TOOLS & TECHNOLOGY AMERICAN PRECISION MUSEUM • SUMMER 2012 Vol. 30, No. 1 The American Precision Museum is open daily Full Duty: The Civil War Collection 10 am - 5 pm, Memorial Day weekend of Howard Coffin through October. In the foreword to Howard Coffin’s book, Full Duty, Ed- win Cole Bearss said that because of Cof- Studios First Light by Photo fin’s heritage, back- Table of Contents ground, and interest, Full Duty 1 he was predestined Top Ten List 1 to write a history Calendar of Events 2 of Vermont in the Civil War. Perhaps Shaping America 6 it naturally followed Tropical Storm Irene 7 that Coffin became a Board of Trustees 7 collector of Vermont Volunteering at 8 and the Civil War. the Museum Howard Coffin is a Acquisitions 9 seventh generation 2011 Annual Report 10-15 Vermonter with six Ora Paul, Woodstock Vermont On December 28th 1862, Paul was in command of two companies of the 12th Vermont Financials 11 ancestors who fought assigned to watch for raiders. When he heard the approach of the Confederate cavalry, he ordered two volleys fired into the Board of Advisors 11 in Vermont regiments darkness, and the Confederates turned and retreated. Capt. Paul’s copy book lists the supplies requested from the quartermaster. Report on Giving 12 during the Civil War. Charitable Bequests 15 He was introduced to the Civil War by his moth- er’s stories about grandfather Elba Jillson, a private The Museum’s Top Ten List: Become a Member 16 in the Ninth Vermont Infantry. The Robbins & Lawrence On his first, accidental, visit to a Civil War battlefield, Virginia’s Salem in 1966, Coffin was Armory During The Civil War by Carrie Brown hooked for life on Civil War history. Since then he has explored the war’s eastern theater, paying When we talk about important Civil War sites, particular attention to sites where Vermonters we tend to think of rolling battlefields, makeshift marched, camped, fought, suffered, and died. He hospitals, and horrific prisons. But as I conducted has devoted much of the last quarter century to the research for the museum’s new exhibition Arm- researching Vermont’s role in the Civil War, and ing the Union, the deeper I dug, the more I realized to preserving the battlefields where Vermonters that the Robbins & Lawrence Armory played an fought. enormous role during the war. All the while, Coffin has collected Vermont 1. In 1861, the building was owned by Lamson, Civil War-related memorabilia. Now for the first 196 Main Street Goodnow & Yale, makers of tools and sewing time some of this remarkable collection is dis- P.O. Box 679 machines. Ebenezer Lamson had strong ties to the Windsor, VT 05089 played, at the American Precision Museum, in an anti-slavery community. Before he moved to Ver- exhibit that bears the name of Coffin’s first Civil 802.674.5781 tel mont, his home in Massachusetts had been a stop 802.674.2524 fax War book. on the Underground Railroad. www.americanprecision.org The Vermont story is significant because out [email protected] Full Duty continued on page 4 Top Ten List continued on page 5 Calendar of Events 2012 EXHIBIT Machines on display include the Bridge- Full Duty: The Civil War Collection port Milling Machine, Serial #1, made by of Howard Coffin the Bridgeport (CT) Pattern and Model presents the first-ever exhibition from Works. After its introduction in 1938, the private collection of Vermont’s this became the most popular milling foremost Civil War historian. machine of the 20th century. Featured firearms from the museum’s col- lections include the work of early Windsor gunmakers like Nicanor Kendall, whose 1840 rifle, serial number 915, is considered to be a ‘deluxe’ model. This rifle is unusu- al because the serial number, in addition to being on the gunstock, also appears on the hammer, sight, and ramrod. This was a recent gift from Terry Tyler, Dorset VT. Friday, June 1 Howard Coffin with Grand Army of the Republic hat 5:30 - 7:30 pm Saturday, June 23 Photos by First Light Studios Studios First Light by Photos Opening Reception with Howard Coffin Noon - 2:00 pm Antique Car Rally This drum was used for training sharpshooters in Randolph Sundays at 3:00 pm VT. The violin was carried to Gettysburg and played on the with the Vermont Automobile Enthusi- battlefield the day after the battle by William McIntyre who June 10, July 22, August 19, asts who will be stopping at the museum fought with the 13th Vermont. September 16, October 7 as part of their 2012 Vermont ‘run’. Behind The Scenes Tours Visitors will be able to see a fabulous col- EXHIBIT Would you like to learn more about all the lection of vintage automobiles with their Arming the Union: Gunmakers in museum’s artifacts that are not on exhibit owners. VAE, founded in 