Drawings by William Lydston, Jr. (1813-1881)
Fort Ward Museum showcases its collection of drawings by William Lydston, Jr. Lydston, a talented professional artist and musician from Boston, Massachusetts, chronicled his service while assigned to the Defenses of Washington, and later recorded his observations and wartime experiences during Grant’s Overland Campaign. Among his detailed pencil and ink drawings are images of Army musicians, supply trains, camp life scenes, soldier leisure activities, artillery fire, and panoramas of local geographic features. The drawings are paired with fifes, a bugle, a drum major’s baton, drumsticks and other items that would have been familiar to Lydston and fellow band members.

Tools of the Soldiers’ Trade
This display of firearms and related equipment used by the Civil War artilleryman traces the evolution of nineteenth-century firearms technology. From the obsolete smoothbore musket and the standard Springfield rifled musket, to Sharps Rifles and repeating carbines, Civil War soldiers were progressively equipped with more accurate, longer-range and more lethal guns. Improvements in firearm technology also meant that more specialized uses – such as firing while on horseback – could adapt small weapons to soldiers’ needs. Gun tools from the Fort Ward collection complement the firearms and show the everyday items Civil War soldiers used to clean and repair their weapons.

Elmer Ellsworth: From Man to Martyr
Fort Ward’s exhibition focuses on the death of Col. Elmer Ellsworth, who was killed during the May 1861 Union occupation of Alexandria, and documents the resulting public outcry that sparked a patriotic fervor and turned him into a hero for the North. From Man to Martyr features items associated with Ellsworth, who, by age 24, had popularized the Zouave movement in the United States and befriended President Abraham Lincoln. Visitors to the exhibition will see a kepi belonging to Ellsworth, newspaper accounts and illustrations of the incident at the Marshall House, locks of his hair accompanied by sentimental verse, a commemorative pitcher and other objects, including the “O” from the Marshall House sign. The exhibition has been extended through 2007.

Ellsworth’s kepi, covered with gold braid and other ornamentation, is a good example of a Union officer’s cap. Conservation funding for this object was provided by the Friends of Fort Ward.

This glazed graniteware pitcher is believed to be one of the earliest pieces of American pottery made to commemorate a specific historical event.