The motto of the Quartermaster Corps, “Supporting Victory”, reflects the Corps’ 228 year history of combat service support to the Army that has enabled the Army to achieve victory in all of its wars. The gallery provides a chronological review of that service beginning in 1775 with the appointment of the Army’s first Quartermaster General, and continuing through Operation Iraqi Freedom. Exhibits trace the evolution of Quartermaster missions that today now include supply, petroleum and water, mortuary affairs, aerial delivery and parachute rigging, and food service and relate some of the logistical challenges faced by Quartermasters during each war period.

But while the gallery traces the mission history of the Corps, the focus is on people, past and present, and show who they were, what they did, and what they looked like. Faces of the Corps, from a Civil War Medal of Honor recipient, to a World War II cook, and from Spanish American War saddler to a present day Water Purification Specialist, shown both in images and by the use of mannequins representing eight war periods. Along with images are artifacts including documents written and signed by Thomas Mifflin, the first Quartermaster General, and Brigadier General Jesup, Quartermaster General from 1818 to 1861 and called the “Father of the Corps”. Other artifacts exhibited include a 1902 Quartermaster Sergeant uniform, a Quartermaster General’s uniform, and a uniform belonging to a Quartermaster officer who participated in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom.

The gallery serves as both a history of Quartermaster service in our nation’s wars and as a tribute to that service.