Mexico 1846-7 



New Mexico 1857-8-9 



Shenandoah Valley, May 25, 1862 



South Mountain, Sep. 14, 1862 



Each goblet is marked "Tiffany & Co." 



Hatch graduated from the Academy in 1845 and 

 immediately saw active service in the Mexican War. 

 He fought not only in General Taylor's campaign in 

 northern Mexico but also in General Scott's campaign 

 to capture Mexico City. In the years intervening 

 before the Civil War he saw active service in Indian 

 campaigns and took part in a number of scouting expe- 

 ditions. With the outbreak of the Civil War he was 

 assigned with the Volunteers in the Army of the Poto- 

 mac until he was severely wounded at South Moun- 

 tain, for which action he received the Congressional 

 Medal of Honor. He spent the rest of the Civil War 

 on duty behind the lines where he was in command 

 of various districts in the Department of the South 

 following Sherman's campaign. 

 * * * 



The largest and most elaborate set of presentation 

 silver in the Museum is a complete table service (fig. 

 9) that was given to General Judson Kilpatrick by the 

 Veterans Association of Connecticut on the occasion 

 of his marriage to a Chilean in 1868 while he was serv- 

 ing as U.S. Minister to Chile. The set is engraved 

 with emblems of the United States, Chile, the U.S. 

 Army, and the U.S. Navy. The monograms on the 

 individual pieces are in gold of four colors. More 

 than any other silver service in the Museum this one 

 may be said to epitomize the elaborate realism so 

 popular during the height of the Victorian era. 



The pieces are marked "Meriden B * Company * " 

 in a circle around a shield surmounted by balanced 

 scales. This mark was used in the second half of the 

 19th century by the Meriden Britannia Company for 

 its high-grade, silverplated hollow-ware made on a 

 base of silver nickel." 



There are two trays in the set. The smaller tray 

 is shown in figure 9. The larger one measures 22}^ 

 inches by 38 inches and is inscribed: 



The Veteran Soldiers of Connecticut to Kilpatrick 



It is engraved in gold and sihcr with flags of the 

 United States and Chile crossed with bayonets and 

 spears. On one side there is a center medallion in 



gold with the monogram "L V K" (for Luisa V. 

 Kilpatrick) in a circle surmounted on a shield of 

 stars and stripes. Above the monogram there is a 

 banner with three stars and a triangle. On the other 

 side of the standing piece two eagles in fighting posi- 

 tion are shown in front of a sunburst design. The 

 United States flag can be seen directly behind the 

 victorious eagle. The motto "Tuebor" is at the top 

 of the sunburst. The entire design is encircled by a 

 ring of stars, and there is a shield of stars and stripes 

 at the top. This same design is repeated on all 40 

 pieces. 



The service contains napkin rings, vegetable dishes, 

 syrup jar, spoon holder, large centerpiece, porcelain- 

 lined pitcher, and other miscellaneous pieces of silver 

 used for table service. The pieces of the tea and 

 coffee service are mounted on four feet that are fas- 

 tened to the bowl with cattle heads with branched 

 horns. Each foot stands on a cloven hoof. The knob 

 of each of the pots is a tiny horse jumping over a 

 four-bar hurdle. 



* * * 



One of the most interesting military presentation 

 pieces in the collection is a silver and copper shield 

 presented to Lieutenant General Nelson A. Miles, 

 U.S. Army, by the officers of the 5th Infantry Regi- 

 ment. General Miles served for many years as colo- 

 nel of the regiinent and led it in a number of notable 

 Indian engagements. Beginning in 1 869 his regiment 

 defeated the Cheyenne, Kiowa, Comanche, Sioux, Nez 

 Perce, and Bannock Indians, and, in 1 886, after a long 

 and difficult campaign, Miles compelled the surren- 

 der of the Apaches under Geronimo and Natchez. 



The heart-shaped shield '- is surrounded by a rolled 

 edge made of copper which originally had a gold wash. 

 Inscribed on the inside of the rolled edge are the names 

 "New Mexico," "Kansas," "Wyoming," "Montana," 

 "Dakota," "Colorado," "Indian Territory," and 

 "Texas." A profile portrait of General Miles, in 

 relief, is suspended froin an eagle's beak in the center, 

 and below are the crossed weapons of the U.S. Army 

 and the Indians surmounted by a peace pipe. 



The background of the shield is silver with etched 

 scenes depicting incidents of the career of General 

 Miles in the states named. The scenes depicted are 

 of a buffalo hunt, a covered wagon on the trail, wild 

 horses with Indian tepees in the background, an Army 

 council of war. General Miles receiving the surrender 



" Earl Chapin May, Century of Silver 1847-1947: Connecti- 

 cut Yankees and a Noble Metal (New York: McBride and Co., 

 1947), pi. 36. 



12 Loan of Mrs. Samuel Reber (ace. 87949, cat. 35145), 

 Division of Armed Forces History, USNM. 



92 



BULLETIN 24 1 : CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 



