Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-11-25
IN CLOTHING.
Garments Of Famous Men
Exhibited at the Museum
TELL STIRRING TALES
MEMOIRS OF MANY BATTLES AND
GREAT STATESMEN.
Evolution Of the Soldier as Traced by
Model Uniforms in War
Department.
TELL STIRRING TALES


those interested in such things, however.
each time-worn garment is chart that
bears Witness in some intangible fashion,
to the hero who wore It,
True. Washington's old clothes have been
so often and SO variously shown that they
Indicate chiefly the peg. But every seam in
Old Hickory's coat seems to proclaim the
uncompromisng backbone of the man who
broke the Bank of the United States Is
there not a jovial bulge in the foreground
of that colonial gilt-fowered waistcoat
that tells of good and gone dinners "a
do or die determination in the faded blue
and furnished bullion of one time conquer
ing warriors. and something grand. though
1t be not victory, In every thread of tattered
confederate gray?
Washington's uniform; worn when he
resigned his commission as commander-in-
chief of the continental army"
The blue coat and dangling buff breeches
are convincing, In spite of the peg There
are elbow creases and a twisted button
shank that quicken matter-of-course pa
triotism into exulting realization that the
rather of his country really and truly did
do things to England-outside of history
books. There are his clothes to prove 1t.
Andrew Jackson's uniform; worn at the
battle of New Orleans
When you remember that battle YOU study
the old coat to If you can find fleck
OF cotton. The empty sleeves seem to pro-
test against being folded meekly over the
breast and the furnished epaulets have
still the pompousness pictured in the por-
trait of Jackson himself which is one of
the exhibits in the case.
Jeferson's Terra Gotta Coat.
Thomas Jefferson owned a fine terra
Gotta coat, because some artist has immor-
talized it; and he must have had shoes to
make the steps in which his political pos
feri Nv rxy 70 hut
museum. The case dedicated to the man of
simplicity contains primitive chair, which
may have Graded the first-born thought of
the Declaration-and among other belong
ings is gold-wrought scimitar presented
by the Emperor of Morocco" and long
barreled gun inlatd with coral and silver,
whose sleek and viciously cruel beauty re-
minds one some way of the sleek and Vi
ciously cruel beauty of the Bengal tiger
over at the zoo.
Goat belonging to Charles Carroll of
Carrollton: worn when he signed the Decla-
ration of Independence
1t is of pearl cloth and dull pewter but
TONS Every curve assures you of the dig
nifty and worth of the last surviving signer;
and there is a tiny smudge on the right cuff
which makes you wonder If his pen splut-
tered when he emphasized his signature so
that Royal George would be sure not to
mistake him for another man. The colo
NAL period of Virginia Is represented by
a dress coat of pale green brocade with
rows of wavy gilt braid. 1t looks as If it
might have belonged to some minuet-danc-
ing cavalier on a Vatican fam but was
worn by Lord Fairfax on his estate in the
Old Dominion.
Prof. S. F. B. Morse; dress coat, worn
"hile visiting the courts of Europe"
For the first time you realize that teleg-
raphy means something more than wires
and poles; that there is man behind them
"a studious man. who worked at his inven-
ton in his own room for nine years before
Of tic,
tells you that the first public telegram
message was sent from Washington to Bal
tfmore. and that it was instantly received
and returned. You rather resent that you
came too late to join the wonder-riotous
crowd on the avenue that day, and you try
to make up" picture of the professor as
ne bowed before the thrones of the old
world In his dress coat of black and gold,
Lincoln's Shabby Clothes.
Abraham Lincoln: Coat worn shortly be-
fore his death''-Not at the theater that
night. Mrs. Lincoln would never have toler-
ated the rather rusy black, with it's frayed
buttons and shiny seams. And yet as you
look at the shabby thing. your steel en-
craving, marble bust Lincoln takes on the
shape of man. You feel the magnificent
humanity or living eyes and your soul hears
a Voice-'Let the black slave have his free
dom. Give the white woman right to earn
her daily bread
Each hero of the civil war has a case of
MS own IN which is displayed his soldier
clothes and weapons. In those of Grant
and Sherman, most notable, are swords of
honor, medals and gifts. The whole story
OF the rebellion IS SO dramatically illus
trated with flags, red sashes. befeathered
chapeaus and blue uniforms and gray that
that section of the museum is literally a
field of honor
The period Of the Spanish war is repre-
scented by uniforms that are patheticaliv
new. They are so new that it seems only
yesterday that we grieved over the death
OF Capt. Capron, whose splendid military
record is evidenced by his coat worn in the
last campaign In which he fell.
Capt. Charles Gridley"-You do not need
to read the card. The battle-grlmed blue
and gilt-banded cap tell the STORY. 1t is
story OF s1lyery water and blue sky; of
big ships and waving flags; of voice that
rings out a command. And we all know
what happened when Gridley fired You
read a story too, of that other naval vic
tory, In black and gilt-banded, chapeau.
1t was found floating In Santiago bay the
morning after the big sea fight, and be-
longed to a Spanish officer who had gone
down with his ship.
Evolution of Uniform.
You will find In the War Department,
third floor, military exhibit that repre-
sents the evolution of the American soldier.
1t illustrates every change in the national
uniform, from the knee breeches of Lex
march Of progress Is formed by twenty
odd casts, life size and made of a flesh like
plaster that looks aggressively- human un-
der glass. Some of the figures were made
in Washington and others by the proprie-
tors of the Eden Musee In New York. They
were originally seen at the Chicago fair
and later at st. Louis. When you begin
with the revolutionary exhibit you find that
1t takes more than fair share of imagina-
ton TO trace an affinity between 1.-The old
continentals in their ragged regimentalsr'
and these unpleasantly fresh uniforms cut
from modern weayes, with sewing machine
stitching and bargain counter lace-though
your sense of justice makes you admit that
the work is splendidly done.
"One of Morgans Observation-Disclosures
In cream cloth. A knife CLEANS in his
leather belt and powder horn swings over
his shoulder by a cord Of hunters green.
On his ribbon tied hair flares a black hat
cooked over the forehead with a rakish
rosette. and he leans on the rifle that gave
the command its name. So that Is how Tim
Murphy looked when he shot down Fraser
at the order of Morgan, his chief! The
erect. military figure In the case makes
Saltwater vividly near that you can see
scarlet-coated Fraser charging his British
across the October fields, and hear Morgan
thunder TO his favorite rifieman:
THE fate of battle rests on that English
man on the white horse. He Is q brave
soldier and l honor him, but it Is neces-
sary he should die Aim true and fire!''