Capt. Jonathan Birge of Bolton, Connecticut…
Anthony Walton White’s Silver Camp Cups
This pair of silver camp cups was owned by Anthony Walton White, an officer in the New Jersey Line and the Continental Light Dragoons during the Revolutionary War. The cups were made in Philadelphia about 1776 by silversmith Richard Humphreys…
Two Congressional Presentation Swords
This segment of Collections Corner features the Institute’s Museum Collections and Operations Manager Paul Newman discussing two Congressional presentation swords from our museum collections. Resolved by Congress on November 4, 1777, one sword was awarded to Marylander Samuel Smith…
A 1770 Edition of John Milton’s Paradise Lost
On October 17, 1777, British general John Burgoyne surrendered his army to American forces under Gen. Horatio Gates. To mark the 245th anniversary of this pivotal milestone in the Revolutionary War, this edition of Collections Corner features Library Director Ellen…
Lt. William Popham’s Orderly Book
On September 25, 1780, Benedict Arnold fled West Point and defected to the British as news of his betrayal spread. Our newest Collections Corner video features Research Services Librarian Rachel Nellis sharing an orderly book kept by Lt. William Popham…
The Historiscope: A Complete Panorama of America
The historiscope is an educational toy manufactured by Milton Bradley & Company of Springfield, Massachusetts, ca. 1868-1890. It features a scrolling set of hand-colored lithographs wound around two vertical wooden dowels with metal handles set into a cardboard…
William Truman Stoddert Portrait Miniature
This watercolor portrait miniature pictures First Lieutenant William Truman Stoddert of the Maryland Continental Line, who served in the Revolutionary War for six years. The portrait was painted about 1778 by Charles Willson Peale, the most important American artist during…
Spanish Model 1757 Flintlock Musket
The Spanish Model 1757 musket was the standard Spanish infantry firearm during the Seven Years’ War and the American Revolution. In June 1779, Spain formally declared war on Great Britain, creating a de facto alliance with the Americans and expanding…
The Institution of the Society of the Cincinnati
The most important and iconic treasure of the Society of the Cincinnati’s archives is the Institution, the document that formally established the organization of Revolutionary War veterans. On May 13, 1783, a group of Continental Army officers gathered at…
French Naval Engraving
This recently acquired 1790 engraving depicts two French frigates, the Astrée and the Hermione, engaged in battle against a convoy of six British warships off Cape Breton Island on July 21, 1781. Engraved by François Dequevauviller, after the…
Thomas Kempton Powder Horn
This engraved powder horn was made by an unidentified professional carver for Capt. Thomas Kempton of Massachusetts during the Siege of Boston in 1775. The powder horn depicts scenes of Roxbury and Boston, including the Boston lighthouse, a fort flying…