Distinctive Unit Insignias (DUI) have a long history in the Army. Beginning in the early 1900s, distinctive unit decorations were authorized in the US Army, with the modern form of a coat of arms appearing after World War I. The example here is the insignia used by the 758th Tank Battalion and later the 64th Armor Regiment. It depicts a black African elephant with white tusks accompanied by the motto “We Pierce”. This crest was designed by a soldier of the 758th and standardized by the Heraldic Section of the Office of the Quartermaster General. From 1924 until 1962, this section of the Quartermaster Corps had the mission to research, design, and standardize the symbols, DUI’s, flags, patches, medals, seals, coats of arms, and other heraldic items for the Army. Following an Army reorganization in 1962, the Institute of Heraldry continued under the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army.
Originally formed as the 78th Tank Battalion in January 1941, the 758th Tank Battalion was the first black armored unit in the U.S. Army. The battalion was permanently attached to the 92nd Infantry Division and served in the Italian Campaign in World War II. In 1949, the 758th Tank Battalion was redesignated the 64th Heavy Tank Battalion and was assigned to the 2nd Armored Division. In 1950, it would be assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division and was deployed to combat operations during the Korean War where it participated in 8 separate campaigns, from the intervention of the Chinese Communist Forces to the ceasefire. It would later become the 64th Armor Regiment, keeping the same insignia, assigned to the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team of the 3rd Infantry Division. In this role the 64th Armor Regiment would serve with distinction in several conflicts including Operation Desert Shield, Operation Desert Fox, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom.
The insignia itself has great significance to the unit as well. Being the first black armored unit, the African elephant symbolized the soldier’s pride in their heritage and their unit’s mission of mobile armored warfare. This insignia also garnered them with the nickname “Tuskers” during the Second World War, which a battalion of the 64th Tank Regiment carries to this day.
While a bit unusual looking for American weaponry, the Foot Artillery Sword was used from 1832 through the Civil War. These two examples from the collection are a standard M1832 model issued to U.S. Army soldiers as well as a rough Confederate copy. While called a sword, these typically would not have been used in any type of combat, but instead were used more in the manner of a modern machete for such tasks as clearing brush. The M1832 was based heavily on the 1816 French artillery sword which in turn was inspired in its design from the ancient Roman gladius short sword. Owing to its non-combat reputation, the French nickname for the sword was the “cabbage cutter”.
The M1832 foot artillery sword is 25 inches long, with a 19-inch blade. The brass hilt is solid brass, and has a unique fish scale grip based on the original French design. The museum’s sword is stamped 1834, and was produced by the Ames Manufacturing Company from Springfield, Massachusetts. An eagle is visible above the manufacturing stamp as well as on the pommel. The Confederate copy of this sword has the same basic dimensions but has no ornamentation or marks. It also features a ringed grip as common in French versions after 1831, but the blade is much more basic than the M1832, with only a hint of a fuller (groove) on the side of the blade. Unfortunately the museum does not have records tying either of these two swords to any particular person, unit, or campaign but showing them side to side illustrates some of the differences between Union and Confederate manufacturing during the Civil War.
