GAR 1890 Boston National Encampment medallion owned by Marquis Peterson: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A Grand Army of the Republic medallion from the 1890 Boston National Encampment owned by Marquis Peterson. The medallion is silver and has a hole drilled in the top. The frontside of the medallion has the Grand Army of the Republic seal. The seal shows a sailor and soldier next to American flags. They are shaking hands in front of Lady Liberty. A kneeling woman and a standing child with raised arms are between the sailor and soldier. Embossed lettering circles the seal around the edge and reads “FRATERNITY CHARITY LOYALTY” at top and “1861 VETERAN 1866” at the bottom. The back of the medallion the Massachusetts state seal and motto. Embossed lettering circles the seal around the edge of the medallion. The top reads “TWENTY-FOURTH ANNUAL ENCAMPMENT G.A.R.” The bottom reads “BOSTON AUG. 1890.”

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1890
• Manufactured by: Unidentified
• Owned by: Marquis Peterson, American, 1832 - 1896
• Type: medallions (medals)
• Medium: metal
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 1 3/8 × 1 3/8 × 1/8 in. (3.5 × 3.5 × 0.3 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: 2017.78.9
• 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.