Nov. 16, 2021

A Unique Artifact Goes Virtual: Digitizing NR-1’s Control Room

It’s a challenge museums will always face: fulfilling our missions means collecting more artifacts than we have room to display. The advent of online platforms like social media, websites, and photo-sharing sites has substantially increased virtual access to artifact collections, to the delight of curators and educators. But there’s a catch —

Aug. 26, 2021

Unique bedsheet in Navy’s collection tells a story of hope

In August of 2020, Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) was offered a rather unique and spectacular artifact -- a bedsheet. A common sheet is not very astounding, but the story behind this one explains why this bedsheet is different.

June 11, 2021

Perry's Revenge — A Continued Look at the Wreck of an Early 19th-Century Naval Schooner off the Coast of Rhode Island

Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) archaeologists collaborated with Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) engineers during the second half of May 2021 to continue documenting the remains of Oliver Hazard Perry's schooner Revenge, which wrecked off of Watch Hill, Rhode Island in 1811. The team, along with local site discoverers, Charles Buffum

Sept. 8, 2020

From Cafeteria to Conservation Lab: NHHC's Conservation Branch at Five Years

190814-N-HP188-0049 RICHMOND, Va. (August 14, 2019) Karl Knauer, a conservator at the Collection Management Facility, Naval History and Heritage Command, applies a customized sealant as part of the conservation process for a Vietnamese watercraft cal...

June 4, 2020

The Importance of Getting Navy Artifacts To the Public

You may have noticed that USS Reno (CL 96), named in honor of the city in Nevada, has garnered national attention this week regarding a World War II ensign and pennant that is on display at City Hall in Reno, Nev. The 48-star ensign, along with a commissioning pennant and the ship's bell have been on loan to the City of Reno from the Naval History

Oct. 25, 2018

Before you Donate to our Archives, Here's What You Need to Know

"I've got something you'll really be interested in!" "I've got photographs you've never seen before."As the Accessioning Archivist and Lead Photo Archivist, we are the point people for accepting textual and photographic donations into the Navy Archives. We hear the above statements quite frequently either through email messages, phone calls, or

Oct. 16, 2018

Journey's End - Finding Taylor's Flag

Throughout my long career at the Naval History and Heritage Command (and its predecessor organization, Naval Historical Center) I have had many memorable experiences, both good and bad. None resonates more with me than the saga of the historic flag from USS Taylor (DD 468). Outwardly, the flag is little different from the many other United States

Oct. 15, 2018

Finding Treasure in the Archives

Editor's note: The Navy Archives collects, preserves, protects, and makes available official records and donated personal collections that best embody the U.S. Navy's rich history and heritage for present and future generations. Collections often include a variety of materials, including letters, diaries, notebooks, speeches, scrapbooks,

May 31, 2018

The Enterprise Stern Plate: From Scrapyard to Small Town America

On May 26, 2018, I had the opportunity to see and touch what many consider to be the "Holy Grail" of artifacts associated with U.S. naval history; the stern plate of the WWII aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV 6) which is in the care of the Township of River Vale, New Jersey. The occasion was a Memorial Day weekend commemoration in River Vale of

April 11, 2018

Conservators in Action: Uncovering Secrets of the Suspected Revenge Cannon - Part II

Many have been waiting for an update from our last blog post about the ongoing efforts to conserve a cannon recovered from the suspected wreck site of the 14-gun U.S. naval schooner Revenge. Well, the wait is over! Archaeological conservators at the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) Underwater Archaeology (UA) Branch have been carefully

April 10, 2017

Navy Artifact Collection Begins Settling In at Collection Management Facility

What career fields in the U.S. Navy require licenses and expertise to operate fork lifts, patience - and lots of it - to vacuum spots no larger than an artist's brush head, the ability to very neatly wrap the oddest shaped objects, and reliance upon diverse, advanced degrees? Answer: museum specialists and technicians at the U.S. Navy's Collection

Feb. 2, 2017

NHHC Curators Preserve Enterprise Story

Fifty-five years after she first entered naval service, USS Enterprise (CVN 65) will be officially decommissioned tomorrow. The Navy's first nuclear powered aircraft carrier has played a pivotal role in defending freedom around the world for more than a half century; from the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 through the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Nov. 18, 2016

NHHC Reviews U.S. Navy Wrecks in South Pacific Waters and Prepares to Bring New Life to Disturbed Artifacts

The following post is about the conservation of artifacts that were removed, without authorization from the U.S. Navy, from the wreck of USS Salute. In partnership with the government of Brunei, U.S. Navy and Royal Brunei Navy divers this week completed a dive on the ship's wreck in which they honored the service of those lost when the ship sank,

Aug. 4, 2016

Savage Coating: NHHC Conservators Team With USNA to Solve a History Mystery

The remains of Royal Savage, approximately 50 timbers and 1300 artifacts, were excavated in the 1930s and brought to the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) Underwater Archaeology (UA) Branch in July 2015. Most of the Royal Savage artifacts were removed from Lake Champlain more than 80 years ago and received only minimal treatment which

June 17, 2016

Savage Buttons Reveal Secrets of Revolutionary War Shipwreck

When the Naval History and Heritage Command's Underwater Archaeology and Conservation Laboratory received over 1,000 artifacts from the Revolutionary War shipwreck assemblage of Royal Savage last summer, conservators recognized that a number of these artifacts were personal effects of the sailors and officers who sailed aboard the

July 17, 2015

Old Ship, New Tale: The Story of Conserving Royal Savage

Recently, the remains of an old, and somewhat forgotten, revolutionary war ship, the Royal Savage made their way from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to Washington, D.C. It is a unique experience for an underwater archeologist to partake in the research and preservation of a Revolutionary War - era ship, especially one that directly contributed to our

Feb. 15, 2015

Navy and America Remember the Maine through Artifacts

It was a call to arms not unlike "Remember the Alamo" 62 years earlier. While that Texas bravado has endured the decades, memory may falter on a similar outcry: "Remember the Maine!" Or at least why it should be remembered at all. Unlike the Alamo, in Texas during its fight for independence in 1836, the Maine in this instance was not the state, but

Jan. 3, 2014

Return of USS HOUSTON Artifacts to NHHC

Last week, the Naval History & Heritage Command (NHHC) Underwater Archaeology Branch (UAB) received a trumpet and ceramic cup and saucer from World War II cruiser USS HOUSTON. The artifacts were returned to the US Naval Attache in Canberra, Australia after their unsanctioned removal from the wreck site and made a journey of more than 10,000 miles

March 25, 2013

The Conservation of Enfield Rifle Barrels from USS Tulip

The Naval History and Heritage Command's (NHHC) Underwater Archaeology Branch (UAB) manages the Archaeology & Conservation Laboratory which is primarily tasked with the documentation, treatment, preservation, and curation of artifacts from US Navy sunken military craft. Artifact conservation is an integral part of any archaeological investigation