The Revolutionary War Exhibit at the National Museum of the U.S. Army

June 14, 2025 will be the 250th anniversary of the formation of the US Army by the 2nd Continental Congress.  In preparation to celebrate the Army's birthday and to comemmorate the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution, the National Museum of the United States Army at Fort Belvoir will debut a new exhibit on April 19, 2025.  Bringing together more than 200 artifacts from around the nation, the Army Museum will commemorate the leaders and men who formed the first army.  We talk with Chief Curator of the National Museum of the United States Army, Paul Morando.

Transcript

WEBVTT
 
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 Hello, everyone.
 
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 Welcome to the Revolution
 
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 Two-Fifty podcast.
 
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 I'm Bob Allison.
 
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 I chair the Rev Two-Fifty Advisory Group.
 
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 We are a consortium of
 
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 seventy plus organizations
 
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 in Massachusetts planning
 
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 commemorations of the
 
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 beginnings of American independence.
 
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 And our guest today is Paul Mirando,
 
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 who is the chief curator at
 
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 the National Museum of the
 
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 United States Army.
 
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 Paul, thanks for joining us.
 
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 It's a pleasure to be here.
 
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 And the museum is planning a
 
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 great new exhibit that's
 
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 opening next June, A Call to Arms,
 
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 really about the army in
 
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 the Revolutionary War.
 
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 That's right.
 
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 This is an exhibit we've
 
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 been working on for over two years now.
 
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 And we wanted to sort of
 
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 honor the two hundred and
 
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 fiftieth anniversary of the
 
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 beginning of the United
 
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 States Army with with an
 
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 exhibit that tells the Army story,
 
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 specifically focusing on
 
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 the soldier experience.
 
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 So we wanted artifacts that
 
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 are directly tied to soldier stories.
 
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 because that fits the
 
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 mission of this museum,
 
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 which is to look at American history,
 
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 Army history,
 
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 through the eyes of soldiers.
 
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 So the museum actually, it's a huge museum,
 
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 and so the Revolution plays
 
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 a small piece in it.
 
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 Can you just tell us a bit
 
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 about the museum as a whole?
 
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 Right.
 
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 So it is a big museum.
 
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 Obviously,
 
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 the mission is to tell the Army's story.
 
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 And so from beginning to present day,
 
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 it's a hundred and eighty
 
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 five thousand square foot building.
 
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 So, yeah, part of that story, obviously,
 
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 is the Revolutionary War.
 
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 soldier experience um and we
 
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 we tell that um through
 
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 artifacts through you know
 
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 different things but you
 
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 know trying to tell the
 
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 whole army story it's you
 
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 have to be a little bit
 
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 more general approach to it
 
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 um so where this exhibit
 
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 differs is we dig deeper
 
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 into uh why why did they serve
 
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 And ultimately,
 
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 what were they fighting for?
 
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 So those are some of the
 
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 themes we're trying to
 
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 answer with this exhibit.
 
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 Because, as you know,
 
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 motivation for war or
 
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 joining the army is changed
 
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 over time during the war.
 
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 And so that's something
 
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 we're trying to capture as well.
 
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 So what kind of artifacts do
 
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 you have that can tell that
 
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 story about the motives for
 
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 a man to serve?
 
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 very hard to find pieces
 
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 that are directly tied to that.
 
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 A lot,
 
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 you have to sometimes rely on journals,
 
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 personal accounts of why they joined,
 
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 what they experienced over time.
 
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 As you know,
 
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 paddle horns can also be a
 
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 good way to express what
 
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 soldiers were experiencing
 
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 during the war.
 
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 um you know there's a lot of
 
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 information you can glean
 
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 off of the edges the
 
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 drawings um you know it's
 
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 almost like a a personal
 
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 journal for some of these
 
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 yeah um so that's one way
 
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 each man would have his own powder horns
 
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 Many would.
 
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 Some, you know,
 
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 because a lot of soldiers
 
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 that were issued, you know,
 
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 they had cartridge boxes.
 
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 So there was a little difference.
 
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 But, yes, soldiers did carry paddle horns.
 
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 They did use them.
 
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 But they were very it's very
 
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 interesting on how.
 
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 They want them etched and described,
 
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 their name made by, in the year of.
 
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 You actually see in Boston, for example,
 
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 some just wonderful
 
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 depictions of locations, British ships.
 
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 So it's obvious that the
 
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 soldiers were aware of their surroundings,
 
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 what they were seeing.
 
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 But more importantly,
 
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 they understood how they
 
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 want to be part of that.
 
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 in the sense of capturing it
 
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 for history in some ways.
 
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 So those are some of the
 
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 objects that kind of tell that story.
 
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 You also have some hats and
 
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 pieces of uniforms.
 
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 Can you tell us a bit about some of those?
 
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 Yeah.
 
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 As you know,
 
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 Rev War material can be
 
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 difficult to come by.
 
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 So there's only so many
 
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 uniforms that are related
 
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 to soldiers who serve.
 
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 So we're going to have on
 
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 display pieces like that.
 
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 We're working with the Canadian War Museum,
 
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 for example.
 
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 They have a fabulous Loyalist coat.
 
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 which is another interesting
 
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 story to talk about.
 
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 That's another way to
 
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 capture a different experience.
 
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 So we are lucky enough to
 
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 bring that item on loan.
 
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 We are in talking with the French.
 
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 They have too a beautiful
 
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 coat that's from the time period.
 
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 We're not sure if this
 
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 particular coat served in
 
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 the United States during the war,
 
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 but it is of the period and
 
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 of the style and the design
 
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 that a French soldier would have worn.
 
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 So we're very excited about
 
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 that one as well.
 
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 Amazing.
 
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 And you also have some weapons.
 
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 Yes,
 
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 no shortage of weapons in this exhibit.
 
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 We have an entire case
 
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 dedicated to the evolution
 
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 of weaponry during the Revolutionary War,
 
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 from fowlers to muskets to rifles,
 
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 different sizes and shapes,
 
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 and to explore what these soldiers used.
 
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 Complementing that is one of
 
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 the kiosks that delves even
 
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 deeper into the components of a weapon,
 
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 how they fired.
 
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 Little videos on this kiosk
 
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 to show the public what they used.
 
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 Would each this is someone
 
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 just asked me this the
 
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 other day about how people
 
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 men would make their cartridges.
 
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 Would they make them ahead of time?
 
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 Would someone else make them?
 
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 I mean,
 
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 what was the process of actually
 
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 loading your weapon?
 
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 I think a little bit of both.
 
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 I think they did make their own.
 
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 I even read accounts of
 
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 women making cartridge boxes,
 
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 wives and camp followers who did that.
 
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 And so, yeah,
 
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 it was a combination of all
 
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 that in prepping for battle
 
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 during the war.
 
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 And we know
 
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 about, you know, so you,
 
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 the men would carry a
 
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 cartridge box with cartridges preloaded,
 
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 but at some time he might
 
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 run out during the course of the battle.
 
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 Absolutely.
 
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 I mean, it's all the, you know,
 
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 during battle, anything could happen.
 
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 And it's, you know,
 
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 and you gotta remember these are,
 
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 you know, soldiers today,
 
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 it's a different from a
 
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 technology perspective.
 
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 it's fairly rudimentary in
 
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 terms of if you think about
 
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 warfare today um so and and
 
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 that lends itself to we're
 
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 trying to depict you know
 
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 what they went through on
 
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 the battlefield right seeing trained
 
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 men uh british regulars
 
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 coming at you with fixed
 
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 bayonets these are
 
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 disciplined seasoned
 
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 soldiers right um for the
 
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 young american army this
 
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 had been mind-blowing to to
 
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 to you know um the ability
 
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 to just stay and fight
 
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 right right you know um is
 
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 is truly truly remarkable and um
 
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 And that, too,
 
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 is we also try to convey the
 
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 brutality of eighteenth century warfare.
 
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 It really was.
 
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 How does the Army change
 
 00:08:06.211 --> 00:08:07.291
 over the course of the
 
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 eight years of the war?
 
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 I mean,
 
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 how did the composition of the men
 
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 in it and who they are?
 
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 That's a great question and
 
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 what this exhibit partly is
 
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 trying to figure out, right?
 
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 Yeah.
 
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 So obviously early in the war, you know,
 
 00:08:22.625 --> 00:08:23.687
 the sort of rage military,
 
 00:08:23.706 --> 00:08:25.209
 the patriotism that
 
 00:08:25.228 --> 00:08:30.334
 envelops a lot of men to join the Army.
 
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 And it's based on a lot of
 
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 times it's based on, you know,
 
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 success on the on the battlefield or not.
 
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 Right.
 
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 So what I what I discovered
 
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 is a lot of some soldiers
 
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 who join the army and then
 
 00:08:42.900 --> 00:08:44.000
 things are not going so well.
 
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 They're like, nope, I'm going to leave,
 
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 go back home.
 
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 They're following the war
 
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 somehow and things are
 
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 starting to look better.
 
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 Right.
 
