Edward C. Kuhn
Encyclopedia
Master Gunner and Master Sergeant Edward C. Kuhn (March 29, 1872 – September 4, 1948) was an official U.S. Army artist who designed the first authorized coats of arms and distinctive unit insignia
for the Coast Artillery Corps (see also Seacoast Defense (US)
), Engineer Corps, Cavalry, Infantry, National Guard and other branches. An expert on flags
, heraldry
, embroidery
, and military antiquities, Kuhn made significant contributions to American military heraldry. A number of Kuhn's paintings are included in the permanent collections of the White House, U.S. Naval Academy Museum and the Smithsonian Institution.
in North Tonawanda a suburb of Buffalo, New York
. The oldest of eleven children, Kuhn labored in the local sawmill as a young man, but dreamed of becoming a professional painter. He would rush home from work, change, eat and race to the train station to make the fourteen mile (21 km) trip to Buffalo’s Albright-Knox Art Gallery
where he attended art school, circa 1900.
Kuhn enlisted in the New York State Volunteers to fight in the Spanish American War. He later joined the regular infantry, and eventually transferred to the Coast Artillery Corps in 1902. A sergeant in the Fifty-second Company, Kuhn graduated from the School for Master Gunners in 1905. Kuhn frequently relocated and would seek out the local art school or leading commercial artists wherever he went. He studied under George de Forest Brush
while stationed near New York City
, Eric Pape, a well-known Boston illustrator, and he continued to develop as a painter while stationed in Cuba
, Puerto Rico
, Panama
, Japan
, and the Philippines
.On October 6, 1909 Kuhn married Julia S. Krull at St. Paul Lutheran Church.
wrote to Secretary of War Newton D. Baker
requesting better quality military medals. This became the responsibility of Colonel Robert E. Wyllie, Coast Artillery Corps, and Chief of the Equipment Branch of the General Staff. According to Wyllie, there was previously no official coordinated control or supervision over the designs of arms and badges for organizations prior to their adoption near the end of 1919, thus making them rife with heraldic and historical inaccuracies."
Kuhn's knack for heraldry was discovered while stationed at Fort Hamilton
after World War I
, when he was asked to design a coat of arms for his company. After studying its history, and various reference books, Kuhn produced a design so impressive he was immediately assigned the task of creating one for the regiment. The Coast Artillery Corps had few regiments in 1919 , so coats of arms were designed for the various coast defense commands and a small number were authorized distinctive unit insignia. That same year, Kuhn was assigned to duty as an official Army artist responsible for the original designs of insignia and coats of arms for the cavalry
, infantry
, artillery
, engineers, signal corps, and other branches.
Kuhn is credited with the original coat of arms for every regiment in the Coast Artillery Corps, the National Guard of the United States, and the crest of the minuteman of the organized reserves. In 1923, Wyllie published an article on the history and development of the coats of arms and badges of the Coast Artillery Corps. Kuhn executed
the drawings from which the cuts were made to illustrate it. Kuhn designed the first distinctive unit insignia for the 51st Coast Artillery Regiment in 1924. Most existing active Regular Army, National Guard, and Organized Reserve regiments eventually had a coat of arms approved. An excellent example of his work is the coat of arms and insignia of the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, or "Brave Rifles."
. He continued researching, painting and writing about historical flags at his home following his retirement from the Army.
Kuhn’s nephew, retired Major General, Marvin C. Demler of the U.S. Air Force frequently visited his home in the 1920s. He accompanied "Uncle Ed" on many trips to the art galleries and libraries of Buffalo, where he explained the research process used to develop insignia, coats of arms, and authentic renditions of flags. Demler became one of two Army Air Corps officers to first visit the secret Los Alamos
Laboratories of the Manhattan Project
, which resulted in the establishment of the famous “Silver Plate Project” to modify B-29 aircraft for delivery of atomic weapons. His military decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal
, the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, and the Bronze Star.
In 1966, Demler retrieved a number of unique paintings from discarded household effects following the death of his aunt Agnes Krull, Kuhn's sister-in-law. He donated some for public display in appropriate American governmental buildings, including seven that were given to the U.S. Naval Academy Museum
for display and preservation of Naval history. A series of six watercolor paintings tracing the development and history of the Flag of the President of the United States
were donated to the White House, and hung in the Military Aides' room in 1972. In 1977, the Smithsonian received twenty-two of Kuhn's watercolors showing various official American flags with bearers in service uniforms and civilian dress.
