Mariner's Museum & USS Monitor Center

Last week I visited the Mariner's Museum & USS Monitor Center located in Newport News, Virginia. 

The Mariner's Museum and USS Monitor Center are connected, and for one price you get both experiences. I spent the majority of my time in the USS Monitor Center, and did a backwards worn out (as in tired) tour of the Mariner's Museum. 

The USS Monitor Center is the home of the Ironclad ship that fought in the Civil War. It sank, due to weather problems - a horrible storm off the coast of North Carolina's Outer Banks, on Dec 31st 1862. Located just off the southeast of Cape Hatteras, the wreck site, where the majority of the ship still lies, was the first marine sanctuary in the United States.  In 1978 exploration began to find the ship, and in 1998 the propeller was pulled from the water. 

The propeller on display. 

In 2001, the Sanctuary and the Navy brought up the steam engine, which I did not see at the exhibit. And then, in 2002, just as funding started to run out (days left) the huge turret was found - a revolving gun turret - was discovered, along with the remains of two soldiers, and two of the cannons. A conservation building was built specifically for the conservation of the turret and other objects found. The bodies of the two soldiers are in Hawaii, not sure why...awaiting identification. 

They have a great exhibit though. Despite the age and legend of the Mariner's Museum (which could go under some much needed updates) the USS Monitor Center is full of technology that is often seen in contemporary museums. 

The entrance to Ironclad Revolution at the USS Monitor Center.

When you enter you go through a series of films, leading you room to room, which discuss the documentation and the experience that took place on the Monitor the night of it's sinking. It's a powerful and stimulating film that incorporates the entire environment of the small theater room. It turns out the last thing seen of the ship, after most of the crew was saved, was the lantern - a red lantern light that kept flashing, flashing..and flashing, until it finally disappeared. After you watch a video of the finding of the turret, cannons, and lantern (very touching!!) you step into a room where the lantern is displayed. The display is like the Hope Diamond. It's just the lantern, which underwent a remarkable conservation practice. I wish the picture was better, but I didn't want to use a flash..

The lantern of the USS Monitor

After you see the lantern, you are led through a variety of exhibits discussing the history of ship armory and weaponry, with interactive HD tv's featuring actors posing as historical figures, a computer game that was virtually impossible to play, and really amazing miniature ships. People spent a lot of time in here, there was a lot to learn, and it was quite interesting. 

The next area discusses the atmosphere pre-Civil War and what led up to the War itself. You hear quotes from individuals like Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, various military officials as well. It was semi interesting, but, I spent little time in this area for I knew the basics. The next spot discussed the lead up to the building of the ironclads, which was also slightly interesting, but not enough to make me want to stay in the large room made out to seem like an important officials meeting room - there were paintings, high end objects owned by regional military personnel of the period, etc. 

Next we learned about the building of the ship, and what went into it, and the competition between the North and South to create these ironclad ships. It was interesting, and the room that discussed it featured a replica of the Monitor, which you could walk into, etc. After exploring this, they then had built a replica of the quarters for the soldiers and officials who lived on the Monitor. The housing was beautiful, for it's small cramped quarters - silks, white wash, silver decorations, candlelight - all meant to feel at home. I learned about the food that was served, that their chef was African American, that a lot of cured beef and ham was served, and that everyone knew every one's business - cramped quarters, if you will. They showed tons of objects that were discovered at the site - silverware with the names of fallen heroes who sank with the ship, wine bottles, glasses, and personal goods. 

Then, they discussed the end of the war, freedom of slaves (in light) and such. And then they had a large display area that featured a remake of the huge turret - which was amazing, and they had reconstructed how the turret looked when they found it in the ocean - shells and barnacles, etc. You could walk into it, and it was well done - they even showed what objects were found there, based on photographs, and two casted skeletons showing the placement of the men who died in the turret. 

This area also discussed the weaponry, the power of the turret, etc. A hallway lead you to the conservation building, which was built specifically to house the turret, cannons, and some other objects. The turret and cannons are currently undergoing a chemical destabilization (?) process that will make it possible to do conservation work on these important pieces in the future. Special tanks were built. The turret tank was too big to be photographed. But, here is a photo of one of the cannons in it's custom tank. Wires exposed on top help to monitor (no pun intended) the chemical levels, temperatures, etc. This is a working conservation lab, 9-5, Monday through Friday, and they also have billboards and posters discussing what is going on in the lab "this week" and such...it was VERY cool!!