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 They kind of rejoin or get back in.
 
 00:08:54.918 --> 00:08:56.119
 Because, as you know,
 
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 the war was an ebb and flow.
 
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 Right.
 
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 Right.
 
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 With a little cat and mouse
 
 00:09:01.042 --> 00:09:03.962
 game by Washington to evade
 
 00:09:04.462 --> 00:09:06.504
 the British Army in certain degrees.
 
 00:09:07.284 --> 00:09:11.006
 So the motivation for war is
 
 00:09:11.067 --> 00:09:13.687
 very interesting during these times.
 
 00:09:14.788 --> 00:09:15.269
 In fact,
 
 00:09:15.308 --> 00:09:16.668
 you could probably compare it to
 
 00:09:17.269 --> 00:09:18.909
 why soldiers join the army today.
 
 00:09:20.671 --> 00:09:23.653
 Patriotism, but also a sense of adventure.
 
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 It's also a job.
 
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 Yeah, that's right.
 
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 And family reputation was a very big,
 
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 big thing as well.
 
 00:09:34.091 --> 00:09:35.913
 So all these things are happening,
 
 00:09:36.133 --> 00:09:38.475
 and it's not just a simple answer as if,
 
 00:09:38.914 --> 00:09:39.095
 yep,
 
 00:09:39.115 --> 00:09:40.615
 they were just patriotic and wanted
 
 00:09:40.655 --> 00:09:41.897
 to know.
 
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 There's also personal reasons.
 
 00:09:44.578 --> 00:09:48.260
 And so that was really
 
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 fascinating to uncover
 
 00:09:50.201 --> 00:09:52.123
 while putting this exhibit together.
 
 00:09:52.943 --> 00:09:53.083
 Now,
 
 00:09:53.104 --> 00:09:54.384
 that really is one of the things that
 
 00:09:54.424 --> 00:09:55.804
 historians have been trying
 
 00:09:55.845 --> 00:09:56.905
 to figure out.
 
 00:09:56.946 --> 00:09:57.986
 What is the motivation?
 
 00:09:58.615 --> 00:09:59.294
 how they change.
 
 00:09:59.335 --> 00:10:01.096
 So asking you questions that
 
 00:10:01.115 --> 00:10:02.796
 I've been puzzling over myself.
 
 00:10:02.855 --> 00:10:04.897
 So we're talking with Paul Morando,
 
 00:10:04.937 --> 00:10:06.217
 who is the chief curator at
 
 00:10:06.238 --> 00:10:07.317
 the National Museum of the
 
 00:10:07.378 --> 00:10:08.477
 United States Army,
 
 00:10:08.538 --> 00:10:10.558
 which is preparing a new exhibit,
 
 00:10:10.599 --> 00:10:13.000
 Call to Arms, which will open next June,
 
 00:10:13.940 --> 00:10:15.400
 talking about the army in
 
 00:10:15.441 --> 00:10:16.841
 the Revolutionary War.
 
 00:10:17.642 --> 00:10:20.903
 And now you said you have
 
 00:10:21.763 --> 00:10:22.602
 maybe half a million
 
 00:10:22.682 --> 00:10:24.543
 artifacts altogether in the museum,
 
 00:10:24.563 --> 00:10:26.004
 but you have just two
 
 00:10:26.043 --> 00:10:27.504
 hundred eighty five in this exhibit.
 
 00:10:28.177 --> 00:10:28.998
 And I'm wondering how you go
 
 00:10:29.038 --> 00:10:30.639
 about selecting or deciding
 
 00:10:30.778 --> 00:10:32.640
 what pieces you'll use or
 
 00:10:32.681 --> 00:10:34.101
 what stories you want to tell.
 
 00:10:34.121 --> 00:10:35.984
 Yeah.
 
 00:10:36.854 --> 00:10:38.274
 Yeah, in the Army's collection,
 
 00:10:39.436 --> 00:10:40.436
 it's a large collection.
 
 00:10:40.755 --> 00:10:41.576
 But in reality,
 
 00:10:42.456 --> 00:10:44.298
 as far as the Rev War is concerned,
 
 00:10:44.618 --> 00:10:45.458
 it's fairly small.
 
 00:10:46.078 --> 00:10:46.919
 We needed to figure out a
 
 00:10:46.960 --> 00:10:49.801
 way to bringing other
 
 00:10:49.881 --> 00:10:51.282
 artifacts on loans from
 
 00:10:51.942 --> 00:10:54.484
 major institutions, smaller institutions,
 
 00:10:55.725 --> 00:10:57.765
 that really focus in on the
 
 00:10:57.806 --> 00:10:58.626
 soldier's story.
 
 00:10:59.527 --> 00:11:00.288
 And as you may know,
 
 00:11:00.528 --> 00:11:02.188
 there is not a significant
 
 00:11:02.208 --> 00:11:03.850
 amount of material culture
 
 00:11:03.950 --> 00:11:05.490
 from the Revolutionary War.
 
 00:11:05.591 --> 00:11:06.250
 And if there
 
 00:11:06.832 --> 00:11:08.774
 Or a lot of them are type
 
 00:11:08.794 --> 00:11:09.836
 pieces that are not
 
 00:11:11.037 --> 00:11:14.119
 connected to an individual soldier.
 
 00:11:14.538 --> 00:11:15.899
 So that even became harder
 
 00:11:16.181 --> 00:11:17.422
 to kind of cull down.
 
 00:11:18.743 --> 00:11:21.085
 But in the last two years,
 
 00:11:21.945 --> 00:11:23.005
 I've made a lot of visits
 
 00:11:23.046 --> 00:11:24.527
 to a lot of different institutions.
 
 00:11:25.048 --> 00:11:26.469
 And I was so amazed.
 
 00:11:26.969 --> 00:11:28.429
 of these collections or
 
 00:11:28.450 --> 00:11:30.392
 these artifacts that are
 
 00:11:30.552 --> 00:11:32.732
 are out there um whether
 
 00:11:32.793 --> 00:11:34.573
 they're in storage whether
 
 00:11:34.693 --> 00:11:36.174
 in you know sort of small
 
 00:11:36.296 --> 00:11:38.317
 out of the way places um
 
 00:11:38.937 --> 00:11:39.837
 you know once you start
 
 00:11:39.857 --> 00:11:41.198
 talking to people
 
 00:11:41.399 --> 00:11:44.020
 historians collectors um
 
 00:11:44.581 --> 00:11:45.822
 these these these pieces
 
 00:11:45.861 --> 00:11:47.702
 start popping up right and
 
 00:11:48.144 --> 00:11:49.644
 so then the challenge was
 
 00:11:50.164 --> 00:11:52.025
 well how do we go about in
 
 00:11:52.086 --> 00:11:53.707
 getting these pieces on loan
 
 00:11:54.548 --> 00:11:58.370
 some of, you know, for two years to,
 
 00:11:58.812 --> 00:12:01.653
 you know, add to this exhibit,
 
 00:12:01.774 --> 00:12:03.716
 add to this story.
 
 00:12:04.397 --> 00:12:05.898
 So part of the, you know,
 
 00:12:05.957 --> 00:12:06.899
 I think the best part of my
 
 00:12:06.918 --> 00:12:09.660
 job is was going out to these places,
 
 00:12:10.201 --> 00:12:11.482
 looking at the artifacts
 
 00:12:12.342 --> 00:12:13.403
 Trying to figure out how
 
 00:12:13.443 --> 00:12:16.826
 they would fit into our
 
 00:12:16.927 --> 00:12:20.568
 story was just amazing.
 
 00:12:20.609 --> 00:12:21.629
 So for example,
 
 00:12:21.669 --> 00:12:23.451
 the Rhode Island Historical Society,
 
 00:12:24.172 --> 00:12:25.993
 wonderful organization that
 
 00:12:26.072 --> 00:12:28.855
 has a tremendous collection
 
 00:12:28.875 --> 00:12:31.216
 when it comes to Rev War pieces.
 
 00:12:31.256 --> 00:12:33.177
 But more importantly, that they know,
 
 00:12:33.577 --> 00:12:36.139
 for the most part, who owned these items,
 
 00:12:36.259 --> 00:12:37.500
 who handled these items
 
 00:12:38.142 --> 00:12:38.942
 throughout the war.
 
 00:12:40.964 --> 00:12:44.969
 And talking to the curators, they want to,
 
 00:12:45.068 --> 00:12:45.610
 in some ways,
 
 00:12:45.830 --> 00:12:47.873
 get these pieces out on display,
 
 00:12:48.092 --> 00:12:48.894
 out on exhibit,
 
 00:12:48.913 --> 00:12:50.836
 and just not be used for
 
 00:12:50.876 --> 00:12:53.320
 research and writing.
 
 00:12:56.062 --> 00:12:57.524
 But it was a challenge.
 
 00:12:59.946 --> 00:13:00.506
 For me,
 
 00:13:00.767 --> 00:13:02.067
 I would like to see more artifacts
 
 00:13:02.106 --> 00:13:02.667
 on display,
 
 00:13:03.386 --> 00:13:06.427
 but my designers and folks were like,
 
 00:13:08.307 --> 00:13:12.548
 we need to stop.
 
