thedrifter
04-05-08, 04:31 AM
Published on Saturday, April 05, 2008.
Last modified on 4/5/2008 at 12:51 am
Museum's exercise in uniformity
By The Associated Press
LARAMIE - U.S. military uniforms have always had a certain distinctiveness, often made from heavy green, gray or blue fabric adorned with gold and brass buttons and badges.
That is something curators at the Laramie Plains Museum aim to preserve in their collection of more than 100 military uniforms that date back over the past century and a half.
By preserving military uniforms, they say, we remember the men and women who wore them.
"The men and women in the military are a big part of our history and culture," said Connie Lindmier, a curator at the Laramie Plains Museum.
In honor of the men and women who wear military uniforms, the museum staff has placed a special exhibit of military uniforms at the Ivinson Mansion. The exhibit will be on display until Memorial Day, Lindmier said.
Working with Lindmier is curator Joney Wilmot.
Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in the nation's service. Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868, by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and it was first observed on May 30, 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.
The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873.
Memorial Day will be observed this year on May 26.
The exhibit at the Plains Museum will feature military uniforms from the Civil War era, World Wars I and II and more recent uniforms, all displayed in chronological order. The Plains Museum recently received a donation of several military uniforms from a local resident, including his own uniforms and those of his relatives, Lindmier said.
"They are uniforms (and) pieces ... we have a sword, a helmet, a holster," Lindmier said. Many of those pieces will be on display, she said.
Currently, the Laramie Plains Museum stores all uniforms in a dark closet with shoulders covered to prevent deterioration.
"We find a lot of wool," Lindmier said. "It wore well, and they wore it year round. The Southern soldiers during the Civil War wore wool that was what was issued for them or what they had homemade. People then used whatever would wear well."
Up until the 1930s, there were no synthetic fibers in uniforms, Lindmier said.
"You either had wool or cotton or silk," Lindmier said. "Silk was not as strong, and wool and cotton were good work fibers."
Lindmier, who made period costumes for a re-enactment group for more than 20 years, said she can tell quite a bit about a uniform simply by looking at it.
"During every era, especially with men's uniforms, military and civilian dress is very similar," Lindmier said. "You could either see a civilian (feature) and say it had been taken from the uniform or the other way around."
Lindmier said she will try to show uniforms from all four branches of the U.S. military but said that early in U.S. history, the Army, Navy and Marines were not necessarily separate.
Ellie
Last modified on 4/5/2008 at 12:51 am
Museum's exercise in uniformity
By The Associated Press
LARAMIE - U.S. military uniforms have always had a certain distinctiveness, often made from heavy green, gray or blue fabric adorned with gold and brass buttons and badges.
That is something curators at the Laramie Plains Museum aim to preserve in their collection of more than 100 military uniforms that date back over the past century and a half.
By preserving military uniforms, they say, we remember the men and women who wore them.
"The men and women in the military are a big part of our history and culture," said Connie Lindmier, a curator at the Laramie Plains Museum.
In honor of the men and women who wear military uniforms, the museum staff has placed a special exhibit of military uniforms at the Ivinson Mansion. The exhibit will be on display until Memorial Day, Lindmier said.
Working with Lindmier is curator Joney Wilmot.
Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in the nation's service. Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868, by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and it was first observed on May 30, 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.
The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873.
Memorial Day will be observed this year on May 26.
The exhibit at the Plains Museum will feature military uniforms from the Civil War era, World Wars I and II and more recent uniforms, all displayed in chronological order. The Plains Museum recently received a donation of several military uniforms from a local resident, including his own uniforms and those of his relatives, Lindmier said.
"They are uniforms (and) pieces ... we have a sword, a helmet, a holster," Lindmier said. Many of those pieces will be on display, she said.
Currently, the Laramie Plains Museum stores all uniforms in a dark closet with shoulders covered to prevent deterioration.
"We find a lot of wool," Lindmier said. "It wore well, and they wore it year round. The Southern soldiers during the Civil War wore wool that was what was issued for them or what they had homemade. People then used whatever would wear well."
Up until the 1930s, there were no synthetic fibers in uniforms, Lindmier said.
"You either had wool or cotton or silk," Lindmier said. "Silk was not as strong, and wool and cotton were good work fibers."
Lindmier, who made period costumes for a re-enactment group for more than 20 years, said she can tell quite a bit about a uniform simply by looking at it.
"During every era, especially with men's uniforms, military and civilian dress is very similar," Lindmier said. "You could either see a civilian (feature) and say it had been taken from the uniform or the other way around."
Lindmier said she will try to show uniforms from all four branches of the U.S. military but said that early in U.S. history, the Army, Navy and Marines were not necessarily separate.
Ellie