Silver badge for Alexander Hill of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Cross with a disk at center (pin on reverse). Front: "E. A.HILL. 54.Ms.Vol/ Co. A" incised around top of disk above Fort Sumter flying an American flag with water in the foreground; "James Isd", “Olustee", "Darien.", "Wagner" are engraved on arms of cross (clockwise from top).

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1864-1865
• Manufactured by: S.M. Ward & Co., American, active 1860s
• Owned by: Alexander Hill, American, born 1831
• Subject of: 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, American, 1863 - 1865
• Type: badges
• Medium: sterling silver
• Dimensions: 1 1/4 x 1 1/4 x 1/8 in. (3.2 x 3.2 x 0.3 cm)
• Place depicted: Fort Sumter, Charleston, Charleston County, South Carolina, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Olustee, Baker County, Florida, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Fort Wagner, Charleston County, South Carolina, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: James Island, Charleston County, South Carolina, United States, Sea Islands, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Darien, McIntosh County, Georgia, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Military
• Topic: Slavery
• Topic: U.S. History, Civil War, 1861-1865
• Topic: United States Colored Troops
• Object number: 2011.51.7
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift from the Liljenquist Family Collection
• 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.