 00:13:12.708 --> 00:13:16.250
 Because sometimes too much
 
 00:13:18.431 --> 00:13:19.211
 overwhelms the story.
 
 00:13:20.731 --> 00:13:21.753
 And part of what you're
 
 00:13:21.773 --> 00:13:23.514
 doing is trying to connect
 
 00:13:23.573 --> 00:13:24.474
 certain artifacts with
 
 00:13:24.514 --> 00:13:25.975
 particular soldiers.
 
 00:13:25.995 --> 00:13:27.535
 So it's not just a general,
 
 00:13:27.576 --> 00:13:29.277
 here are uniforms, here are weapons,
 
 00:13:29.317 --> 00:13:30.258
 but you're trying to tell
 
 00:13:30.298 --> 00:13:32.940
 the stories of individuals.
 
 00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:33.480
 That's correct.
 
 00:13:33.500 --> 00:13:34.900
 So, you know,
 
 00:13:37.261 --> 00:13:39.783
 we know the Loyalist Unit
 
 00:13:39.964 --> 00:13:40.965
 form I mentioned before,
 
 00:13:41.004 --> 00:13:42.645
 we know his story, so that will be told.
 
 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:45.380
 in there.
 
 00:13:46.322 --> 00:13:50.024
 Other weapons or smaller items, camp cups,
 
 00:13:50.703 --> 00:13:51.565
 canteens,
 
 00:13:52.785 --> 00:13:55.326
 we have many that are connected
 
 00:13:55.626 --> 00:13:56.347
 to soldiers' stories
 
 00:13:56.368 --> 00:13:57.708
 because that's important.
 
 00:13:59.429 --> 00:14:01.551
 It's neat to see different pieces,
 
 00:14:01.591 --> 00:14:03.932
 tight pieces, or even weapons,
 
 00:14:03.971 --> 00:14:05.013
 as I mentioned before.
 
 00:14:05.572 --> 00:14:06.394
 But when you can tie that
 
 00:14:06.894 --> 00:14:09.255
 weapon to a soldier who served,
 
 00:14:10.736 --> 00:14:12.758
 it just gives more meaning
 
 00:14:14.293 --> 00:14:16.495
 Visitors connect more with
 
 00:14:16.535 --> 00:14:20.778
 that versus just seeing a regular weapon.
 
 00:14:20.798 --> 00:14:22.559
 And then another way we do
 
 00:14:22.580 --> 00:14:25.363
 this beyond artifacts is
 
 00:14:25.423 --> 00:14:26.764
 through our cast figures.
 
 00:14:27.684 --> 00:14:31.147
 These are realistic cast figures that,
 
 00:14:32.427 --> 00:14:33.870
 and for the first time here at the museum,
 
 00:14:33.889 --> 00:14:35.091
 we're going to be depicting
 
 00:14:35.890 --> 00:14:39.432
 real individuals who served during the war,
 
 00:14:39.493 --> 00:14:40.073
 right?
 
 00:14:40.134 --> 00:14:42.875
 So you see there's an image,
 
 00:14:44.636 --> 00:14:46.116
 you see about four or five
 
 00:14:46.157 --> 00:14:47.398
 of the seven that we're
 
 00:14:47.418 --> 00:14:49.139
 going to have on display.
 
 00:14:49.679 --> 00:14:50.700
 So what did they wear?
 
 00:14:52.441 --> 00:14:55.442
 How did they interact with each other?
 
 00:14:56.903 --> 00:14:57.485
 But also,
 
 00:14:59.248 --> 00:15:01.549
 they are based on real individuals.
 
 00:15:01.590 --> 00:15:03.913
 So there you see in the foreground,
 
 00:15:04.354 --> 00:15:06.176
 John and Anna Lane, right?
 
 00:15:06.196 --> 00:15:07.317
 The husband and wife,
 
 00:15:07.657 --> 00:15:09.820
 Anna Lane actually served
 
 00:15:11.000 --> 00:15:11.961
 on the battlefield.
 
 00:15:12.322 --> 00:15:15.525
 And so there's just a unique story,
 
 00:15:15.566 --> 00:15:16.687
 amazing story with that.
 
 00:15:18.087 --> 00:15:18.688
 In the background,
 
 00:15:18.729 --> 00:15:20.990
 you can see a First Rhode Island soldier,
 
 00:15:22.110 --> 00:15:22.831
 Cato Varnum,
 
 00:15:24.571 --> 00:15:27.212
 based on an individual who did serve.
 
 00:15:27.692 --> 00:15:28.894
 Compelling story there.
 
 00:15:30.033 --> 00:15:31.914
 So beyond artifacts,
 
 00:15:32.154 --> 00:15:34.235
 that's another way to
 
 00:15:34.296 --> 00:15:35.897
 connect with our visitors.
 
 00:15:37.559 --> 00:15:38.900
 We're talking with Paul Morando,
 
 00:15:38.921 --> 00:15:40.261
 who is the chief curator at
 
 00:15:40.302 --> 00:15:41.481
 the National Museum of the
 
 00:15:41.542 --> 00:15:42.783
 United States Army,
 
 00:15:42.842 --> 00:15:45.004
 which is preparing an exhibit,
 
 00:15:45.104 --> 00:15:45.904
 Call to Arms,
 
 00:15:45.924 --> 00:15:46.825
 about the soldier in the
 
 00:15:46.865 --> 00:15:48.485
 Revolutionary War opening
 
 00:15:48.605 --> 00:15:50.386
 in June of twenty twenty five.
 
 00:15:51.287 --> 00:15:53.528
 And I understand you also
 
 00:15:53.567 --> 00:15:54.928
 got a Grenadier's cap from
 
 00:15:54.989 --> 00:15:56.490
 the Old Colony Historical
 
 00:15:56.529 --> 00:15:58.630
 Society here in Massachusetts.
 
 00:16:00.734 --> 00:16:01.195
 Right,
 
 00:16:01.235 --> 00:16:03.596
 and that is connected to Toby Gilmore,
 
 00:16:03.616 --> 00:16:05.480
 an African American who
 
 00:16:05.580 --> 00:16:06.480
 served during the war.
 
 00:16:07.160 --> 00:16:08.903
 So that's extremely rare.
 
 00:16:09.163 --> 00:16:10.365
 There are, I couldn't,
 
 00:16:10.384 --> 00:16:13.649
 I don't know if I can, you know,
 
 00:16:13.668 --> 00:16:15.029
 recall how many artifacts
 
 00:16:15.071 --> 00:16:16.011
 that are related to African
 
 00:16:16.032 --> 00:16:16.972
 American soldiers who
 
 00:16:17.033 --> 00:16:18.934
 served during the Revolutionary War.
 
 00:16:19.436 --> 00:16:20.976
 So to have that,
 
 00:16:22.177 --> 00:16:25.441
 sort of a cap plate, if you will,
 
 00:16:25.841 --> 00:16:29.466
 is extremely important because, A,
 
 00:16:29.907 --> 00:16:31.788
 it gets another story or
 
 00:16:31.869 --> 00:16:33.110
 maybe an unknown story,
 
 00:16:34.052 --> 00:16:36.894
 part of the larger story of
 
 00:16:36.934 --> 00:16:37.976
 the Revolutionary War.
 
 00:16:38.736 --> 00:16:40.638
 and begs the question of
 
 00:16:40.957 --> 00:16:42.498
 freedom and what it meant,
 
 00:16:43.639 --> 00:16:45.658
 what it mean to enslave,
 
 00:16:45.739 --> 00:16:48.159
 what it means to those who
 
 00:16:48.200 --> 00:16:50.941
 joined the army to seek
 
 00:16:50.980 --> 00:16:54.381
 freedom and sort of complex
 
 00:16:55.042 --> 00:16:58.743
 and somewhat way of looking at it.
 
 00:17:00.163 --> 00:17:01.884
 And so we needed a way to
 
 00:17:01.923 --> 00:17:03.225
 capture that experience.
 
 00:17:04.184 --> 00:17:06.606
 um and as a curator you need
 
 00:17:06.686 --> 00:17:09.469
 objects and artifacts to do
 
 00:17:09.509 --> 00:17:12.092
 that um and that's what I
 
 00:17:12.112 --> 00:17:13.593
 think is really brings
 
 00:17:13.653 --> 00:17:14.933
 people to these type of
 
 00:17:15.013 --> 00:17:17.296
 exhibits do you have any of
 
 00:17:17.355 --> 00:17:18.517
 cato varnum you have cato
 
 00:17:18.537 --> 00:17:19.897
 varnum on display or his
 
 00:17:19.958 --> 00:17:21.078
 figures do you have any of
 
 00:17:21.138 --> 00:17:22.380
 cato varnum's artifacts on
 
 00:17:22.400 --> 00:17:24.480
 display we do not um we do
 
 00:17:24.520 --> 00:17:28.365
 have a a letter um to uh
 
 00:17:29.548 --> 00:17:35.548
 private Thomas Nichols, where he's kind of,
 
 00:17:35.709 --> 00:17:37.049
 you can tell he's probably
 
 00:17:37.710 --> 00:17:40.089
 served during the war and
 
 00:17:40.131 --> 00:17:41.310
 probably suffered some kind
 
 00:17:41.371 --> 00:17:45.332
 of PTSD and he's troubled.
 
