The Chief's Corner

Call to Arms, The Soldier and the Revolutionary War Exhibit

By Charles R. Bowery Jr.

Article published on: April 1, 2025 in the Army History Spring 2025 issue

Read Time: < 3 mins

In my previous Chief’s Corner, I told you about our blockbuster temporary exhibition, “Call to Arms: The Soldier and the Revolutionary War,” which will open to the public at the National Museum of the U.S. Army, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, on Saturday, 7 June 2025. I am excited to share with you some images of displays and objects that will be in the exhibition. You can explore more about the American Revolution and the rest of the Army’s history in person at our Museum or on the Museum’s website, https://www.thenmusa.org.

1. Powder Horn

This horn stands out for its striking carvings of its owner’s name and unique pattern of vines and leaves. Made in Brimfeld, Massachusetts, where many powder horns were produced, it is inscribed with “JOHN BOND” and the date “MAY/1779.” On 4 July 1775, John Bond enlisted in Capt. Gideon Foster’s Company of Col. John Mansfeld’s Regiment at Cambridge. He served at Bennington, Vermont, in 1777 and remained in the war until he was discharged from the Continental Army on 23 January 1780. My favorite aspect of the new exhibition is the display in one place of several of the one-of-a-kind collection of carved colonial powder horns acquired by the U.S. Army Museum in 2018 for its artifact collection.

2. Webb Flag

This standard belonged to Samuel B. Webb’s Additional Continental Regiment, formed on 11 January 1777. Raised in Connecticut, it was one of the sixteen newly authorized “additional” regiments. This incredibly rare eighteenth-century standard employs fascinating references to Native Americans and to the English Civil War and ofers us a window into the intellectual world of American revolutionaries. The Native American woman, a representative of the new country, stands

over a beheaded monarch, with the crown fallen to the side. She carries a banner topped by a commoner’s hat. The scroll above the scene reads in Latin, “In Meridiem Progredeto,” or “Move Beyond Midday,” a pointed reference to the execution of Charles I of England in 1649, which took place at precisely noon. This fag urged the soldiers who marched beneath it to give their all in the cause for independence from Great Britain and promised they would defeat the British soldiers who faced them.

3. Canteen

Markings on this wooden canteen indicate that Henry Gardner used it. He served with the 1st Pennsylvania Battalion of the Continental Army. The year 1776 was clearly meaningful for Henry, as it was for our Army and our new nation.

4. Pistol

Tis American fintlock pistol was made in Rappahannock Forge, Virginia. It is modeled afer the British Light Dragoon pistol, and it’s a great example of the burgeoning world of American industry and technology. Small industries around Fredericksburg, Virginia, relied on the hydroelectric power of the Rappahannock River and the wood and iron ore of the surrounding areas to produce weapons and farm implements.

5. Rendering

The 5,000-square-foot exhibit features rare artifacts, realistic cast fgures, and interactive technology that captures the soldier experience of the Revolutionary War. It will be a moving and educational space that will connect the U.S. Army and the nation of today with its beginnings, 250 years ago.