American Military Museum - Charleston, SC - Authentic Military History

The American Military Museum is located at 360 Concord Street in Charleston, South Carolina. It is situated next to the aquarium and dock for tours to Fort Sumter. They are open on Monday through Saturday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm and on Sunday from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

The cost of admission is $7 for adults, $5 for veterans and seniors, $3 for students 13-18 or those with a student ID, $2 for children 6-12 and free for active duty military and their dependents. A trip through the museum should take less than two hours.

The original curator of the museum, George Meagher, was a retired army veteran and has done work as a consultant for the Smithsonian. He passed away in March 2009. He established the museum in 1987 as a tool to preserve military artifacts and display them for education. Meagher contributed his own personal collection of military artifacts and paraphernalia to start the museum.

A museum board, comprised only of military veterans, now oversees the operation of the museum. The board has multiple members who have received the Medal of Honor. The museum has moved to several different locations at different times since it was founded and is now in a place that is easier to find and hard to miss.

The museum contains paraphernalia and artifacts, set in glass display cases, from fourteen different wars that America has been involved in from the American Revolution to the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard and Marines are all represented in the American Military Museum. The museum also recognizes the contributions of women in the military and has included them in several displays.

Some highlights include: General Eisenhower's insignia, a Buffalo Soldiers dress blue uniform from 1872, General Patton's patches from the invasion of Normandy as well as battle flags from his army and hundreds of uniforms and headgear through the years organized in reverse chronological order.

The museum is primarily about the personal effects and uniforms that people in the military wore. There are some weapons displays but they are not the focus. The museum also contains hundreds of miniatures on display. Towards the end of the museum is a military chapel that displays how a military chaplain dressed. The American Military Museum relies solely on donated items so everything is authentic and accurate, not fabricated.

Things that a soldier would carry on a daily basis are also available for viewing. From the Vietnam War, a booklet instructing soldiers on how to treat prisoners of war is on display. From World War I, a card designed to keep morale up that urges soldiers to keep smiling. Mess kits that soldiers carried through the years are also displayed.

Many of the items on display at the American Military Museum are unique, one of a kind pieces. Some are so rare that they are thought to be the only of their kind in existence. The 1872 Buffalo Soldier uniform is one such item. An 1820 infantry hat is thought to be one of only three such hats in the world.