 00:17:45.751 --> 00:17:48.031
 And so his experience after
 
 00:17:48.071 --> 00:17:51.173
 the war wasn't positive at all.
 
 00:17:52.472 --> 00:17:53.673
 Where Toby Gilmore,
 
 00:17:53.753 --> 00:17:55.753
 who has the hat that we are getting,
 
 00:17:56.794 --> 00:17:58.335
 he leads a fairly successful
 
 00:17:59.352 --> 00:18:02.993
 life after the war within his community.
 
 00:18:04.233 --> 00:18:07.736
 So his experience was a lot different.
 
 00:18:09.395 --> 00:18:12.076
 I would like to say that one
 
 00:18:12.096 --> 00:18:12.998
 of the most significant
 
 00:18:13.057 --> 00:18:14.238
 artifacts that we're going
 
 00:18:14.258 --> 00:18:15.239
 to put on display
 
 00:18:16.124 --> 00:18:18.465
 is a flag connected to the
 
 00:18:18.546 --> 00:18:19.646
 first Rhode Island regiment.
 
 00:18:20.867 --> 00:18:22.888
 So in the state of Rhode Island,
 
 00:18:22.949 --> 00:18:25.471
 they have two flags that
 
 00:18:25.490 --> 00:18:27.272
 are connected to the Rhode
 
 00:18:27.333 --> 00:18:28.032
 Island regiment.
 
 00:18:28.472 --> 00:18:30.055
 The one we're going to put on display,
 
 00:18:30.154 --> 00:18:31.214
 I strongly believe,
 
 00:18:31.976 --> 00:18:33.076
 belonged to the first Rhode
 
 00:18:33.136 --> 00:18:34.298
 Island regiment.
 
 00:18:34.357 --> 00:18:35.338
 So that is the first
 
 00:18:36.058 --> 00:18:37.200
 African-American regiment
 
 00:18:37.220 --> 00:18:38.141
 stood up by the Army.
 
 00:18:39.582 --> 00:18:43.307
 And that flag has never been
 
 00:18:43.347 --> 00:18:47.653
 on public display in a museum setting.
 
 00:18:47.693 --> 00:18:48.494
 So think about that.
 
 00:18:49.496 --> 00:18:52.319
 Here's a flag that flew at Yorktown.
 
 00:18:54.145 --> 00:18:58.167
 um and so and represents uh
 
 00:18:58.188 --> 00:19:00.248
 you know um the
 
 00:19:00.307 --> 00:19:01.449
 african-american experience
 
 00:19:01.489 --> 00:19:03.548
 during during the war uh
 
 00:19:03.568 --> 00:19:04.829
 it's a complicated history
 
 00:19:04.910 --> 00:19:06.651
 but it's important that
 
 00:19:06.671 --> 00:19:08.070
 this flag gets on display
 
 00:19:09.290 --> 00:19:11.912
 in this setting within the
 
 00:19:11.971 --> 00:19:16.173
 army museum so um that is
 
 00:19:16.314 --> 00:19:17.534
 probably one of the top
 
 00:19:17.574 --> 00:19:18.375
 artifacts we'll have on
 
 00:19:18.414 --> 00:19:21.895
 display that's great and how
 
 00:19:22.469 --> 00:19:23.611
 How long has,
 
 00:19:23.631 --> 00:19:25.633
 so the Army Museum is at Fort Belvoir,
 
 00:19:25.713 --> 00:19:27.075
 just outside of Washington.
 
 00:19:27.977 --> 00:19:30.319
 And can you tell us a bit
 
 00:19:30.339 --> 00:19:32.102
 about the museum itself,
 
 00:19:32.162 --> 00:19:33.644
 what we'll see when we go there?
 
 00:19:34.403 --> 00:19:34.682
 Sure.
 
 00:19:35.923 --> 00:19:36.124
 Yeah.
 
 00:19:36.163 --> 00:19:39.567
 So we tell a comprehensive
 
 00:19:39.606 --> 00:19:43.869
 story of the United States Army, you know,
 
 00:19:43.930 --> 00:19:45.351
 from seventeen seventy five
 
 00:19:45.371 --> 00:19:46.192
 until present day.
 
 00:19:46.592 --> 00:19:50.895
 And we do that in a very personal way.
 
 00:19:50.915 --> 00:19:55.419
 And it's it's very engaging.
 
 00:19:56.119 --> 00:19:58.781
 The artifacts, the dioramas, the
 
 00:20:00.741 --> 00:20:03.324
 exhibits are very upfront,
 
 00:20:03.544 --> 00:20:04.344
 close and personal.
 
 00:20:05.285 --> 00:20:07.426
 So you're sort of drawn into
 
 00:20:07.467 --> 00:20:09.107
 those stories like I mentioned.
 
 00:20:09.888 --> 00:20:11.589
 And a lot of museums,
 
 00:20:12.230 --> 00:20:13.590
 when they deal with the military,
 
 00:20:13.631 --> 00:20:14.632
 deal with the army,
 
 00:20:16.153 --> 00:20:18.634
 it's from a branch specific
 
 00:20:18.734 --> 00:20:22.538
 or infantry or aviation, quartermaster.
 
 00:20:24.179 --> 00:20:25.500
 While we do tell those stories,
 
 00:20:25.539 --> 00:20:27.320
 it's really from the
 
 00:20:27.382 --> 00:20:28.863
 soldier's perspective.
 
 00:20:30.263 --> 00:20:31.545
 and what they went through
 
 00:20:32.346 --> 00:20:34.488
 over this sort of course of
 
 00:20:34.548 --> 00:20:36.849
 American history,
 
 00:20:37.049 --> 00:20:38.530
 based on the campaigns that
 
 00:20:38.550 --> 00:20:39.711
 the Army's been involved in.
 
 00:20:40.932 --> 00:20:42.474
 So it's a different approach
 
 00:20:43.194 --> 00:20:44.155
 and it's one that has
 
 00:20:44.256 --> 00:20:45.636
 connected very well with our visitors.
 
 00:20:45.656 --> 00:20:46.298
 Right, right.
 
 00:20:47.638 --> 00:20:49.881
 And Paul, in addition to artifacts,
 
 00:20:49.921 --> 00:20:51.461
 you also are using a lot of
 
 00:20:51.522 --> 00:20:52.844
 technology in different
 
 00:20:52.884 --> 00:20:54.065
 ways to tell these stories
 
 00:20:54.085 --> 00:20:55.286
 or to fill out the story.
 
 00:20:56.137 --> 00:20:56.597
 Correct.
 
 00:20:56.877 --> 00:20:59.019
 One of the ways we're doing
 
 00:20:59.059 --> 00:21:00.099
 that is something I'm very
 
 00:21:00.140 --> 00:21:01.221
 excited about is these,
 
 00:21:01.260 --> 00:21:05.463
 as an example you see up there,
 
 00:21:06.183 --> 00:21:07.865
 sort of these topographical
 
 00:21:08.025 --> 00:21:09.905
 map projections, right?
 
 00:21:09.925 --> 00:21:12.086
 So you have a screen that
 
 00:21:12.106 --> 00:21:13.087
 kind of gives you an
 
 00:21:13.627 --> 00:21:16.190
 illustrated history of, let's say here,
 
 00:21:16.250 --> 00:21:16.869
 Yorktown.
 
 00:21:17.490 --> 00:21:19.612
 We're also doing one on Barker Hill.
 
 00:21:20.211 --> 00:21:23.153
 And then there is a map
 
 00:21:23.601 --> 00:21:23.941
 you know,
 
 00:21:25.343 --> 00:21:27.385
 on the bottom there that also has
 
 00:21:27.445 --> 00:21:29.548
 projections on it that show
 
 00:21:29.587 --> 00:21:31.450
 troop movements, battle engagements,
 
 00:21:31.871 --> 00:21:32.632
 and they kind of work
 
 00:21:32.692 --> 00:21:34.513
 together with each other.
 
 00:21:34.534 --> 00:21:36.276
 So this is a great way
 
 00:21:36.375 --> 00:21:38.398
 visually to capture
 
 00:21:38.459 --> 00:21:40.141
 something like Yorktown, right?
 
 00:21:40.621 --> 00:21:41.522
 We read about it.
 
 00:21:42.703 --> 00:21:43.483
 Maybe we have a general
 
 00:21:43.503 --> 00:21:47.387
 understanding of it, but do we really?
 
 00:21:47.508 --> 00:21:50.170
 Do we understand how, you know,
 
 00:21:50.809 --> 00:21:52.971
 from an operations perspective,
 
 00:21:53.472 --> 00:21:54.594
 how that battle was fought,
 
 00:21:54.673 --> 00:21:55.314
 how it was won?
 