I always get excited about this stuff, being a lover of transparency. It'll be very cool to go back and see what takes place after the objects are ready to be removed from their tanks. 

The USS Monitor Center is very cool, and well worth it. I explored for about 1 1/2 hours. Lots of reading, and some interactive stuff that kids might think is cool. Great for even people who aren't big military history buffs - it's fascinating, slightly creepy, and very cool. There are also plenty of videos that are shown, I only saw the introduction one. 

It's part of the Mariner's Museum, which is a must see for lovers of nautical history, war history, etc. The museum features exhibits on Chesapeake Bay nautical history, cartography, miniature ships, military naval history, a ship building shop (it was closed that day), a miniature building shop (closed that day) and a really great exhibit about small boats. 

I put a ton of energy into my experience at the Monitor, which probably contributed to my struggle for attention at the Mariner's Museum area. I explored it backwards too, which I wish I wouldn't have. They don't do a great job at guiding the visitor, and since it's a chronological exhibit, it serves best to explore it the right way. 

I started out at the rotating exhibit featuring a painter from the early 20th century who painted the ship building experiences of builders in Norfolk. There isn't anything on the website, and I didn't write his name down, which really stinks - it was amazing. Regardless, I wish I would have taken notes! Boo!!

The miniature ships were so cool, and they have an exhibition featuring the miniature ships of August Crabtree. The ships are displayed like jewels, each in its own display case. Veterans play the roles of docents in much of the museum, and a docent was on hand to discuss the history and process of ship building. 

They have a small Titanic display, where you can see some artifacts from the tragic ship, and put on a life jacket and sit in a replica Titanic life boat. Then you explore the history of the naval world - from torpedo's (they have an awesome interactive with a torpedo hitting a Japanese ship) to submarines, and all the way back into history. The father back it goes into history (the beginning of the exhibit) the more jumbled and chaotic the displays are - tons of labels, images, and objects, but not enough concentration on the content. It's overwhelming. They discuss cartography in a confusing manner, and feature so many objects - including slave shackles from a slave ship, Native artifacts from the first whites to explore the continent, and more. 

This area needs major renovation, but, they have a ton of remarkable objects, and the mini ships are so cool! 

A small sea glass exhibit featured glass pieces from ship related culture. This was a sea glass window. Note the Prophet and Tukoseemalta. Bizarre!

The final part of the museum (not including the gift shop of course) is a fairly extensive exhibit on ship history in the Chesapeake. They start with the first peoples - Native people - and how they explored and created vessels. Then onto explorers, settlers, onto fishermen, oyster shucking culture, buoys (surprisingly cool!) and sailing. It really helps to encompass boating culture in the region, and was a nice regional exhibit. 

French made lighthouse lamp from the early 20th century, from the Chesapeake. 

Oh! Also, finally, they had an AWESOME building dedicated to small boats. It was really cool. Over 75 boats from all cultures - many made for the museum, some donated, collected, etc. From small viking boats to Inuit canoes to Japanese fishing vessels to pleasure boats and Criss Crafts. Super awesome, and worth seeing. 

Overall, the Mariner's Museum and USS Monitor Center provided an excellent afternoon of naval exploration. A great sight for everyone from Navy Vets to novice pleasure seekers. The main museum can use some updating, but, perhaps with the draw of the Monitor Center, this can lead to more income and donors. 

Oh, and the gift shop was full of plenty of Made in China goods, but a nice book shop. Nothing too exciting to see. 

Small boats, Mariner's Museum

Yorktown National Battlefield

I was able to take sometime in the past week to do an incomplete visit to Yorktown National Battlefield, the final battle which won the Americans their independence from the British with help of the French. 

The entrance to the park.

The nice thing about the historic triangle (they call this, Williamsburg, and Jamestown that) is that when you go to both Jamestown and Yorktown you pay $10 and you get to go to both for one week as many times as you want. So I took advantage of the admission paid at Jamestowne to visit here. Again, I hadn't visited here in over 10 years, and I look forward to going back before my stay here is finished. 

