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  • The River, The Reverend, and The Revival

    • Black History
    • Collections
    • Cultural Heritage
    • Photography

    Our Curatorial Team explores the powerful image of a baptism captured in 1914 on the James River in Newport News, VA, shedding light on the deep, enduring connection Black Americans have had with water. Through this historical photograph, we reflect on the rich cultural and spiritual ties to water that have shaped African American history, and how these traditions continue to influence and resonate today.

  • Brigadier General Samuel Chapman Armstrong

    • Civil War
    • Military
    • Military Conflict

    Samuel Chapman Armstrong was the founder of Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute (now Hampton University). A native of Hawaii, he fought with the Union army during the Civil War.

  • Museum Map

  • When in Rome

    Learn about ancient Roman history, architecture, and government.

  • Gold Rush Saves Whales

    • Collections

    What did the California Gold Rush have to do with the whaling industry?  Albert M. Barnes, II, whose collection was donated to The Mariners’ Museum in 1986, created a list of 59 whaling vessels whose destiny was forever changed by the California Gold Rush.

  • Baptism at the ‘Waist of the World’

    • Collections
    • Military

    When planning this year’s Gallery Crawl I decided to include a station focusing on a well-known seafaring tradition: the line crossing ceremony. If you’re asking yourself “what the hell is a line crossing ceremony?” and are planning to attend the Crawl let me just say you are in for a real treat!

  • Parthian and the Pirates

    • Collections
    • Cultural Heritage

    This week, while trying to identify prints in our collection that showed dghasa, a beautiful little craft native to Malta, I stumbled across a really interesting watercolor painted by Nicolas Cammillieri. The artwork is titled “H.M. Sloop Parthian Capturing a Spanish Pirate.” The computer record didn’t contain any information about the event depicted but I figured there must be an interesting story behind the artwork–and I was right!

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