 00:21:55.334 --> 00:21:56.555
 It was a siege, right?
 
 00:21:56.575 --> 00:21:57.655
 It was over time.
 
 00:21:57.915 --> 00:21:59.317
 Same thing with Bunker Hill, right?
 
 00:22:00.038 --> 00:22:01.700
 Most of the fighting is Britain, right?
 
 00:22:02.579 --> 00:22:03.661
 Bunker Hill.
 
 00:22:04.622 --> 00:22:06.923
 So what is the landscape of Bunker Hill?
 
 00:22:06.943 --> 00:22:09.205
 I'm sure you're very familiar with it.
 
 00:22:09.695 --> 00:22:13.364
 But how, you know, but for visitors,
 
 00:22:14.280 --> 00:22:15.541
 This is a way to put them,
 
 00:22:15.862 --> 00:22:16.962
 immerse them a little bit
 
 00:22:17.823 --> 00:22:19.744
 into what the British were
 
 00:22:19.765 --> 00:22:20.905
 seeing and then what the
 
 00:22:20.925 --> 00:22:22.446
 Americans were seeing from
 
 00:22:22.467 --> 00:22:23.406
 the opposite side.
 
 00:22:24.867 --> 00:22:27.029
 I'm very excited to see how
 
 00:22:27.569 --> 00:22:29.371
 this is going to be
 
 00:22:29.912 --> 00:22:31.313
 responded to by our visitors,
 
 00:22:31.732 --> 00:22:33.614
 because I think it's one
 
 00:22:33.653 --> 00:22:37.237
 way to draw sort of more
 
 00:22:38.037 --> 00:22:40.679
 immersive way into this war.
 
 00:22:42.236 --> 00:22:43.757
 And it's often if you go to
 
 00:22:43.817 --> 00:22:44.696
 Bunker Hill today,
 
 00:22:44.737 --> 00:22:45.576
 it's really hard to
 
 00:22:45.636 --> 00:22:46.958
 envision what this would
 
 00:22:46.978 --> 00:22:47.417
 have looked like.
 
 00:22:47.438 --> 00:22:48.157
 So I think it's a little
 
 00:22:48.198 --> 00:22:50.960
 easier at Yorktown, but still big area.
 
 00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:52.720
 And you're trying to take all of this in.
 
 00:22:52.740 --> 00:22:54.740
 I mean, you can't ride around on a horse.
 
 00:22:54.780 --> 00:22:57.021
 Maybe you can or see it the
 
 00:22:57.061 --> 00:22:58.303
 way Washington or
 
 00:22:58.343 --> 00:22:59.942
 Cornwallis or Lafayette or
 
 00:23:00.002 --> 00:23:01.003
 one of the soldiers would
 
 00:23:01.023 --> 00:23:02.703
 have experienced it.
 
 00:23:02.743 --> 00:23:03.244
 That's right.
 
 00:23:03.444 --> 00:23:04.325
 And, you know,
 
 00:23:05.316 --> 00:23:06.596
 Today, with technology,
 
 00:23:06.636 --> 00:23:07.657
 there's a lot you can do.
 
 00:23:08.959 --> 00:23:10.098
 But we didn't want to be
 
 00:23:10.219 --> 00:23:11.941
 overwhelming with technology.
 
 00:23:12.040 --> 00:23:13.922
 So I would say these two
 
 00:23:13.961 --> 00:23:15.343
 pieces are probably the
 
 00:23:15.403 --> 00:23:16.344
 more immersive of what
 
 00:23:16.364 --> 00:23:17.944
 we're going to have on display.
 
 00:23:18.085 --> 00:23:20.586
 Others are more sort of simple kiosk,
 
 00:23:20.626 --> 00:23:21.686
 informational-based,
 
 00:23:22.847 --> 00:23:25.210
 where you could delve
 
 00:23:25.250 --> 00:23:26.730
 deeper into different artifacts.
 
 00:23:26.770 --> 00:23:27.471
 For example,
 
 00:23:27.871 --> 00:23:29.833
 I mentioned powderhorns earlier.
 
 00:23:30.393 --> 00:23:31.513
 We have a kiosk that's
 
 00:23:31.594 --> 00:23:32.875
 dedicated to powderhorns.
 
 00:23:33.154 --> 00:23:34.596
 So you can get up close and
 
 00:23:34.635 --> 00:23:36.416
 personal on those sketches
 
 00:23:36.477 --> 00:23:39.979
 and drawings and delve
 
 00:23:40.118 --> 00:23:41.779
 deeper in interpreting them.
 
 00:23:43.260 --> 00:23:45.221
 So I think that's quite fascinating.
 
 00:23:45.261 --> 00:23:47.002
 And then we have a film on
 
 00:23:47.324 --> 00:23:49.065
 camp life that depicts
 
 00:23:49.785 --> 00:23:52.106
 harsh conditions from
 
 00:23:52.146 --> 00:23:53.606
 Valley Forge to Morristown.
 
 00:23:54.048 --> 00:23:55.909
 This is more of a, I would say,
 
 00:23:56.048 --> 00:23:57.490
 atmospheric type of
 
 00:23:58.029 --> 00:24:01.574
 film um it's not narrated um
 
 00:24:01.894 --> 00:24:03.055
 it's just in the background
 
 00:24:03.915 --> 00:24:05.317
 uh showing showing what
 
 00:24:05.337 --> 00:24:06.398
 these soldiers went through
 
 00:24:07.118 --> 00:24:08.240
 and then the artifacts are
 
 00:24:08.280 --> 00:24:09.422
 presented in front of it
 
 00:24:10.426 --> 00:24:12.788
 that are sort of the things they carried,
 
 00:24:13.067 --> 00:24:14.327
 the small items that they
 
 00:24:14.347 --> 00:24:15.288
 had on their person,
 
 00:24:15.328 --> 00:24:16.929
 whether it's a utensil,
 
 00:24:17.409 --> 00:24:21.030
 whether it's a camp coffee
 
 00:24:21.070 --> 00:24:23.211
 cup or a camp stove or things like that.
 
 00:24:24.271 --> 00:24:25.211
 So a large part of what
 
 00:24:25.231 --> 00:24:27.153
 soldiers did was camping,
 
 00:24:27.272 --> 00:24:28.212
 was in the field,
 
 00:24:28.772 --> 00:24:32.214
 getting either before or after a battle.
 
 00:24:32.494 --> 00:24:34.174
 And no different from what
 
 00:24:34.194 --> 00:24:36.215
 soldiers go through today in some cases.
 
 00:24:36.236 --> 00:24:39.096
 So yeah, we present that.
 
 00:24:39.864 --> 00:24:42.105
 And seeing Anna Lane reminds
 
 00:24:42.184 --> 00:24:43.026
 us that there would have
 
 00:24:43.046 --> 00:24:44.727
 been women in the camps.
 
 00:24:44.787 --> 00:24:46.428
 And Deborah Sampson, of course,
 
 00:24:46.488 --> 00:24:48.808
 joined as a soldier in disguise.
 
 00:24:49.430 --> 00:24:50.390
 And of course, Molly Pitcher.
 
 00:24:50.410 --> 00:24:50.529
 I mean,
 
 00:24:50.549 --> 00:24:52.191
 there are famous stories that come
 
 00:24:52.251 --> 00:24:52.711
 out of this,
 
 00:24:52.751 --> 00:24:54.252
 but then they kind of
 
 00:24:54.353 --> 00:24:56.294
 represent this bigger story
 
 00:24:56.354 --> 00:24:57.755
 of women in the camps who
 
 00:24:57.775 --> 00:24:59.096
 were doing a lot of the laundering,
 
 00:24:59.155 --> 00:25:01.176
 nursing, other really essential things.
 
 00:25:01.913 --> 00:25:02.094
 Yeah,
 
 00:25:02.374 --> 00:25:03.816
 and we capture the sort of camp
 
 00:25:03.855 --> 00:25:06.617
 follower story, a women in the Army story,
 
 00:25:07.778 --> 00:25:11.060
 which was, I think, often overlooked,
 
 00:25:11.161 --> 00:25:13.542
 but a very important aspect of the war.
 
 00:25:13.803 --> 00:25:15.044
 You know,
 
 00:25:15.084 --> 00:25:16.865
 sort of traveling behind the Army,
 
 00:25:17.105 --> 00:25:18.547
 so to speak.
 
 00:25:20.067 --> 00:25:20.969
 And, you know,
 
 00:25:21.209 --> 00:25:23.790
 was very important in supplying,
 
 00:25:25.412 --> 00:25:27.473
 in some ways comforting, right,
 
 00:25:27.594 --> 00:25:30.256
 in terms of, you know, also
 
 00:25:31.376 --> 00:25:32.798
 from a medical perspective, too.
 
 00:25:34.078 --> 00:25:35.619
 It was very, very important.
 
