Badge for the 31st American Legion Annual National Convention: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A badge for the 31st American Legion Annual National Convention owned by John Roland Anderson. The badge consists of a bronze tone name tag holding a short, silk ribbon that is attached to a light copper colored metal badge. The name tag is rectangular shaped with a pin and a C clasp closure on the back. The front of the name tag features a thin, decorative, bronze frame that holds a small piece of white paper with handwritten black ink text that reads [[Jo]hn R. Anderson]. The ribbon loops over a bar at the bottom back of the tag and is sewn in place. Below the pin is an olive green ribbon with a wide navy center stripe, bookended by two, thin, rainbow stripes. Gold text printed on the ribbon reads [DELEGATE / 31ST ANNUAL CONVENTION / JULY 1949] and [SEPT. 01 / DISTRICT / OF COLUMBIA] printed above and below the American Legion logo. The short ribbon threads through a bail at the top of the badge. The badge is shield shaped and is primarily light copper tone with blue enamel accents. The embossed obverse of the badge centrally features an image of a vertically oriented, sheathed, short sword framed on either side with laurel leaves. Over the bottom center of the sword is a small circular logo for the American Legion. The logo features a five pointed star with a circle at the center and embossed text inside that reads [U·S]. The star is framed inside a blue enameled, circular band with a light copper text that reads [AMERICAN] at the top and [LEGION] at the bottom. Embossed text along the left and right edges of the badge read [VICTORIOUS] and [WE SERVE IN PEACE]. On the reverse of the badge is embossed text forming a circle at the center that reads [THE [WHITE[?]]HEAD HOAG & CO. - NEWARK, N.J. -].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1949
• Manufactured by: Whitehead & Hoag Company, American, 1892 - 1965
• Distributed by: American Legion, American, founded 1919
• Owned by: John Roland Anderson, American, 1880 - 1962
• Type: pins (fasteners)
• Type: badges
• Medium: silk (textile) with metal and copper alloy and ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 5 1/8 × 2 × 1/4 in. (13 × 5.1 × 0.6 cm)
• Place used: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America
• Place made: Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Associations and institutions
• Topic: Buffalo Soldiers
• Topic: Military
• Object number: 2023.17.1.3
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of William and Gregory Gwaltney
• 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 underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown – Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.