Great Lakes Naval Museum Changes It's Name And Focus

A history resource article by Mary Harrsch © 2016

The United States Navy has announced that The Great Lakes Naval Museum will be officially renamed the National Museum of the American Sailor.  The National Museum of the American Sailor currently features exhibits on life in Navy boot camp, naval uniforms and traditions, the history of Naval Station Great Lakes, the role of diversity in the Navy and the role of women in the Navy.  Over the next two years, however, the museum will expand its exhibits to introduce visitors to the overall history and role of the U.S. Navy and the experiences of American Sailors in the past and today.

Crew of the U.S.S. Unadilla, a screw gunboat.  In October 1861, Unadilla joined the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron under Rear Admiral Samuel F. Du Pont and participated in the capture of Fort Walker and Fort Beauregard in Port Royal Sound, South Carolina, on 7 November. During the bombardment, the gunboat was struck six times but suffered no casualties and sustained minor damage to her hull and rigging. Control of Port Royal Sound enabled the Union Navy to coordinate the blockade of the southern Atlantic seacoast more effectively for the duration of the war.  Image courtesy of the Naval History and Heritage Command.

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