 00:25:35.660 --> 00:25:38.500
 So we tell that story to
 
 00:25:38.601 --> 00:25:40.541
 some degree through Anna Lane.
 
 00:25:41.182 --> 00:25:43.163
 However, she did, you know,
 
 00:25:43.223 --> 00:25:45.746
 she was wounded on the battlefield.
 
 00:25:45.826 --> 00:25:46.885
 She was one of the first to
 
 00:25:46.925 --> 00:25:49.468
 get a pension for her service in the Army,
 
 00:25:49.988 --> 00:25:52.189
 which is also another
 
 00:25:52.308 --> 00:25:53.730
 aspect of this exhibit that
 
 00:25:53.769 --> 00:25:54.711
 we delve into.
 
 00:25:55.151 --> 00:25:56.271
 What happened after the war?
 
 00:25:57.692 --> 00:25:59.093
 Where did these soldiers go?
 
 00:26:01.055 --> 00:26:02.316
 And as you know,
 
 00:26:02.855 --> 00:26:04.277
 the sort of veteran
 
 00:26:04.317 --> 00:26:05.538
 experience of the
 
 00:26:05.577 --> 00:26:06.877
 Revolutionary War is quite
 
 00:26:06.917 --> 00:26:09.859
 different than it is today.
 
 00:26:11.101 --> 00:26:12.622
 And in fact, it took a long time.
 
 00:26:13.380 --> 00:26:16.481
 for soldiers to get their pensions,
 
 00:26:16.821 --> 00:26:19.702
 to get their service recognized.
 
 00:26:20.884 --> 00:26:22.444
 And it wasn't very easy.
 
 00:26:23.184 --> 00:26:25.365
 So we show that through pension records,
 
 00:26:25.445 --> 00:26:27.887
 we show that through correspondence,
 
 00:26:28.367 --> 00:26:30.568
 we show it in imagery.
 
 00:26:32.450 --> 00:26:36.571
 And so it wasn't always a
 
 00:26:36.711 --> 00:26:39.192
 positive experience for the
 
 00:26:39.232 --> 00:26:40.894
 common Revolutionary War
 
 00:26:40.973 --> 00:26:42.115
 soldier after the war.
 
 00:26:43.529 --> 00:26:43.630
 Paul,
 
 00:26:43.650 --> 00:26:45.490
 why do you think it took so long for
 
 00:26:45.510 --> 00:26:46.971
 the soldiers to get their pensions?
 
 00:26:47.010 --> 00:26:48.291
 Partly the country was broke,
 
 00:26:48.451 --> 00:26:50.373
 but were there other things
 
 00:26:50.472 --> 00:26:51.692
 holding this back?
 
 00:26:51.752 --> 00:26:53.554
 And I read somewhere that
 
 00:26:53.673 --> 00:26:55.054
 people became annoyed when
 
 00:26:55.114 --> 00:26:56.714
 soldiers were demanding payment,
 
 00:26:56.734 --> 00:26:57.494
 thinking they wanted to
 
 00:26:57.515 --> 00:26:59.195
 become a professional legion.
 
 00:27:00.329 --> 00:27:01.310
 Yeah,
 
 00:27:01.351 --> 00:27:02.211
 I think the biggest reason you
 
 00:27:02.251 --> 00:27:04.232
 mentioned it is financial.
 
 00:27:04.292 --> 00:27:06.015
 But there was,
 
 00:27:06.515 --> 00:27:08.636
 and even in the beginning of the war,
 
 00:27:09.037 --> 00:27:10.958
 this fear of a standing army, right?
 
 00:27:10.978 --> 00:27:12.720
 The whole idea was we're
 
 00:27:12.880 --> 00:27:15.521
 trying to fighting against them, right?
 
 00:27:16.061 --> 00:27:18.904
 And the idea of a standing army wasn't...
 
 00:27:19.659 --> 00:27:21.640
 positive with everybody.
 
 00:27:22.401 --> 00:27:22.780
 And even, you know,
 
 00:27:23.622 --> 00:27:24.622
 and I don't know how true
 
 00:27:25.041 --> 00:27:26.262
 it is all across the board,
 
 00:27:26.282 --> 00:27:27.564
 but there's accounts of
 
 00:27:28.124 --> 00:27:29.464
 soldiers not really getting
 
 00:27:29.826 --> 00:27:32.527
 the respect that, you know,
 
 00:27:32.547 --> 00:27:33.827
 these days it's different, right?
 
 00:27:33.887 --> 00:27:34.848
 You know,
 
 00:27:34.888 --> 00:27:35.909
 thank you for your service is
 
 00:27:35.929 --> 00:27:37.390
 something that you hear all the time.
 
 00:27:37.790 --> 00:27:38.770
 You didn't really hear that
 
 00:27:38.810 --> 00:27:41.893
 back in the country because
 
 00:27:42.854 --> 00:27:43.994
 it wasn't necessarily
 
 00:27:45.395 --> 00:27:47.237
 considered a noble profession.
 
 00:27:47.997 --> 00:27:48.998
 Now being an officer,
 
 00:27:50.818 --> 00:27:51.499
 That's right.
 
 00:27:51.519 --> 00:27:51.638
 Right.
 
 00:27:51.719 --> 00:27:53.180
 It had family lineage.
 
 00:27:53.200 --> 00:27:54.701
 It was it was it was a
 
 00:27:54.740 --> 00:27:56.863
 different way of looking at it.
 
 00:27:57.403 --> 00:27:57.962
 But yeah,
 
 00:27:58.002 --> 00:27:59.564
 when a lot of soldiers came home
 
 00:27:59.604 --> 00:28:01.766
 from the war, it was like, OK,
 
 00:28:01.806 --> 00:28:02.346
 back to work.
 
 00:28:04.125 --> 00:28:04.505
 You know,
 
 00:28:05.586 --> 00:28:07.386
 don't necessarily want to hear
 
 00:28:07.967 --> 00:28:09.248
 about your experience
 
 00:28:10.929 --> 00:28:13.109
 because of all the things I
 
 00:28:13.150 --> 00:28:14.270
 just kind of discussed about.
 
 00:28:14.330 --> 00:28:17.112
 So I think partly that's why
 
 00:28:17.172 --> 00:28:18.772
 it took so long for them to
 
 00:28:18.792 --> 00:28:21.734
 get their recognition and
 
 00:28:21.815 --> 00:28:22.635
 to get the country.
 
 00:28:22.655 --> 00:28:23.855
 Well,
 
 00:28:23.895 --> 00:28:25.436
 I'm glad that the National Museum of
 
 00:28:25.457 --> 00:28:26.498
 the United States Army now
 
 00:28:26.557 --> 00:28:27.679
 is recognizing them and
 
 00:28:27.719 --> 00:28:29.519
 telling this story because
 
 00:28:29.539 --> 00:28:31.040
 it's really an important one.
 
 00:28:31.080 --> 00:28:31.520
 I wonder if
 
 00:28:32.170 --> 00:28:34.452
 You know, there are groups like, well,
 
 00:28:34.492 --> 00:28:35.153
 the Society of the
 
 00:28:35.192 --> 00:28:38.096
 Cincinnati of the Officers, but the SAR,
 
 00:28:38.156 --> 00:28:39.878
 the sons of the American Revolution,
 
 00:28:39.898 --> 00:28:41.299
 the daughters of the American Revolution.
 
 00:28:41.601 --> 00:28:42.801
 Are you involved at all with
 
 00:28:42.821 --> 00:28:43.522
 them or with other
 
 00:28:45.037 --> 00:28:47.597
 some of your organizations.
 
 00:28:47.617 --> 00:28:47.877
 We are.
 
 00:28:48.097 --> 00:28:48.458
 SAR,
 
 00:28:48.478 --> 00:28:50.920
 we're actually getting some items from
 
 00:28:50.960 --> 00:28:51.859
 them as well.
 
 00:28:51.900 --> 00:28:52.779
 And the Society of
 
 00:28:52.819 --> 00:28:55.182
 Cincinnati here in Washington, D.C.
 
 00:28:55.201 --> 00:28:56.221
 is extremely helpful.
 
 00:28:56.843 --> 00:28:57.982
 That's another collection
 
 00:28:58.002 --> 00:28:59.784
 that is just remarkable.
 
 00:28:59.824 --> 00:29:01.265
 It is tremendous.
 
 00:29:01.505 --> 00:29:03.806
 And they don't necessarily have,
 
 00:29:03.905 --> 00:29:04.526
 I would say,
 
 00:29:04.566 --> 00:29:06.788
 a standard museum to showcase
 
 00:29:06.847 --> 00:29:07.387
 those items.
 
 00:29:08.949 --> 00:29:09.990
 But they love to work with
 
 00:29:10.029 --> 00:29:11.590
 organizations to get their
 
 00:29:12.132 --> 00:29:12.913
 artifacts seen.
 
 00:29:13.593 --> 00:29:15.454
 And them being so close was a great,
 
 00:29:16.655 --> 00:29:17.817
 it's a great relationship.
 