) that he stitched in his spare time over fourteen years. Proficient with a needle and thread, as were most soldiers of the day, Kuhn became interested in the intricacies of the art as a corporal. He started with an immense silk field of different shades of white, approximately 4.5 feet (1.4 m) by 5 feet (1.5 m). Over four fast-paced hours were required to finish a 1/4 in strip across the length of the field. Kuhn sketched the coat of arms on the completed field, before embroidering the rest of the design.
White House Historical Association
Edward C. Kuhn Online Image Collection
Distinctive unit insignia
A Distinctive Unit Insignia is a metal heraldic device worn by soldiers in the United States Army. The DUI design is derived from the coat of arms authorized for a unit...
for the Coast Artillery Corps (see also Seacoast Defense (US)
Seacoast Defense (US)
Seacoast defense was a major concern for the United States from its independence until World War II. Before airplanes, America's enemies could only reach her from the sea, making coastal forts an economical alternative to standing armies or a large navy. After the 1940s it was recognized that fixed...
), Engineer Corps, Cavalry, Infantry, National Guard and other branches. An expert on flags
FLAGS
The FLAGS pipeline is a natural gas pipeline in the North Sea which is used to transport liquids and associated gas from the following fields:* Cormorant A* North Cormorant* North West Hutton...
, heraldry
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
, embroidery
Embroidery
Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....
, and military antiquities, Kuhn made significant contributions to American military heraldry. A number of Kuhn's paintings are included in the permanent collections of the White House, U.S. Naval Academy Museum and the Smithsonian Institution.
Sawmill laborer to soldier
Eduart Wilhelm Christian Kuhn was born March 29, 1872 in Martinsville, Niagara County, New York. Martinsville sits on 500 acres (2 km²) of land on the Tonawanda Creek, near the Erie CanalErie Canal
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...
in North Tonawanda a suburb of Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
. The oldest of eleven children, Kuhn labored in the local sawmill as a young man, but dreamed of becoming a professional painter. He would rush home from work, change, eat and race to the train station to make the fourteen mile (21 km) trip to Buffalo’s Albright-Knox Art Gallery
Albright-Knox Art Gallery
The Albright-Knox Art Gallery is an art museum located in Delaware Park in Buffalo, New York. The gallery is a major showplace for modern art and contemporary art. It is located directly across the street from Buffalo State College.-History:...
where he attended art school, circa 1900.
Kuhn enlisted in the New York State Volunteers to fight in the Spanish American War. He later joined the regular infantry, and eventually transferred to the Coast Artillery Corps in 1902. A sergeant in the Fifty-second Company, Kuhn graduated from the School for Master Gunners in 1905. Kuhn frequently relocated and would seek out the local art school or leading commercial artists wherever he went. He studied under George de Forest Brush
George de Forest Brush
George de Forest Brush was an American painter. In collaboration with his friend, the artist Abbott H. Thayer, he made contributions to military camouflage, as did his wife, aviator and artist Mary Taylor Brush, and their son, the sculptor Gerome Brush.-Background:Although Brush was born in...
while stationed near New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Eric Pape, a well-known Boston illustrator, and he continued to develop as a painter while stationed in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
.On October 6, 1909 Kuhn married Julia S. Krull at St. Paul Lutheran Church.
Coats of arms & Distinctive unit insignia
On June 17, 1918, President Woodrow WilsonWoodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
wrote to Secretary of War Newton D. Baker
Newton D. Baker
Newton Diehl Baker, Jr. was an American politician who belonged to the Democratic Party. He served as the 37th mayor of Cleveland, Ohio from 1912 to 1915 and as U.S. Secretary of War from 1916 to 1921.-Early years:...
requesting better quality military medals. This became the responsibility of Colonel Robert E. Wyllie, Coast Artillery Corps, and Chief of the Equipment Branch of the General Staff. According to Wyllie, there was previously no official coordinated control or supervision over the designs of arms and badges for organizations prior to their adoption near the end of 1919, thus making them rife with heraldic and historical inaccuracies."
Kuhn's knack for heraldry was discovered while stationed at Fort Hamilton
Fort Hamilton
Historic Fort Hamilton is located in the southwestern corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn surrounded by the communities of Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, and Bensonhurst, and is one of several posts that are part of the region which is headquartered by the Military District of Washington...
after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, when he was asked to design a coat of arms for his company. After studying its history, and various reference books, Kuhn produced a design so impressive he was immediately assigned the task of creating one for the regiment. The Coast Artillery Corps had few regiments in 1919 , so coats of arms were designed for the various coast defense commands and a small number were authorized distinctive unit insignia. That same year, Kuhn was assigned to duty as an official Army artist responsible for the original designs of insignia and coats of arms for the cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
, infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
, artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
, engineers, signal corps, and other branches.