The battlefield museum is highly out of date, where it's funny. The displays are okay, but things are dusty, old and not updated in regards to conservation techniques and lighting. I was pretty interested in the African American representation there, in regards to blacks fighting in the battle, and the personal "servant" of George Washington, Billy Lee. If was able to have written this fresh from leaving Yorktown, I'd have more to say. I guess that says things didn't stick with me enough - but an entire exhibit could be made around blacks in the revolutionary war, but, I was glad to see something. They did not discuss anything in regards to Native people fighting there, but I am not sure yet of Native peoples fought at Yorktown. 

So, after exploring the small museum, I took a walk to downtown Yorktown, but wanted to see the battlefields, so I didn't spend much time there. I do hope to go back, because I missed the surrender spot! I did however take a few pictures...

A section of the Yorktown Victory Monument at the town. It was passed by congress to be resurrected as early as 1781, but, ground breaking wasn't until 1876.

A replica American cannon and earthworks. 

The above three pictures are French cannon replicas in the area that the French armed the heaviest, the built all the earthworks within a day and when the English woke up in the morning, they freaked out by how close the French were, and how large the mounds were. 

Most people don't know that Civil War battles also took place on the land in the park. The Yorktown National Cemetery is here, featuring a small but nice plot of land catering to Civil War soldiers. There are a large number of plots dedicated to unknown soldiers, and they are all double buried, quite chilling! 

A Visit to to Historic Jamestowne

Last week Preston and I were able to visit Historic Jamestowne, the original site of the first permanent settlement by the English in America. I love National Parks, something about visiting them gets me way too excited, like a child, and I just want to explore as much as I can. I feel safe at these places, and it's been sometime since I've visited a National Park, and over 10 years since I had been to Jamestowne. 

First we visited the glass making house, where the archaeological site is wonderfully preserved and reconstructed glass houses are being used to create famous Jamestowne glass. 

The settlement failed with making glass, they made small portions and decided to retire the glass making attempts quickly. We even took a look around at the cool items made at Jamestowne, but, the items were WAY to expensive. Seems they were just as expensive as when my dad went there back in the 70s with my mom - he could only afford a small glass coaster, which was the same for us, but we didn't purchase anything! We did take some pictures, and hung out on the beach for a few minutes. 

Preston and I on the beach near the glass house. Our attempt at a self-couple portrait :)

The beach at Jamestowne near the glass house

The two glass houses, both in use. The two guys, dressed in pseudo peasant period clothes, were smoking cigarettes and drinking soft drinks when we walked up. It took a few more tourists to show up before they started working and talking about their personal lives to each other while acting like we didn't exist. Regardless, they're cool "pods" and the process of glass blowing is really fascinating to watch. 

Next, we walked over to the site of the fort, after briefly exploring the museum, which is fairly updated. I was impressed with the section (albiet small) dedicated to the Native people of Virginia, they discussed their historical importance and their contemporary worlds and contemproary photographs. This section also shows some interesting artifacts that relatives of the Rolfe family claim were Pocahontas (like a pair of really sweet pearl earrings!).

We saw a lot of turtles - swamps surround the fort area. It is a beautiful location, a shame so many people had to die to make it work. 

They have been doing archaeological digs here for over a decade and have been finding impressive things. There is an entire museum on site dedicated to the remains and the archaeological finds. These are the same people seen in "Pocahontas Revealed" exploring the Powhatan village across the James River. It was very windy, and the students and staff weren't there for sometime, then when they came back they covered up and closed down shop. 

The old church at Jamestown, this church is still a holy spot, but, it ceased having a steady congregation after the capital was moved to Williamsburg due to the tough terrain people had to pass to go to it. It's a haunting place, they believe a knight is buried there. 

I'm sure you can guess who that is - yes, Pocahontas. She is right next to the church, and her presence is almost saint-like. The fascination and reverence that people hold towards her is remarkable, and you can see this by how many times her hands have been rubbed. A volunteer told me that community members want her remains brought back to Virginia. I didn't question it.

Graves of settlers who most likely died during the starvation time, a painful time when 80% of the population died at Jamestowne. They have the names of those they believe are buried here, and the crosses don't represent the amount in this presumed mass grave. There is a name on the list that is a surname of P's family, so it's triggered curiosity for us. 

