Matthew Calbraith Perry guided the US Navy’s transition from sail to steam and shot to shell. It was he who recognized how these new tools would ensure the Navy’s ability to project American trade and power throughout the world.

Matthew Henson was the first African American to reach and stand on one of earth’s farthest reaches – the North Pole. Hear about his adventures in his own words from his 1912 autobiography, A Negro Explorer at the North Pole.

Most everyone knows Hal Holbrook as a quintessential actor of television, movies, and the stage. Most everyone knows Hal Holbrook as a quintessential actor of television, movies, and the stage.

The Mariners’ Museum is home to a duo of watercolors documenting events occurring during the July 1797 attack on Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The artist, Captain William Henry Webley, participated in the action, making his paintings the only eyewitness views of the event known to exist. The attack was led by one of the most renowned naval leaders, Britain’s Vice Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson — and it was an utter failure. On the 226th anniversary of the attack, we piece together the artwork and letters from Webley and Lieutenant William Hoste to get a better idea of what happened during the catastrophic raid.

An overview of the development and career of USS Monitor from conception by John Ericsson, through a short career as a warship of the United States Navy, to its loss off Cape Hatteras, NC, in December 1862, and its subsequent discovery and recovery.