“55 M.V.I. A Volunteer for Freedom" medal owned by Marquis Peterson: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A medal owned by Marquis Peterson. The medal has an engraved suspension brooch and attached to a red ribbon. The front of the suspension brooch is engraved with “MARQUIS PETERSON.” The ribbon is attached to the medal with a circular metal suspender and claw. The medal has engraved lettering on the front and the back is blank. The front reads “55 M.V.I. / A / VOLUNTEER / FOR / FREEDOM.”

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1865-1896
• Manufactured by: Unidentified
• Owned by: Marquis Peterson, American, 1832 - 1896
• Type: medals
• Medium: metal, ribbon
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 5 1/4 × 2 1/16 × 3/8 in. (13.3 × 5.2 × 1 cm)
• Place used: United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Free communities of color
• Topic: Military
• Topic: U.S. History, Civil War, 1861-1865
• Topic: United States Colored Troops
• Object number: 2017.78.6
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture 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. The underlying object's rights statement is: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.