SHIP NOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM The Naval War College Museum is sponsoring three important exhibits this summer. The first, "Fighting Ships of the Second World War" is an exhibit of navy combat art works and ship models, including model s of every major class of combat vessel from the period 1941-1945, and will be on view through the summer. From 15 July to 15 August, in conjuoction with the Black Ships Festival held each July to commemorate the opening of Japan by native son Commodore Matthew C. Perry, the Museum will show "The Perry Expedition of 185354 through Japanese Eyes: An Exhibit of Black Ships Scrolls." On view will be thirteen hand-colored panoramic scrolls done in Japan in 1854, items relating to the Samurai culture and model s of Japanese junks from the Museum 's collection. From 20 August through Navy Day , 13 October, the work of marine artist Frederick Freeman will be gathered in an exhibit entitled "War at Sea: An Historical Perspective in Drawings and Paintings by Fred Freeman." Mr. Freeman 's work hangs in the Smithsonian, the US Naval Academy Mu seum and The Mariners ' Museum, among other places, and Mr. Freeman has been the subject of marine art features in SEA HISTORY 27 and 36. (Naval War College Museum , Coasters Harbor Island , Newport, RI 02840; 40 I 841-4051) "Great Norwegian Explorers" is the title of an exhibit on view at the South Street Seaport Museum's Norway Galleries through 7 September. Produced by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the exhibit chronicles the role of intrepid Norwegian voyagers in broadening our global horizons and deepening our understanding of the world. The exh ibit has three main sections. The Vikings (800-1050) offers a reassessment of Viking achievements as they broke out into the wider world in search of conquest, trade and, finally, new homes . Polar Exploration (1880-1930) looks at the work of Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen, in particular. In 1893 , Nansen proved his theory of an eastward flowing polar current in the specially built polar research vessel Fram (Brouwer, pl60). Amundsen later sailed the Fram to _the Antarctic when he led the first expedition to reach the South Pole , in 1911 . Amundsen had earlier sailed the Gj¢a (Brouwer, pl62) in the first successful transit of the Northwest Passage from east to west. The third section of the exhibit examines the accomplishments of Thor Heyerdahl, the Norwegian explorer who has dedicated 36
hi s life' s work to the rediscovery of protohistoric shipbuilding and navigation techniques in the Indian , Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. (Norway Galleries, South Street Seaport Museum , 171 John Street, New York, NY 10038; 212 6699400) The National Maritime Hall of Fame inducted its sixth class of seafarers and ships this spring. The seafarers are Capt. William Matson (1849-1917), founder of the great Pacific shipping line which bears hi s name today; Ida Lewis ( 1842191 I) , lighthouse keeper of Newport, RI , credited with having made eighteen lifesaving mi ssions; Henry Shreve (1785-1851) who, as Superintendent of Western River Improvements from 1827 to J 841, contributed greatly to the development of our inland waterways ; and, Capt. Levi Johnson (1792-1872) who built a variety of Great Lakes vessels, both sail and steam , and lighthouses . The ships are the President Warfield built in 1928 as an overnight boat for the Chesapeake but which gained fame as the Exodus in 1947 when two British destroyers barred her from entering Israel with 4 ,554 Jewish refugees; the Stephen Hopkins (1942), the Liberty ship which sank the German arrned raider Stier-the most heavily armed German surface unit sunk by any American vessel during World War II (see, SH35, " How an Ugly Duckling Fought and Sank Her Assailant"); the Sprague (1902), one of the largest steam towboats ever built and which traveled more than a million river miles in her forty-six year career; and the Seeandbee (1913), a most e legant Great Lakes steamship which could carry as many as 1,500 passengers on the Cleveland to Buffalo ("see" and "bee") run , and which was rebuilt as the training aircraft carrier, USS Wolverine, during World War II. (American Merchant Marine Museum, US Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, NY 10024-1699; 5 16 482-8200) This year's annual meeting of the National Trust for Historic Preservation (1785 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington , DC 20036; 202 673-4000) scheduled for 7-9 October, will feature an enlarged maritime segment. As the community begins to look ahead to the Columbus quincentenary , Captain Harry Allendorfer will lead a discussion on events under consideration for that celebration of the Western Hemisphere. The NMHS will also present its plans for a five-year maritime initiative to galvanize the forces of the private sector, museums
and the government to develop a lasting endowment for the nation's maritime heritage . The real showstopper will be a gathering of at least five vessels which are members of the ad hoc Council of Colonization Period Ships under the direction of Nick Benton. Formed last year, the Council includes experts, technicians and enthusiasts interested in vessels whose design dates from between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries and who seek to "foster .a greater understanding of Colonial era vessels and their influence on humanity and history. " To avoid conflict with the National Trust, the council's meetings will convene on 6 and 7 October, but the vessels will be open to Trust conferees throughout their stay in Washington. Membership in the council is invited. (CCPS, 1134 Wapping Rd., Middletown , RI 02840; 401 846-0102) The Treasure Island Museum in San Francisco is the only museum in the country devoted to the history of all three sea services-the Marines, Navy and Coast Guard. Opening at the museum on 4 August is "Sovereigns of the Sea," an exhibit chronicling the evolution of the battleship in the Pacific from the Oregon of Spanish-American War fame, to the Missouri , which will be homeported at Treasure Island as of late 1989. Sections of the exhibit explain the ships' arms and armament, trace the major technological changes of the last century, examine the ships' roles in peace and war and their impact on peoples' perceptions "back home " and examine the lives of the sailors on and off duty. Among the actual displays are a diorama titled " Battleships and Their Challengers" which illustrates the development of the modern battleship from antecedents in the American Civil War to the Atomic Age. Also in the diorama are models of different vessels which have challenged the battleship 's supremacy at sea. " Sovereigns of the Sea" will be on display for at least a year. (Treasure Island Museum , Building No. I , Treasure Island , San Francisco , CA 94130-5000; 415 765-6182) On 26 March, community leaders in Honolulu donned hard hats and protective glasses as they took up pneumatic drills to bore holes in Pier 7 in Honolulu Harbor as part of ground breaking ceremonies for the Kalakaua Boat House, which will house the shoreside museum of the Hawaii Maritime Center. Pier 7 used to be the Alkea Wharf, once Honolulu's international steamship dock SEJA HISTORY , SUMMER 1987