BGuthrie Photos: VA -- Mt. Vernon -- Museum: War and Peace: American History in Miniature

VA -- Mt. Vernon -- Museum: War and Peace: American History in Miniature:

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Description of Pictures: War and Peace: American History in Miniature
October 1, 2018 - March 31, 2020 — All Day
View a collection of 30 rare medals, on loan from the American Numismatic Society, in Donald W. Reynolds Education Center.
Medals from the American Numismatic Society
Eighteenth-century medals helped form national identity and supported international diplomacy. Eager to establish America’s claim to nationhood, America’s founding fathers began commissioning official medals even before declaring political independence.
At the time of his death in 1799, George Washington owned an unequaled collection of the new nation’s medals. Drawing on the rich collections of the American Numismatic Society in New York, we are pleased to present a rare selection of America’s most important early medals, a miniature pageant of our nation’s history from 1776 through 1805.

Exhibit Details
Now on display in Mount Vernon’s Donald W. Reynolds Education Center is a special temporary exhibition featuring 30 rare medals from the American Revolution and the early republic. War and Peace in Miniature: Medals from the American Numismatic Society is an unparalleled collection that highlights the remarkable heroes and events from the Revolutionary War and the new nation’s diplomatic endeavors.
An interactive touchscreen next to the display of medals invites visitors to explore these meticulously-crafted objects in more detail. The touchscreen features high-resolution images of the front and back of each medal, as well as additional details about inscriptions and symbolism.
The exhibition also recalls Washington’s own collection of medals. At the time of his death in 1799, he owned an unequaled assemblage of the new nation’s medallic art—including the only full set of the Comitia Americana series—stored with other valuables and curiosities, probably in a small closet off his study.

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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[1] MTVVCM_200217_01.JPG	[2] MTVVCM_200217_04.JPG	[3] MTVVCM_200217_07.JPG
[4] MTVVCM_200217_09.JPG	[5] MTVVCM_200217_12.JPG	[6] MTVVCM_200217_13.JPG
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[10] MTVVCM_200217_23.JPG	[11] MTVVCM_200217_25.JPG	[12] MTVVCM_200217_27.JPG
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[22] MTVVCM_200217_49.JPG	[23] MTVVCM_200217_52.JPG	[24] MTVVCM_200217_53.JPG
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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. MTVVCM_200217_01.JPG: War and Peace in Miniature
2. MTVVCM_200217_07.JPG: George III Peace Medals Britain's Native American allies received medals depicting King George III and the royal coat of arms. Those who later allied with the United States trade in their British medals for American ones, as visible signs of their new allegiance.
3. MTVVCM_200217_09.JPG: Indian Peace Medals As part of the 18th-century competition for Native American lands, trade, and military alliances, European powers presented native leaders with so-called "Indian Peace Medals" in silver -- the larger the medal, the more important the leader was thought to be.
4. MTVVCM_200217_17.JPG: George Washington Oval Peace Medals George Washington faced the challenge of adapting monarchical practices to republican ideals. Because no American mint possessed the technology to produce large dies, these medals were hand-engraved on thin plates of rolled silver, making each unique. The first Washington peace medal (4) features and allegorical design of the Roman goddess Minerva, symbolizing America, presenting a peace pipe to an Indian chief. In a later version (5), the figure of Washington replaced Minerva. An ox team, plow, frame house, and discarded tomahawk advertise settled agriculture.
5. MTVVCM_200217_27.JPG: George Washington "Seasons" Peace Medals Near the end of his presidency, George Washington directed Secretary of War James McHenry to order new peace medals. The designs explicitly promoted the adoption of settled agriculture, depicting a man sowing wheat (7), another herding cattle (8), and two women spinning and weaving beside a hearth (9).
6. MTVVCM_200217_33.JPG: Thomas Jefferson Peace Medals During Thomas Jefferson's presidency, American peace medals returned to the traditional model: a profile portrait of the head of state, symbolically affirming a personal connection to the president.
7. MTVVCM_200217_35.JPG: Libertas American Medal News of the decisive victory at Yorktown in October 1781 prompted Benjamin Franklin, the American minister to France, to commission a medal commemorating the Declaration of Independence and the victorious French-American alliance. The masterful Libertas Americana (American Liberty) features a bust of the allegorical figure of Liberty (23). On the reverse (24), the Roman goddess Minerva, holding a shield with the arms of France, protects an infant Hercules (symbolizing the new American nation) from an attacking lioness (symbolizing Great Britain).
8. MTVVCM_200217_45.JPG: Benjamin Franklin Medals Three early medals pay tribute to Benjamin Franklin as scientist and diplomat. On each, a scene of lightning celebrates his famed kite experiment. As two of the designs proclaim (in Latin): "He snatched the lightning from the heavens and the scepter from tyrants."
9. MTVVCM_200217_49.JPG: Comitia American (American Congress) Medals In March 1776, Congress marked the British retreat from Boston by commissioning a gold medal honoring the victorious commander in chief, George Washington. Later, as the Revolution raged on, Congress ordered additional gold and silver medals to honor ten commanders of six notable victories. The designs include portrait busts, allegorical figures, and battle scenes.
10. MTVVCM_200217_72.JPG: Diplomatic Medal of the United States George Washington approved Thomas Jefferson's suggestion for a gold medal to be "the American present" for retiring ministers from European nations. The design (28) features the "Arms of the United States": an eagle holding an olive branch for peace and bundle of arrows for war. The reverse (29) features an allegory of "Peace and Commerce," with the Roman god Mercury presenting a cornucopia to an Indian Queen, representing America.
11. MTVVCM_200217_79.JPG: Fidelity Medal America's first military decoration was bestowed only once. In 1780, Congress awarded the Fidelity Medal to three New York militiamen responsible for the capture of British spy Major John Andre.
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Description of Subject Matter: The new visitor center covers quite a lot of Washington's life. Some signs:

Setting the World On Fire:
During the early 1750s, longtime enemies Britain and France both laid claim to the land surrounding present-day Pittsburgh. Both countries saw the area as key to controlling the western frontier, and they were determined to defend it at all costs.
In 1754, a young and inexperienced George Washington led his Virginia Regiment there on behalf of Great Britain. Washington soon clashed with the French and their Indian allies, starting a war that quickly spilled beyond North America to Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Walking Away:
At age 23, George Washington rose to the highest rank among colonial officers -- Colonel of the Regiment.
After surrender, redemption.
Washington resigned from the Virginia Regiment after surrendering at Fort Necessity. The following year he joined the British Army, signing on as an unpaid aide to help General Edward Braddock to reclaim the Ohio Valley.
The 1755 campaign ended in disaster as French and Indian forces killed Braddock and most of his officers. Filling the breach, Washington braved fierce enemy fire to help reorganize and rescue dazed British troops. He became a war hero, earning a reputation that following him for the rest of his life.

The Dilemma of Slavery:
-- "There is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do, to see a plan adopted for the abolition of it." -- George Washington on slavery, 1783
As Washington grew older, he found it increasingly difficult to justify slavery in a country founded on liberty. And he questioned its value to the economy. He also believed that the slavery question would tear the country apart -- and so, like many others, he refused to address it publicly. Instead, he acted privately and freed his slaves in his will, setting an example for others to follow.
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