CONTACT: CONTACT: Mr. Eric Durr, 518-786-4581 or (cell) 518-429-5186

FOR RELEASE: Friday, Jul 03, 2009

SARATOGA SPRINGS-The colorful uniforms of the old New York Militia units and artwork from the Civil War, World War II and the Korean War are the focus of two temporary exhibits opening a the New York State Military Museum on July 3. The artwork and historical research of a New York National Guard officer with the unusual name of Dewitt Clinton Falls, makes up the exhibit “Uniforms of the New York National Guard, which features his drawings of historical uniforms from the 19th Century. Falls (1864-1937) was a New York City socialite, military historian, and artist, who wrote books about the combatants in World War I, specializing in uniforms and equipment; a history of the New York National Guard’s Seventh Regiment, and other military subjects. Between 1925 and 1933 he wrote a series of articles for the New York National Guard publication, The New York National Guardsman, about New York National Guard units called “Regimental Historical Sketches.” These histories of New York units were illustrated with his own illustrations of the uniforms worn in the past. The new exhibit matches Dewitt Clinton Falls paintings of historical uniforms with actual uniforms from the museum’s collection. Fall’s illustrations are an important source of historical information about the uniforms worn by the New York National Guard over the years, according to Museum Director Michael Aikey. The other exhibit-- Picturing Battle: Memories of War-highlights the Civil War paintings of Thure de Thulstrup (1848-1930); World War II combat photographs taken by Signal Corps photographs of New York National Guard Soldiers of the 27th Division; and drawings by World War II and Korean War veteran Steve Jordan. The 12 paintings by Thure de Thulstrap, a Swedish-born artist who served in the French army before becoming and American in 1873, were commissioned by L. Prang and Company of Boston, a distributor of lithographic prints. The 12 original paintings on exhibit at the Military Museum have not been seen by the general public since 1897. A 13th painting, The Battery Going into Action, is also on exhibit. The 20 drawings by Steve Jordan cover both his World War II and Korean War service, including serving with the 1st Marine Division in the Chosen Reservoir Campaign of 1950-51. A collection of Korean War-era equipment is part of this exhibit. The photographs of the 27th Infantry Division cover the divisions service during the Saipan campaign in 1944. The New York State Military Museum, housed in an armory at 61 lake Avenue, Saratoga Springs, that was constructed in 1889 houses over 10,000 artifacts dating from the Revolutionary War to Desert Storm that relate to New York State’s military forces, the state’s military history and the contributions of New York’s veterans. The artifacts include uniforms, weapons, artillery pieces, and art. The museum also owns the largest collection of state battle flags in the country and the largest collection of Civil War flags in the world. Of the over 1700 flags in the collection, more than 60% are from the Civil War. The flags date from the War of 1812 through the 1991 Gulf War. Cutlines: Photo 1: The painting “Hancock at Gettysburg” , by Thure de Thulstrap depicts a critical moment during the Battle of Gettysburg during which Major General Winfield Scott Hancock rode along the Union lines to steady the troops as the Confederate army bombarded the Union position on Cemetery Ridge prior to Pickett’s Charge. This painting, and others, will be on display at the New York State Military Museum in Saratoga Springs starting on July 3. Photo 2: This illustration of a Soldier of the 7th Regiment of the New York National Guard in full-dress uniform is typical of the work of Dewitt Clinton Falls, a New York National Guard officer, military historian and artist, who captured information on the colorful uniforms of the 19th century militia. This picture and others, along with period uniforms, will be on display at the New York State Military Museum in Saratoga Springs beginning on July 3.

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