News--- Union ex-Prisoners of War Medal and Woman’s Auxiliary of the Union Veteran Legion Medal Found

Soldiers & Sailors & Allegheny County Medical Examiner Locate Civil War Medals in 100 Year Old Time Capsule, Colleen Elms,Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum Trust, Inc. Press Release, February 29, 2012.

Pittsburgh Pennsylvania's Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum with assistance from the Allegheny County Medical Examiner x-rayed its 100 year old time capsule content on Wednesday, February 29, 2012.

In October 2010, Soldiers & Sailors began celebrating its 100th anniversary by extracting the cornerstone that was placed in the building in 1908. Although the time capsule was unfortunately damaged by moisture, it included items such as period photographs, newspapers of the day and other historical documents. Over the past year, Soldiers & Sailors Curator Michael Kraus worked to stabilize the contents of the time capsule by extracting the moisture. Kraus studied the original list of contents and determined that there were more metallic objects embedded than the two originally found inside the capsule. Allegheny County Medical Examiner Dr. Karl Williams graciously offered to facilitate an x-ray of the capsule’s content at the County’s state of the art facility.

“It was extremely exciting for us to extract the time capsule for our 100th anniversary and connect with those who helped to erect the memorial,” said President & CEO John F. McCabe. “We were so pleased to find the location of these metallic objects so that we can more carefully study the contents.”

The x-ray revealed the location of several artifacts, including a Union ex-Prisoners of War medal and lapel button, a Union Veteran Legion medal and lapel shield and a Woman’s Auxiliary of the Union Veteran Legion medal. The findings prove the validity of the original capsule’s list of contents and will allow the curatorial staff to use the x-ray pictures to further study and evaluate the content.

In May, 2012, Soldiers & Sailors plans to dedicate a new time capsule at its annual Memorial Day celebration, recreating the ceremony that occurred more than one hundred years ago when the original time capsule was embedded in the cornerstone. A new capsule will be placed in the cornerstone and include items that reflect upon our history, but also capture our current state. The contents will include a slice from the 1910 capsule contents, an American flag, currency, a commemorative 100th anniversary coin and other historic and significant items to be determined.

The original time capsule’s content is currently on display at Soldiers & Sailors. Visitors can view the recovered items and learn more about the placement of the time capsule in 1908.

Text Source: Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum

Image Source: Anderson Militaria