The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1920-09-22
PERSHINC BATTLE
MAP DISPLAYED
Position of Allied Troops at
Armistice,Shown
WAR COLLECTION
NEEDS NEW HOUSE
Airplane and Army Medical
Display Complete and Shows
All Types of Equipment

washington, Sept 17.--One of the
most interesting exhibits OF the thou
sands IN the world war collection now
Deing gathered at the National NIu-
scum is the order of Bate map
used by General .Pershing in direct.
ing the movements of the American
forces in France. The wall map, s by
40 rect i'm size, together with the walls
floor and furniture of the room in
which IL hung at American headouar-
teFS at Chaumont, was transferred to
the museum by the war department
NJ tho request Of the general
The map was brought>to Washing
ton and installed in museum by the
sergeant and three enlisted men Of
the headquarters staff who kept /: c..I,-
rected and guarded it throughout the
war. AT Chaumont the map, wheS. no;
IN use, was concealed by q sliding soc
tfon OF wall which is installed in the
same manner i'm the museum.
The maps shows in a vivid fashion
the exact situation at the hour the
armistiee was signed with reference 10
the strength and location Of all >di-
VISIONS. both enemy and allied, on the
western front, the correct battleline,
the names ar3 location OF command
Ing officers and locations of headauar-
ters and army boundaries. There also
Is considerable amount of detailed
information regarding the American
divisions, as for instance the percen-
tages OF fresh and tired troops and
the length of time the various units
had been I'm the line cr in reserve.
The war collection has already as
sumed such proporlions as to make
necessary some new arrangement for
housing IL. Many of the exhibits are
now crowded into the ground floor of
the new National Museum building
while others are i'm the old building
and a few OF the artillery pieces are
in the open air awaiting the construc-
ton of suitable shelter. William Dec
Ravenel, the director of, the museum
says congress probably will be asked
at the next session to provide a
building for the collection which is of
great historical value.
The airplane exhibit includes oil
types Of American and French planes
used extensively in combat, pursuit
and bombing work abroad and several
specimens of captured enemy ma
chimes. There are also on exhibition
many types of airplane motors. In
addition to the world war; aviation
section the museum contains the orig
hal Langley end Wright models.
The collection OF American army
medical equipment, furnished by the
war department, is pre- ctically COM
plete and includes the various types of
operating and X-ray equipment used
I'm base hospitals and field and ad-
vanced base stations, a large variety
or surgical Instruments, ambulances
and military dental equipment.
One entire section OF the collection
! is devoted to exhibits showing the in
oeption and development OF tha gas
mask. Other exhibits include the
great 60-inch searchlights used i'm the
field, the field artillery, machine gun
ahd rifles Of the uniforms, field equip
ment ana medals of general officers,
subordinate officers and privates of all
| the allied countries and Germany and
Austria. There also is a collection of
articles manufactured entirely of pa
per by the Germans. These include
paper twine, paper cloth, feed bags,
artillery packs, water buckets, blank
cts, kit bags. saddle bags, canteen
covers and knapsacks.
Many other exhibits are being re-
ceived daily from the army and navy
and the director hopes TO make the
collection the. most complete world
war museum in existence
1 o.;