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Special Exhibits and Research Besides permanent exhibits on the history of naval warfare and the naval heritage of the Narragansett Bay region, the museum routinely features special exhibits on naval and related topics of current interest to the College community and to the general public. |
| These presentations are generally of three to six months duration and are widely publicized in the media. The museum collection is available for research to the serious scholar and to the specialist. Prospective users should write to the Museum Director in advance, describing areas of interest and preferred times for visits.
Annual Special Exhibits Two other annual exhibits are: Matthew Perry and the Opening of Japan, 1853 - 1854, done in connection with the Newport Black Ships Festival in July, and an art show consisting of works by military and civilian employees of the Newport commands. The juried show, billed as "Navy-Newport Artists and Art," opens on the day of the Museum's Christmas Open House in December and runs through January, 1998. |
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Permanent Exhibits
| Rhode Island and The Navy This exhibit, located in the center gallery, first floor, consists chiefly of items associated with naval events that occurred in Narragansett Bay during the Revolution, and with naval leaders and ship from the Ocean State down through the years. Included are sculptures, pictorials, flags, and ship models. Among the last named is a large admiralty model of the SLOOP PROVIDENCE, principle ship of the Rhode Island State Navy of the Revolution, and one of the first ships of the Continental Navy in 1775. Also featured are materials relating to Newport naval greats Oliver and Matthew Perry, including a model of the NIAGARA, the former's flagship in the epochal Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812, and a bust and uniform items of the latter, who is best remembered for commanding the expedition of 1853 - 1854 that opened Japan to the world and modernity. |
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| The Naval Torpedo Station and the evolution of the torpedo in America is treated in an exhibit located in the west gallery of the first floor. The exhibit begins with the establishment of the Station on Goat Island, Newport, in 1869 and continues to the present with a look at the successor command, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center. Feature items are the Fish, the first propeller-driven torpedo in America, 1871, the Howell, the first torpedo used on Navy ships in the 1890's, and the Mark 14, the principal U.S. submarine torpedo of World War II.
The exhibit "From Newport Naval Training Station to Campus of the Navy" which is in the east gallery, first floor, tells the story of the beginnings of recruit training in Newport, of its circumstances on Coasters Harbor Island and adjacent areas during the two world wars and post-war years, and of the present-day successor command, the Naval Education and Training Center that consists of ten schools. Space is also devoted to a Naval Base command that evolved during World War II and incorporated large areas throughout the entire bay region and that continued through 1973. |
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The Naval War College The story of the founding in 1884 and the subsequent development of the Naval War College, the senior professional school in the Navy, on Coaster Harbor Island, Newport, RI, is exhibited in the center section of the second floor of the museum. The exhibit is largely pictorial and relates to leaders, facilities, distinguished graduates and war gaming, the school's unique study method. The exhibit includes a 12 minute video presentation on the history of the College, and a segment devoted to Alfred Thayer Mahan, its most distinguished educator and renowned historian of sea power. |
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| Naval War College Museum 686 Cushing Road Newport, RI 02841 TEL:(401) 841-4052/1317 FAX:(401) 841-7689 |
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Founders Hall (1820) A National Historic Landmark Click here to visit the Naval |

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