Violin: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

At 24 years old, Solomon Conn, a son of a hotel keeper in Minamac, Indiana, enlisted as a private in Company B of the 87th Indiana Infantry on July 26, 1862. He purchased this violin in Nashville, Tennessee, on May 1, 1863. Conn carried the violin while serving, although his family admitted that he never learned to play. Written on the back of the instrument are the names of places where the soldiers of the 87th were either on duty or engaging the enemy. More place names are written along the left and right edges of the sides. Among the more well-known battles the 87th took part in were the Battle of Chickamauga in September 1863 and Kennesaw Mountain in June 1864. By the end of the war, the 87th Volunteers had lost 283 men, most of them to disease.

This object stands as a unique memento of the common soldier during the Civil War.

Materials, dates and provenance

• user: Conn, Solomon
• Object Name: violin
• Physical Description: wood (overall material)
• Physical Description: metal (part material)
• Measurements: overall: 24 in x 8 in x 4 in; 60.96 cm x 20.32 cm x 10.16 cm
• purchased: United States: Tennessee, Nashville
• associated place: United States: Indiana
• related event: Civil War
• related event: Battle of Chickamauga, 1863
• related event: Civil War and Reconstruction
• related event: Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, 1864
• ID Number: 1988.0716.01
• accession number: 1988.0716
• catalog number: 1988.0716.01
• Credit Line: S. Jackson Conn and William M. Conn
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation.