As America celebrates 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, it’s a historic milestone and opportunity to pause and reflect on the United States’ past, honor the contributions of all Americans, and look ahead toward the future we want to create for the next generation and beyond.
In the second installment of “The Searchlight,” a rotating series focused on military history at the Tillamook County Pioneer Museum (TCPM), comes “From the Archive: A retrospective of American Military History over 250 years.” The latest exhibit highlights artifacts from the museum’s collection to show little-known pieces of America’s military history throughout time.
“The main goal of ‘The Searchlight’ is to engage our local community with memories and stories they can see themselves, their friends, and family members in,” TCPM Exhibit & Program Developer Jenny Teece said. “As our country celebrates its 250th, we felt that it was important to reflect on military conflicts that have ties to our local community and community members.”
A notable item in the exhibit includes a drum from the Civil War.
The story, as printed in the June 21, 1928 edition of the Tillamook Herald newspaper, alleges that fifer and drummer William Burton Flagg with the Union Army 2nd NY Heavy Artillery Regiment captured a drum from the Confederate States Army’s 11th Alabama Infantry in Appomattox, Virginia on April 8, 1865.
In the article, Flagg retells hearing a rumor about a quantity of tobacco stored in a nearby barn, unbeknownst to them, across enemy lines. He and a companion snuck past Confederate troops in pursuit of the tobacco and saw a “drum hanging on a stack of guns before the last tent in the row.” His companion urged him to not run the risk of being caught, but Flagg wanted the drum. He slipped behind the tent in front of which the guns were stacked and made away with the drum and drumsticks. On their way back to camp, the two also found the barn in which tobacco was stored and took what they could. While making it past enemy lines unnoticed, upon reaching their own picket lines, the pair was detected and held until morning when they were released by a Colonel. The next day, General Robert Lee surrendered. During the war, Flagg was in 13 battles and served from December 1863 to July 1865. Flagg returned his government issued drum, and instead used the captured drum as his trophy. Flagg later became a resident of Bay City, Oregon. The drum was donated to the Tillamook County Pioneer Museum by Henry Heisel and the American Legion on October 1, 1941.
Another notable artifact is a plane propeller from a B-17 bomber that crashed on Cape Lookout on August 1, 1943 during its service in WWII. Dense fog and dangerously low flying altitude caused the crash that killed nine of the ten crew on board. Bombardier Wilbur L. Perez was the only survivor. A plaque marker 500 feet from the crash site on the Cape Lookout trail, erected by the Oregon State Highway Commission, commemorates the accident.
As retold in his oral history recorded in 1990, Perez said:
“During the war they had these fire watches…[someone] had reported to the military that he thought there had been a plane crash. And they denied it. They said there was no indication for it. Apparently he had probably reported it to the Tillamook base…and there was no report of a missing plane from the Air Force or Air Corp. So, I suppose the information he got was the best they had. But, he was determined and made a trek up there and found the wreckage. And then went reporting back. [He] went back then and returned the next day.”
Thanks to a partnership with the Tillamook County Historical Society and a grant from the Tillamook County Cultural Coalition, Perez’s oral history (and 28 others) are now digitized and available at the Tillamook County Pioneer Museum’s Research Library. To schedule an audio appointment, contact TCPM’s Collections Manager Clara Scillian Kennedy at: clara@tcpm.org.
“From the Archive” opened August 11, 2026 and is expected to be on display for a year.
About the Tillamook County Pioneer Museum
Founded in 1935 by Tillamook Oregon pioneers, the Tillamook County Pioneer Museum offers 19 display areas that focus on the history of the North Oregon Coast. The museum’s mission is to preserve and interpret the Cultural Heritage of the North Oregon Coast and to foster appreciation and respect of the North Oregon Coast’s environment. The current collection includes 55,000 items and 20,000 photographs ranging from prehistoric specimens to modern-day.
The Tillamook County Pioneer Museum is open to the public Tuesday-Saturday, 10 am – 4 pm. The research library can be used by the public by appointment only.
