On the Gas Alert
date: label: date made
content: 1918
label: associated date
content: 1917 - 1918
name: label: associated person
content: War Department
label: associated person
content: Townsend, Harry
label: artist
content: Townsend, Harry
notes: label: Description
content: Charcoal sketch on white paper of American soldiers American soldiers huddled in a trench, presumably getting ready for battle and preparing for a gas attack. Some soldiers are wearing gas masks, while others peek over the trench walls. In the background at right there is an overturned tank behind a dead horse. There is barbed wire in the background on the left. Toxic gasses, such as chlorine and mustard gas, were used in World War I by enemy armies as part of chemical warfare. When gas was detected, an alarm was raised and soldiers would put on their gas masks to avoid injuries, such as chemical burns and blindness, or death.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: related event
content: World War I
setName: label: See more items in
content: Military and Society: Armed Forces History, Military
label: See more items in
content: Military
label: See more items in
content: Official Art from the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I
label: See more items in
content: Art
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: War Department. Historical Branch of the General Staff
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: AF.26115
label: catalog number
content: 26115
label: accession number
content: 64592
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Sketch
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: charcoal (overall production method/technique)
label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 17 1/4 in x 23 1/4 in; 43.815 cm x 59.055 cm