Snare drum
Date1917-1919 ca.
Place MadeUnited States, North America
Serial No.1142
SignednoneMarkingsPainted on the drum shell: 151 F.A. / MINN / (three arrows pointing down, rainbow) 42nd / DIV.
Off to the left of this paint are the initials: ERJ
Stamped inside shell: 1142 (Handwritten just above is: 1142-2)
Also stamped inside shell: USQMC
Handwritten inside shell: 12 x 16
DescriptionPrivate Ernest Raynold Johnson (born 1895) was inducted into the Army at Fort Snelling (Minneapolis, Minnesota) in June 1917. Just four months later, he was sent to France with the 42nd Division, 151st Field Artillery of Minnesota. His unit served alongside the French during World War I, in coordination with units from 26 states and the District of Columbia. After Major Douglas MacArthur, Chief of Staff, remarked in 1917 that the Division “would stretch over the whole country [France] like a rainbow,” it was christened the Rainbow Division. Johnson and the Rainbow Division fought in the final battle of World War I before returning to the U.S. in April 1919. Johnson was promoted to Musician 2nd Class and survived the war uninjured. He returned to Minneapolis and civilian life accompanied by his U.S. Quartermaster Corps-issued snare drum.
Mahogany shell. Maple rims. Single tension with eight thumb-rod screw lugs. Imitation Ludwig and Ludwig Combination model strainer.
DimensionsShell height (with rims): 360 mm (14-1/8 in)
Head diameter: 420 mm (16-1/2 in)
ProvenanceArne B. Larson Collection, Vermillion, South Dakota, 1979.
Published ReferencesMargaret Downie Banks, “Solving a Rainbow Division History Mystery!!” Rainbow Trail, Vol. 4, No. 2 (December 2003), pp. 9-10.
Margaret Downie Banks, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," National Music Museum Newsletter, Vol. 31, No. 1 (February 2004), p. 3.
Credit LineArne B. Larson Collection, 1979
Object number02987
On View
Not on view
