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.

Paintings can offer a unique glimpse into history - but what happens when the artwork’s identifying elements are unclear? Solving these mysteries often takes extensive detective work, as with a painting of a 17th-century family that has confounded curators for 90 years! Has one of our curators finally cracked the case?

Learn how recent research has revealed a connection between the port of Liverpool’s Bidston Hill signal station and Norfolk, Virginia in the 18th century.

Learn the amazing story of the British Royal Navy’s fortification and occupation of Diamond Rock, a small island off the coast of Martinique, during the Napoleonic War.

Extensive research rediscovers history of Dutch ownership for a decorative English octant in the Museum’s Peter Ifland Collection.

Discussion of France’s disastrous attempt to colonize French Guiana in 1763-1765.

A look back at the 1783 eruption of the Lakagígar fissure and Grímsvötn volcano in Iceland and its effect on several European cities in the winter of 1783-1784 and the world’s climate.