Hidden Histories will give names, agency, and interpretation of the unidentified Black people depicted in our Collections.

Matthew Henson was the first African American to reach and stand on one of earth’s farthest reaches – the North Pole. Hear about his adventures in his own words from his 1912 autobiography, A Negro Explorer at the North Pole.

The Battle of Drewry’s Bluff was a dramatic Confederate victory. Richmond was under immediate threat of being captured or at least shelled and destroyed by the Union flotilla, but the cannoneers at Drewry’s Bluff prevented the capital from capture.

In this edition of Beyond the Frame, we'll explore Samuel Ward Stanton's narrative dual-ship portrait from 1909 featuring steamships Trojan and Rensselaer as the ships steam along the Hudson River under the light of a full moon. Explore the influences of the passionate artist's life and learn about the "Searchlight route" as we step into this scene in the summer of 1909.

After a gun demonstration at a swanky event turned deadly, the US Navy had no interest in revisiting the production of large shell guns. But when John A.B. Dahlgren, known as the “Father of Naval Ordinance,” developed a new style of naval shell gun known as the Dahlgren gun, these weapons would eventually be mounted onto Monitor and taken into battle against CSS Virginia.

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.