The Glenbow Museum > Collections & Research > Museum Collections > Military & Mounted Police

A wide range of famous military leaders and battles are represented in the military and mounted police collection. Most of these artifacts were purchased from the Royal United Service Institute Museum in London, England. The collection includes objects that were at famous battles and items that were owned by men like Pizarro and Napoleon.

Selection of objects related to famous individuals

(L-R): Telescope, Napoleon Bonaparte; Snuff Box, General James Wolfe; Stoneware Mug in image of Lord Horatio Nelson; Watch, Oliver Cromwell; Box, Sir Francis Drake

Field Marshal's baton and presentation box
Viscount Garnet Joseph Wolseley
1894

The heart of this component of the collection is the Field Marshal Wolseley collection. It is important not only for the fact that it contains Wolseley's trappings as a full field marshal in the British army, but also because he collected items related to his campaigns (including the Red River expedition) and related to British military history.

Napoleon's Telescope
Bronze Statuette of Napoleon
Cross of the Legion of Honour (France)
Printed Textile (Battle of Waterloo scene)
ca. 1815

Napoleon Bonaparte is one of the most famous figures in military history. He was Emperor of France from 1804-1815 and fought many battles throughout Europe. The Legion of Honour here was picked up from the battlefield of Waterloo in 1815 as a souvenir and the telescope here was reportedly used by Napoleon at the battle.

Sir Francis Drake's Walking Stick and Box bearing his coat of arms
Late 16th century

Sir Francis Drake was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe (1577-1580) and in 1588 he was vice-admiral of the English fleet which destroyed the Spanish Armada. Other 16th and 17th century figures are represented, including Francisco Pizarro, who conquered the Inca empire in 1532 and Oliver Cromwell, who was Lord Protector of England from 1653-1658.

Officer's hanger (sword) and punch bowl
Captain James Cook

These objects belonged to Captain James Cook. In three voyages of discovery between 1768 and 1779, Cook revolutionized European knowledge of the south Pacific, charted the coasts of eastern Australia, circumnavigated New Zealand, ventured into the Antarctic, searched for the Northwest Passage, charted Canada's northwest coast and rediscovered Hawaii where he was killed in 1779.

Naval flintlock pistol, captured from French warship IntrÃ©pide; British midshipmanâ€™s sword, Midshipman John Wells; French cockade

Naval flintlock pistol, captured from French warship Intrépide
British midshipman's sword, Midshipman John Wells
French cockade

The pivotal naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars was the Battle of Trafalgar where the British under Admiral Horatio Nelson decisively defeated a combined French and Spanish fleet in 1805. There are a number of artifacts in the collection related to Nelson, Trafalgar and naval warfare at the time including the pistol, cockade and sword seen here which were actually present at the battle.