 00:29:18.857 --> 00:29:19.258
 So yeah,
 
 00:29:19.518 --> 00:29:21.059
 we are connecting with those
 
 00:29:21.119 --> 00:29:24.082
 organizations and trying to
 
 00:29:24.122 --> 00:29:24.702
 figure that out.
 
 00:29:24.803 --> 00:29:28.405
 And also what we've done for
 
 00:29:28.425 --> 00:29:29.646
 the end of the exhibit,
 
 00:29:29.666 --> 00:29:30.907
 because one of the hardest
 
 00:29:30.928 --> 00:29:31.808
 things to do is how do you
 
 00:29:32.048 --> 00:29:33.569
 end an exhibit?
 
 00:29:33.589 --> 00:29:35.332
 Where do you go after the war, right?
 
 00:29:35.895 --> 00:29:37.497
 yeah okay we won okay what
 
 00:29:37.537 --> 00:29:40.759
 now um so we wanted to make
 
 00:29:41.260 --> 00:29:42.622
 some kind of linkage to
 
 00:29:42.682 --> 00:29:45.203
 today's harbor right um
 
 00:29:46.325 --> 00:29:48.727
 which is not easy to do but
 
 00:29:48.967 --> 00:29:50.367
 found out there are a lot
 
 00:29:50.387 --> 00:29:53.150
 of similar connections in
 
 00:29:53.190 --> 00:29:55.511
 terms of why soldiers join
 
 00:29:55.551 --> 00:29:57.493
 the army why why people join the army
 
 00:29:58.596 --> 00:30:00.178
 Not very different from why
 
 00:30:01.058 --> 00:30:02.700
 revolutionary war soldiers joined.
 
 00:30:02.720 --> 00:30:05.340
 You know, sense of adventure, pay,
 
 00:30:05.421 --> 00:30:06.182
 patriotism,
 
 00:30:07.442 --> 00:30:09.324
 to kind of make that connection
 
 00:30:10.411 --> 00:30:12.672
 to the importance of service
 
 00:30:13.353 --> 00:30:16.233
 to one's country and that
 
 00:30:16.394 --> 00:30:18.194
 common bond that soldiers
 
 00:30:18.634 --> 00:30:21.057
 make when they serve together.
 
 00:30:21.096 --> 00:30:21.916
 And remember, you gotta remember,
 
 00:30:22.336 --> 00:30:24.778
 that was a new phenomenon
 
 00:30:25.558 --> 00:30:27.720
 amongst our American
 
 00:30:27.759 --> 00:30:30.621
 citizens where I kind of
 
 00:30:30.661 --> 00:30:32.622
 feel that service,
 
 00:30:32.682 --> 00:30:39.306
 that sort of bonding in combat
 
 00:30:40.182 --> 00:30:41.744
 really, I would say,
 
 00:30:42.384 --> 00:30:43.705
 helped forge sort of our
 
 00:30:43.747 --> 00:30:44.606
 national identity.
 
 00:30:44.626 --> 00:30:46.328
 You got to remember the army
 
 00:30:46.348 --> 00:30:49.031
 was born before the country was born.
 
 00:30:49.451 --> 00:30:51.673
 And so we are figuring out
 
 00:30:52.355 --> 00:30:54.477
 also how to run an army.
 
 00:30:57.660 --> 00:31:00.261
 And the components of an army,
 
 00:31:01.323 --> 00:31:03.204
 the structure of an army.
 
 00:31:04.105 --> 00:31:05.726
 George Washington struggled
 
 00:31:05.746 --> 00:31:06.507
 with that throughout the
 
 00:31:06.547 --> 00:31:08.989
 war in getting enough troops,
 
 00:31:09.169 --> 00:31:11.990
 enough supplies, command and control,
 
 00:31:13.191 --> 00:31:15.032
 having quality officers to
 
 00:31:15.393 --> 00:31:17.374
 run those different units.
 
 00:31:18.855 --> 00:31:20.737
 Those are just fascinating to me.
 
 00:31:20.757 --> 00:31:23.018
 They are, yeah.
 
 00:31:23.077 --> 00:31:25.420
 How he was able to do that
 
 00:31:25.680 --> 00:31:26.480
 while fighting a war.
 
 00:31:26.500 --> 00:31:26.621
 Yeah.
 
 00:31:27.917 --> 00:31:28.057
 Now,
 
 00:31:28.097 --> 00:31:30.422
 are you able to tell any of that
 
 00:31:30.521 --> 00:31:32.365
 really complicated story of
 
 00:31:32.424 --> 00:31:35.470
 structure and Washington's
 
 00:31:35.529 --> 00:31:36.432
 attempts to command?
 
 00:31:37.333 --> 00:31:37.493
 We do.
 
 00:31:37.513 --> 00:31:40.659
 So and, you know,
 
 00:31:41.186 --> 00:31:41.586
 Certainly,
 
 00:31:42.087 --> 00:31:43.407
 George Washington will have his
 
 00:31:43.448 --> 00:31:44.608
 role here in this exhibit
 
 00:31:45.369 --> 00:31:45.970
 in certain ways.
 
 00:31:46.529 --> 00:31:47.711
 We will have artifacts that
 
 00:31:47.750 --> 00:31:50.613
 are connected to him that he had.
 
 00:31:51.313 --> 00:31:53.273
 And there's ways that we're
 
 00:31:53.294 --> 00:31:57.356
 going to kind of look at discipline,
 
 00:31:58.277 --> 00:32:01.778
 also structure of the army, you know,
 
 00:32:01.798 --> 00:32:02.660
 the sort of the.
 
 00:32:03.500 --> 00:32:04.521
 the first establishment,
 
 00:32:04.541 --> 00:32:05.943
 the second establishment of
 
 00:32:06.064 --> 00:32:08.086
 different armies, the enlistment.
 
 00:32:09.367 --> 00:32:11.310
 One of the biggest problems was, okay,
 
 00:32:12.192 --> 00:32:13.814
 yeah, it's great.
 
 00:32:13.855 --> 00:32:14.976
 Patriotism is awesome.
 
 00:32:14.996 --> 00:32:16.597
 I'm going to sign up and fight, but
 
 00:32:17.531 --> 00:32:18.352
 I'd like to get paid.
 
 00:32:18.392 --> 00:32:19.432
 Well, yeah.
 
 00:32:19.471 --> 00:32:21.432
 Or what else can you know?
 
 00:32:21.593 --> 00:32:23.032
 So there was becomes this
 
 00:32:23.093 --> 00:32:24.814
 combination of patriotism
 
 00:32:25.513 --> 00:32:27.253
 and reward to some degree.
 
 00:32:28.013 --> 00:32:29.954
 So then you had longer enlistments,
 
 00:32:30.055 --> 00:32:31.355
 like three year enlistments.
 
 00:32:31.755 --> 00:32:33.536
 You had, you know,
 
 00:32:33.596 --> 00:32:35.135
 promise of more money in
 
 00:32:35.195 --> 00:32:36.896
 land and things like that
 
 00:32:37.896 --> 00:32:40.237
 because you in order to to
 
 00:32:40.938 --> 00:32:43.897
 sustain a successful military,
 
 00:32:44.137 --> 00:32:45.378
 you have to have incentive
 
 00:32:45.699 --> 00:32:46.519
 for these soldiers
 
 00:32:47.278 --> 00:32:50.461
 to to to stay and fight um
 
 00:32:50.480 --> 00:32:51.442
 otherwise they're just
 
 00:32:51.461 --> 00:32:52.382
 gonna go back on the farm
 
 00:32:53.502 --> 00:32:54.763
 go back to their families
 
 00:32:55.003 --> 00:32:55.544
 and that's what a lot of
 
 00:32:55.564 --> 00:32:57.925
 them did um and there was
 
 00:32:57.986 --> 00:32:59.125
 some you know even some
 
 00:32:59.205 --> 00:33:00.207
 aspects of mutinies
 
 00:33:00.267 --> 00:33:02.468
 throughout the uh the war
 
 00:33:02.488 --> 00:33:04.148
 because of what I just
 
 00:33:04.169 --> 00:33:06.691
 discussed so uh yes we we
 
 00:33:06.711 --> 00:33:08.491
 tackle that uh it's it's
 
 00:33:08.531 --> 00:33:10.472
 there um because it's
 
 00:33:10.553 --> 00:33:11.933
 important to understand how
 
 00:33:12.894 --> 00:33:14.435
 how fragile the army was
 
 00:33:14.796 --> 00:33:16.217
 during our time period um
 
 00:33:17.048 --> 00:33:21.590
 And, you know, I mentioned discipline,
 
 00:33:21.631 --> 00:33:23.550
 you know, early on at Bunker Hill,
 
 00:33:23.570 --> 00:33:25.451
 great example, who's in charge?
 
 00:33:26.853 --> 00:33:27.353
 You know,
 
 00:33:27.432 --> 00:33:28.532
 initially it was this sort of
 
 00:33:28.573 --> 00:33:31.773
 like interwar between the colonies of,
 
 00:33:31.954 --> 00:33:37.416
 you know, and there was, you know,
 
 00:33:37.477 --> 00:33:38.176
 lack of discipline.
 