Kuhn is credited with the original coat of arms for every regiment in the Coast Artillery Corps, the National Guard of the United States, and the crest of the minuteman of the organized reserves. In 1923, Wyllie published an article on the history and development of the coats of arms and badges of the Coast Artillery Corps. Kuhn executed
the drawings from which the cuts were made to illustrate it. Kuhn designed the first distinctive unit insignia for the 51st Coast Artillery Regiment in 1924. Most existing active Regular Army, National Guard, and Organized Reserve regiments eventually had a coat of arms approved. An excellent example of his work is the coat of arms and insignia of the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, or "Brave Rifles."
Flag paintings
Kuhn was particularly interested in the history and evolution of flags from around the world. He studied their development and perfection, and was considered the foremost expert on the topic in the United States. Kuhn is credited with identifying and restoring a flag that was carried at the first inauguration of George WashingtonGeorge Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
. He continued researching, painting and writing about historical flags at his home following his retirement from the Army.
Kuhn’s nephew, retired Major General, Marvin C. Demler of the U.S. Air Force frequently visited his home in the 1920s. He accompanied "Uncle Ed" on many trips to the art galleries and libraries of Buffalo, where he explained the research process used to develop insignia, coats of arms, and authentic renditions of flags. Demler became one of two Army Air Corps officers to first visit the secret Los Alamos
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...
Laboratories of the Manhattan Project
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
, which resulted in the establishment of the famous “Silver Plate Project” to modify B-29 aircraft for delivery of atomic weapons. His military decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal
Distinguished Service Medal (United States)
The Distinguished Service Medal is the highest non-valorous military and civilian decoration of the United States military which is issued for exceptionally meritorious service to the government of the United States in either a senior government service position or as a senior officer of the United...
, the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, and the Bronze Star.
In 1966, Demler retrieved a number of unique paintings from discarded household effects following the death of his aunt Agnes Krull, Kuhn's sister-in-law. He donated some for public display in appropriate American governmental buildings, including seven that were given to the U.S. Naval Academy Museum
U.S. Naval Academy Museum
The United States Naval Academy Museum is a public maritime museum in Annapolis, Maryland, United States. Being part of the United States Naval Academy, it is located at Preble Hall within the Academy premises. Its history dates back to 1845 . The museum has an area of with four galleries.It is...
for display and preservation of Naval history. A series of six watercolor paintings tracing the development and history of the Flag of the President of the United States
Flag of the President of the United States
The Flag of the President of the United States consists of the presidential coat of arms on a dark blue background. While having the same design as the presidential seal since 1945, the flag has a separate history, and the designs on the flag and seal have at different times influenced each other...
were donated to the White House, and hung in the Military Aides' room in 1972. In 1977, the Smithsonian received twenty-two of Kuhn's watercolors showing various official American flags with bearers in service uniforms and civilian dress.
Embroidery
Kuhn’s magnum opus is a massive silk embroidery of the coat of arms of the United States (see also Great Seal of the United StatesGreat Seal of the United States
The Great Seal of the United States is used to authenticate certain documents issued by the United States federal government. The phrase is used both for the physical seal itself , and more generally for the design impressed upon it...
) that he stitched in his spare time over fourteen years. Proficient with a needle and thread, as were most soldiers of the day, Kuhn became interested in the intricacies of the art as a corporal. He started with an immense silk field of different shades of white, approximately 4.5 feet (1.4 m) by 5 feet (1.5 m). Over four fast-paced hours were required to finish a 1/4 in strip across the length of the field. Kuhn sketched the coat of arms on the completed field, before embroidering the rest of the design.
Conclusion
Edward C. Kuhn made significant contributions to American military heraldry, particularly his development of early authorized coats of arms and distinctive unit insignia. His life and works are a testament to his patriotism and perseverance. Kuhn died at the age of seventy-six on September 4, 1948, after a long illness. A veteran of two wars, the Spanish American War and World War I, Kuhn served for thirty years with the Coast Artillery, United States Army. He is buried in the St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery in Martinsville, of which he was the superintendent for many years.Additional Resources
Our Military History (The Genealogy Center)White House Historical Association
Edward C. Kuhn Online Image Collection