Preston "modeling" (not really...) at one of the reconstructed living spaces in the fort. 

Captain John Smith, the man who started it all. He exaggerates, he makes a ton of money writing overinflated books about his life when he moves back to London, then dies a pathetic man. 

the end. 

First Leg of the Trip

I'm finally getting around to getting my images uploaded online. Thanks for your patience. I have very limited high speed internet access around here!

We left Indianapolis on 24th of April, heading to Baltimore for the wedding of two friends. We being Preston and I, who traveled together, and friends being Vivian and Noah. We stayed in the very cute and very cool Baltimore Hostel, which was right across the street from one of the oldest Cathedral/Basilica in the United States and the Enoch Pratt Free Library, which hosts the Edgar Allen Poe Collection. We had time to walk over to the library, and step inside, but we weren't able to see the Poe collection, sadly. There was a giant chess board, and some lovely architecture. Here is a photo:

The wedding was a great success, most of our pictures were that savvy, but, I'm sure better ones will arise for friends who were there. Noah and Vivian are great people, and I am so honored to know them both, and even more honored to have been Best Man in their wedding. We were so worn out from the trip out East and running around like maniacs from the wedding we called the night early (how lame!) and, P was getting a bit sick, so we headed to Williamsburg early to get some rest. 

Remember that song "The Freaks Come Out at Night?" well they come out for weddings too! And yes, that is me, fourth (including photographer) from the right! Shorty!

We cruised to Williamsburg, and we were lucky to get some nice glimpses of the Chesapeake, which brought back fond memories of the Northeast for Preston, and find memories and new memories to be made of the Southeast, for me. 

Preston overlooking the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland

We then arrived in Williamsburg, in the cottage I'm staying at for the week. We took a load off, and work for me started the next day. 

I am working with Buck Woodard of the American Indian Initiative Program at Colonial Williamsburg. I'll have more information about mission statements, etc, later, but our main goal is to incorporate the Native story into the public history at CW. That means, all the stuff that happens on the street (re-enactor/actors etc) and more. 

Buck invited Preston along with us, so after P and I got my parking pass and volunteer badge, we explored CW for a while before meeting with Buck. 

It had been sometime since I had visited Colonial Williamsburg, the last time I had visited was in 1992 or 1993, with my mother, and I was fascinated by it then, and I feel just as fascinated by it now. We entered through the Visitors Center, and explored the new plantation area they had created. This featured African American and White 3rd person interpreters discussing middle class plantation life in the 18th century. 

We were greeted by a African American man playing a slave, who shared with us the details of middle-class plantation life, the different buildings, the amount of slaves owned at the time and the classes of the period in regards to farm life in the mid-to-late 1700s. He was dressed in period clothes, and had two bags around his neck, small bags that looked almost African inspired, for the sake of period dress. I asked him about the bags, he said they are a part of his Native American heritage (remember, this is a 3rd person interpreter, not a person posing as if they are a slave, which would be 1st), so we discussed this and I asked him if they ever have any 1st person interpretation involving master and servant type aspects, he said no, and shook his head with strong fervor as if to say "no, and never."

We moved along and explored different areas of the plantation space. The two African American interpreters were just chilling out by the entrance, while all the white interpreters were working on the farm. Quite a strange situation. 

There was a garden behind the slave room, which could house up to 12 people (and in reality it could house about 2-3 people). Here is an image of the "African Inspired Garden" that was planted next to a traditional Anglo style garden in the back.

It is known that white middle and lower class farmers did work alongside their slaves. Here is a white interpreter manning the fields with his very cute oxen. He later told us to go to the Golden Corral to sample Southern food. Yes, Golden Corral. 

We then moved along to the main area of the old town, exploring some familiar buildings and so forth, eventually we met up with Buck, where we discussed the basics of what I'll be doing, the struggles to incorporate true stories of the Indian experience at CW, and such. 

Here are a few images from our day of wandering at CW...

The gardens at the famous Governors Mansion. We described the smell of boxwood's as a "Delightful dog urine smell," and Virginia has a lot of boxwood's. 

More gardens at the mansion

Very cool burial at the Bruton Parish Church

And more in the next post...above!