American, British, and Continental works of art from the period of the Revolutionary War bring alive the faces of the war and bear witness to the diverse societies and cultures that endured the struggle for American independence and experienced its results.  Later 19th-century views of the Revolution and its participants are equally illustrative of how the struggle for and achievement of independence was interpreted by later generations.  The paintings and sculptures in the collections depict soldiers, politicians, their families, and locations related to the Revolution.  Artists such  as George Catlin, Ralph Earl, Charles Willson Peale, James Peale, Gilbert Stuart, Lawrence Sully, and John Trum-

bull are represented in the collections, which include more than thirty miniature portraits.

Eighteenth-century American and European swords, firearms, and accoutrements such as powder horns and bayonets represent the types of weapons that Revolutionary War officers and enlisted men on all sides of the conflict used on the fields and seas.  Two of the fifteen presentation swords voted by Congress to Revolutionary War heroes are in the collections those given to Samuel Smith and Tench Tilghman, both of Maryland.  The core of the armament collection was donated by John Sanderson du Mont, a member of the New York State Society of the Cincinnati and President General of the Society.

Objects from war and home that Revolutionary War figures owned and used convey the daily experiences of seasoned officers, common soldiers, civil officials, and families at home.  The majority of these artifacts are connected with American soldiers men who dealt with the daily reality of death, fatiguing marches, food shortages, unsanitary living conditions, monotonous  lulls in camp, and  years  away  from  home and  include camp

equipment, field desks, epaulettes, medical tools, coins, wallets, musical instruments, games, jewelry, pocket watches, and spectacles.

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