The Emancipation Proclamation did not free all enslaved African Americans but it was a start in that direction. It would be another two years before the war ended and with it, the ratification of the 13th Amendment, which abolished the institution of slavery in the United States forever.

The Mariners' Staff Photographers share their favorite photos they created for The Mariners' Museum and Park in 2020.

A funny story that occurred on board the Haze, a schooner built by George Steers.

Discover the story behind a print titled “The Success wedged on a Rock, being at the same time between the fire of the Spanish Fort at Umata and a Ship in the Harbour.” Irony anyone?

The Edwin Tappan Adney collection at The Mariners’ Museum and Park include 120 canoe models. For Adney (1868-1950) building canoe models was not a hobby. He felt that it was his duty to document as many of the boats as he could. 

Photographs of British lighthouses purchased for The Mariners’ Museum Collection in 1936 from Bertram M. Chambers, an admiral in the Royal Navy. Symbolically, lighthouses offer a message of hope and determination when facing adversity.

The Women’s Army Corps (WAC) was formed in 1942. It was the first time, and the only group, that integrated women into the United States Military. Around 150,000 women volunteered to serve in the WAC during World War II.

The islands of Ascension and St. Helena in the South Atlantic are periodically plagued by roller events with rapidly forming waves and catastrophic outcomes.

The Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation (HRPE) was the third largest US Army Transportation Corps port of embarkation during WWII. It served as a hub for the movements of millions of troops between 1942-1946.