1953, is one Windsor, Vermont and see the collections storage area? Then of the oldest car clubs in the Northeast, uncovers the surprising influence of a Behind the Scenes Tours are for you! sponsoring the Stowe Car Show every little-known Vermont factory. Operat- Space is limited to 12 so please call ahead August. ing out of the old Robbins & Lawrence or reserve online. Armory in Windsor, the machine tool firm Lamson, Goodnow & Yale played a critical role in outfitting the Union Army. Photo courtesy of VAE EXHIBIT Highlights from the Collection provides a special opportunity to display a selection of interesting artifacts. While there is not a thematic presentation, ob- jects have been selected for their interest and significance. Some, but not all, relate to the Civil War. Colt Model 1860 Army Revolver Handguns were carried by officers and cavalrymen, and the most popular handgun was the Colt revolver. The U.S. government purchased more than 120,000 from the Colt factory in Hartford CT. 2 Tools & Technology • Summer 2012 Sunday, July 8 Saturday, October 13 3:00 pm 9:00 am - 5:00 pm Lincoln, Gettysburg, and Vermont 13th annual Model Engineering Show Vermont historian Howard Coffin will be Visit with New England’s finest model discussing Vermonter’s attitudes towards engineers. Special workshops and pre- Lincoln, their support for him, the key sentations will feature a 1922 unrestored role Vermont played at Gettysburg, and Harley Davidson from G&G Restorations, the Gettysburg address. Proctorsville VT. Learn about restoration of an 1870 Lamson, Goodnow & Yale Profile Milling Machine, designed in 1848 by Frederick Howe and built in the Robbins & Lawrence Armory. Medora HebertMedora Lt. Col William Munson was a graduate of Norwich University. His writing desk with a sketch of the camp of the 13th Vermont Regiment near Fairfax Courthouse VA shows the location of the officer’s and soldier’s tents, the hospital, post office, mess tents, and commissary. Sunday, September 23 3:00 pm Vermont and Human Freedom Historian Howard Coffin will trace Vermont’s human rights record from the Wednesday, August 8 Constitution, through the anti-slavery 3:00 pm movement, up to the Civil War, and into An Afternoon for Educators the war itself. Join colleagues for a reception and special tour. Visit our exhibits and learn about Start your afternoon in Windsor at the using our traveling education kit, The Old Constitution House, then a short Industrial Revolution in Northern New walk down Windsor’s historic Main England, in your classroom (grades 7-12), Street to the museum. The American Precision Museum is and our offerings for your students. Con- honored to participate in the Blue Star tact the museum to reserve. Saturday, September 29 Museums program, a collaboration with 10:00 am - 5:00 pm the National Endowment for the Arts, Special museum tour at 2:00 pm Blue Star Families, the Department of It’s Smithsonian Day at museums around Defense, and more than 1,500 museums the country! Download the Museum Day across America. From May 28 – Sept. 3 Admission Card from the Smithson- we will offer free admission to all active ian’s web site and visit us, as well as other duty military personnel and up to five museums in our area – all offering free family members. Museum Admission admission. Adults: $7.50 Students: $4.00 Family (2 adults, 2 children under 18): $19.50 Special Group Rates: Call the museum for details American Precision Museum 3 Full Duty continued from page 1 of the hills came some of the finest units to serve in the war, as more than 34,000 men joined up. Quickly realizing their value, commanders placed them time and again in crucial positions. At home, non- combatants supported the war effort with steadfast determination. In the end, the state made an outsized contribution to the hard-won victory that preserved the Union and destroyed slavery, making Confederate Money good Abraham Lincoln’s resolution, stated John Quinlan of North Shrewsbury brought home at Gettysburg, that the nation should have this letter wallet filled with “a new birth of freedom.” Confederate bills. Full Duty tells the Vermont story using personal objects. Through diaries, journals, and letters, the visitor meets the men who served and learns of their agonies and triumphs. Artifacts are many, including the most important pistol in Howard Coffin’s extraordi- Vermont Civil War history and the blood- I would anchor it on the Vermont Brigade. nary collection of artifacts, stained diary of a Vermonter killed at Although there may be units better known, Gettysburg. And the visitor understands few have such an unblemished record as documents, photographs, the challenges faced by those back home the Vermont Brigade.