 00:33:39.156 --> 00:33:40.557
 And then by Yorktown,
 
 00:33:40.818 --> 00:33:42.920
 you can see the sort of
 
 00:33:43.000 --> 00:33:44.601
 three sixty degree change
 
 00:33:45.001 --> 00:33:46.403
 in terms of how a military
 
 00:33:46.442 --> 00:33:47.042
 should operate.
 
 00:33:47.123 --> 00:33:47.343
 Right.
 
 00:33:47.844 --> 00:33:49.724
 Clear communications with the French,
 
 00:33:50.244 --> 00:33:51.726
 clear communication amongst
 
 00:33:51.906 --> 00:33:52.987
 the generals in the
 
 00:33:53.007 --> 00:33:55.189
 American army led to to
 
 00:33:55.449 --> 00:33:56.390
 success at Yorktown.
 
 00:33:56.430 --> 00:33:58.391
 So it's there.
 
 00:33:58.611 --> 00:33:58.810
 Right.
 
 00:33:58.832 --> 00:33:59.832
 So when you go from Bunker
 
 00:33:59.872 --> 00:34:01.212
 Hill for that map,
 
 00:34:01.272 --> 00:34:03.394
 interactive map I showed you in Yorktown.
 
 00:34:04.555 --> 00:34:06.016
 I think those are two pivot
 
 00:34:06.056 --> 00:34:10.719
 points or occasions where you go from,
 
 00:34:10.739 --> 00:34:10.898
 you know,
 
 00:34:10.918 --> 00:34:12.360
 sort of a ragtag army to a
 
 00:34:12.400 --> 00:34:13.219
 professional force.
 
 00:34:13.721 --> 00:34:13.840
 Right.
 
 00:34:14.440 --> 00:34:15.862
 We were talking with Paul Morando,
 
 00:34:15.902 --> 00:34:16.942
 the chief curator at the
 
 00:34:16.981 --> 00:34:18.023
 National Museum of the
 
 00:34:18.063 --> 00:34:19.123
 United States Army.
 
 00:34:19.684 --> 00:34:22.105
 Now, the Army, the United States Army,
 
 00:34:22.224 --> 00:34:25.447
 runs the museum, but it opened it with a,
 
 00:34:26.188 --> 00:34:27.588
 it's a public-facing,
 
 00:34:29.271 --> 00:34:31.414
 Now, do you need to show an ID to get in?
 
 00:34:31.454 --> 00:34:33.036
 Is it on a secure facility?
 
 00:34:33.737 --> 00:34:35.519
 How do we visit and how much does it cost?
 
 00:34:36.552 --> 00:34:37.072
 It's free.
 
 00:34:38.052 --> 00:34:39.873
 Our mission is to educate
 
 00:34:39.893 --> 00:34:40.672
 the public on the history
 
 00:34:40.693 --> 00:34:41.713
 of the United States Army.
 
 00:34:42.112 --> 00:34:44.393
 So we're not on sort of
 
 00:34:44.474 --> 00:34:46.534
 proper Army facility where
 
 00:34:46.554 --> 00:34:48.755
 you have to check in with ID.
 
 00:34:48.954 --> 00:34:51.375
 It's easy and open access to the public.
 
 00:34:52.454 --> 00:34:54.876
 The main mission of this museum is that,
 
 00:34:55.056 --> 00:34:57.536
 to be sort of the public
 
 00:34:57.576 --> 00:34:58.755
 face of Army's history.
 
 00:35:02.358 --> 00:35:04.800
 we strive in trying to make
 
 00:35:04.840 --> 00:35:05.699
 it as accessible as
 
 00:35:05.760 --> 00:35:07.842
 possible to access the
 
 00:35:07.902 --> 00:35:10.824
 Army's history in different ways.
 
 00:35:12.045 --> 00:35:13.085
 So, you know,
 
 00:35:13.226 --> 00:35:14.847
 this exhibit is just sort of
 
 00:35:14.887 --> 00:35:17.768
 another example to try to
 
 00:35:18.590 --> 00:35:19.811
 highlight the Army's role
 
 00:35:20.791 --> 00:35:21.471
 in our history.
 
 00:35:22.431 --> 00:35:25.411
 It's an extremely important story.
 
 00:35:26.313 --> 00:35:27.413
 It's not an Army story.
 
 00:35:27.452 --> 00:35:29.534
 This is an American story
 
 00:35:29.634 --> 00:35:31.213
 and to some degree a world story,
 
 00:35:31.233 --> 00:35:32.293
 especially as we're talking
 
 00:35:32.313 --> 00:35:34.675
 about the commemoration of
 
 00:35:34.695 --> 00:35:35.574
 the two hundred fiftieth
 
 00:35:35.614 --> 00:35:37.516
 anniversary of this nation.
 
 00:35:38.873 --> 00:35:40.594
 And I often say, you know,
 
 00:35:40.634 --> 00:35:42.094
 and it's fairly obvious,
 
 00:35:42.135 --> 00:35:43.934
 but maybe not so much is, you know,
 
 00:35:43.994 --> 00:35:45.936
 on July fourth, seventeen seventy six,
 
 00:35:45.976 --> 00:35:48.077
 we declared our independence.
 
 00:35:48.577 --> 00:35:50.777
 We still had to win the war to secure it.
 
 00:35:51.016 --> 00:35:51.237
 Right.
 
 00:35:51.717 --> 00:35:53.518
 And without those soldiers,
 
 00:35:53.557 --> 00:35:54.938
 without the United States Army,
 
 00:35:55.978 --> 00:35:56.699
 we couldn't have done it.
 
 00:35:58.197 --> 00:35:58.838
 Thank you so much.
 
 00:35:58.858 --> 00:36:01.860
 Thank you for your service as a reservist,
 
 00:36:01.880 --> 00:36:03.342
 but also as the curator of
 
 00:36:03.382 --> 00:36:06.003
 this tremendous museum and for sharing.
 
 00:36:06.023 --> 00:36:07.125
 Anything else we should add
 
 00:36:07.144 --> 00:36:07.925
 before we let you go?
 
 00:36:07.945 --> 00:36:10.367
 Well, I just, you know,
 
 00:36:10.407 --> 00:36:12.309
 those who listen to this
 
 00:36:12.349 --> 00:36:13.751
 podcast or view it,
 
 00:36:14.311 --> 00:36:15.152
 just spread the word about
 
 00:36:15.492 --> 00:36:18.474
 this exhibit to your families, friends,
 
 00:36:18.494 --> 00:36:19.376
 communities out there.
 
 00:36:20.056 --> 00:36:21.858
 um we we want people to come
 
 00:36:21.878 --> 00:36:22.958
 and see this exhibit to
 
 00:36:22.998 --> 00:36:25.000
 experience it um because I
 
 00:36:25.039 --> 00:36:26.400
 think it's going to be a
 
 00:36:26.481 --> 00:36:28.882
 landmark uh exhibit I'm
 
 00:36:28.902 --> 00:36:29.943
 looking forward to it so
 
 00:36:29.963 --> 00:36:32.545
 thank you I want to thank
 
 00:36:32.945 --> 00:36:34.865
 jonathan lane our producer
 
 00:36:34.905 --> 00:36:35.447
 I don't know if you're
 
 00:36:35.507 --> 00:36:36.748
 jonathan's related to john
 
 00:36:36.788 --> 00:36:39.750
 and anna lane saw earlier
 
 00:36:40.309 --> 00:36:41.931
 and to our listeners
 
 00:36:41.951 --> 00:36:42.791
 throughout the country
 
 00:36:42.831 --> 00:36:43.512
 actually throughout the
 
 00:36:43.552 --> 00:36:44.512
 world and every week we
 
 00:36:44.552 --> 00:36:45.994
 thank some of you for joining us
 
 00:36:46.539 --> 00:36:48.280
 And if you're in one of these places,
 
 00:36:48.320 --> 00:36:49.701
 send Jonathan Lane an email,
 
 00:36:49.760 --> 00:36:51.641
 jlane at revolution two fifty dot org.
 
 00:36:51.661 --> 00:36:52.981
 And I'll send you some of
 
 00:36:53.021 --> 00:36:55.664
 our Revolution two fifty memorabilia.
 
 00:36:55.764 --> 00:36:57.344
 So this week, friends in Hamilton,
 
 00:36:57.364 --> 00:36:59.865
 New Jersey, Overland Park, Kansas,
 
 00:37:00.005 --> 00:37:02.067
 Walpole, Massachusetts, Coatesville,
 
 00:37:02.086 --> 00:37:03.967
 Pennsylvania and all places
 
 00:37:04.027 --> 00:37:05.268
 between and beyond.
 
 00:37:05.309 --> 00:37:06.188
 Thanks for joining us.
 
 00:37:06.228 --> 00:37:08.070
 And now we will be marched
 
 00:37:08.170 --> 00:37:09.351
 out on the road to Boston.