News Flash

The Hampton History Museum will be free to active duty, retired military, veterans, NASA employees and their families with ID in observance of the Veterans Day holiday, Monday, November 12.

Visitors can explore over 400 years of the city’s past in the Hampton History Galleries, and view displays chronicling Hampton’s experiences during the American Revolution, War of 1812, Civil War, WW I & WWII and other conflicts, along with the special exhibits “When the Computer Wore a Skirt: NASA’s Human Computers” that tells the story behind the hit film and best-selling book Hidden Figures, along with “NASA: Hampton Takes Flight” which chronicles a century of contributions to aeronautics and space exploration made at the NASA Langley Research Center and its integral role in the Hampton community.

Also on display on the museum’s second floor is “Civil War Journey: The Maps and Sketches of Private Robert Sneden,” a touring exhibition organized by the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Eyewitness accounts and images from the Civil War memoir of Union soldier, cartographer, and Confederate prisoner of war Robert Knox Sneden are showcased in an exhibition of 45 watercolor maps and drawings with views of battles, battlefields and military life that provide a unique and mesmerizing perspective on the Civil War. Local imagery includes a rendering of Hampton after its 1861 destruction by fire, a depiction of Fortress Monroe, as well as maps and views of the 1862 Peninsula Campaign, along with other extraordinary scenes.

The Hampton History Museum is located at 120 Old Hampton Lane in Downtown Hampton. There is plenty of free parking in the garage across the street from the museum. For more information, dial 757/727-1102.

Image: Soldiers guarding Fort Wool two weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor.