Two-Plus Centuries of Heritage Under One Roof

By DAVID F. WINKLER

When he was chief of naval operations (CNO), Adm. Arleigh Burke traveled extensively overseas and was impressed by the way that other navies had promoted and preserved their history and heritage, frequently within world-class museums. Taking a cue from abroad, Burke directed that a national U.S. Navy Museum be established at the Washington Navy Yard. This year marks the 40th anniversary of its opening, in the yard's Building 76.

The current museum is not the first to occupy property within the yard's brick walls. Thomas Tingey, the yard's first commandant, may lay a reasonable claim to the title of the Navy's first curator. Tingey acquired a gun for display that had been cast at Lyons in 1793 and was captured during the Quasi-War with France. Today, that gun and other captured pieces are displayed at various locations throughout the yard's grounds.

Unlike guns, other artifacts, such as captured flags and other memorabilia collected in the Navy's overseas explorations and combat operations, require indoor storage.

By 1865, the Navy's collection had increased significantly, thanks to the influx of captured Confederate artifacts. To house the still growing treasure trove, the Navy converted a former paint shop into what was officially called the Museum of Naval Relics and Weapons. One of the museum's star attractions was the sternpost of USS Kearsarge in which was embedded a shell she had received during her fight in 1864 with the Confederate raider CSS Alabama in the waters off Cherbourg, France.

The museum moved just prior to World War I into a building that also was home to the Navy Recruiting Office and the Seaman Gunners Quarters. After that building was demolished in 1927, most of the museum's collection was transferred to the U.S. Naval Academy, where it remained for eight years. A new display area opened in 1935 at the north end of a Navy Yard building that also housed the yard's Breech Mechanism Shop. After World War II, that museum became better known as the Naval Gun Factory Museum, because the Navy had changed the name of the yard itself to reflect its role at that time as a gun-production facility. Bolstered by artifacts collected during the WWII combat operations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans--against Germany and Japan, respectively--this small facility served as the immediate predecessor of the current museum.

Since the Navy Museum opened its doors in 1963, three years after Burke had completed his historic third two-year term as CNO, its collection of exhibits and memorabilia has expanded to include objects such as the submersible Trieste and a Fighting Top from USS Constitution as well as numerous permanent and temporary exhibits--e.g., Commodore Perry and the Opening of Japan; Polar Explorations; Dive! Dive!: U.S. Navy Submarines; and In Harm's Way: The Navy in World War II--that collectively attract hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

Because the museum's mission is to chronicle the entire history of the U.S. Navy, the service decided to expand the exhibit area into an adjacent building to highlight the Navy's role in winning the Cold War. The Smithsonian's Submarine Force Centennial exhibit Fast Attacks and Boomers and a current exhibit--The Navy in the Forgotten War: Korea, 1950-53--are the first in what will be a continuing series of dynamic exhibits in the new addition to the museum, where a "History as it Happens" gallery will give visitors a feel for contemporary naval operations.

"By opening these new Cold War galleries," said Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. William J. Fallon, "the Navy will pay homage to the millions of Sailors who served during these critical years and tell an important story about how the Navy met the challenges of Korea, Vietnam, and a rising Soviet Navy."
"We are pleased to support the Navy Museum in its effort to honor the contributions of those who served in the Cold War and to salute those serving today," added former Secretary of the Navy William L. Ball III, who is leading the Naval Historical Foundation program to raise funds to support the exhibit expansion.
After 40 years of service, The Navy Museum continues to embody and expand upon Burke's vision of sharing the Navy's history and traditions with the American people, and with the other navies and nations of the world. *

Dr. David F. Winkler is a historian with the Naval Historical Foundation. Assistance for this article was provided by Sheila Brennan and Karin Hill of the Navy Museum Public Programs Department. To visit the museum, please call ahead: (202) 433-6897.