Online Learning
LIGHTSHIP LV-101
LV-101’s Most Famous Crewman
Seaman Ervin Maske and the Wreck of the Pendleton
By Ross Patterson II, Assistant Curator, Portsmouth Museums
Published March 23, 2020
Meet the Crew
Get a glimpse into the life of the LIghtship Crew By Diane Cripps, Curator of History, Portsmouth Museums.
Published March 1, 2020
Virtual Tour
“Walk” through history by taking an interactive virtual tour of the Lightship PORTSMOUTH.
Published September 25, 2020
MUSEUM RESOURCES AND EXHIBITS
Uniforms of the United States Army Infantryman
From the Civil War to the Gulf
Take a visual journey through time to see how the average American Soldier was outfitted from the Civil War through the Gulf, with special glimpses at artifacts in our Collection not on public display.
Published March 23, 2021
Ironclads! A Program for Students and Adults
Students learn about ironclad ships from the Battle of Hampton Roads.
Historical Resource Lists
Get helpful resource guides to books and websites related to various topics and time periods.
Published July 23, 2020
Black History Book List
In honor of Black History month, Portsmouth Public Library created a book list. From famous men and women, STEM leaders, trail blazers and activists, this comprehensive list covers some of the best fiction and non-fictional stories.
March is Women’s History Month
We celebrate women’s history to honor the struggles and achievements of those that came before us, and to give examples to our future changemakers. It is important to highlight where we came from to make a better future.
Published 2020
Talking About Race
National Museum of African American History & Culture provides tools and guidance to inspire conversation.
NAVAL HISTORY
First of Many:
The Aircraft Carrier USS Langley
By Ross Patterson II, Assistant Curator, Portsmouth Museums
Published June 4, 2020
Raise the Squalus
The Loss, Rescue, and Resurrection of a Submarine
By Ross Patterson II, Assistant Curator, Portsmouth Museums
Published April 9, 2020
A Balloon Oddity
The Story of the USS Wright in 1922
By Ross Patterson II, Assistant Curator, Portsmouth Museums
Published April 3, 2020
Divine Wind and Tortured Metal
The Kamikaze Attack on USS Sangamon
By Ross Patterson II, Assistant Curator, Portsmouth Museums
Published March 26, 2020
Speed Before Safety
The Tragedy of the USS Saturn
By Ross Patterson II, Assistant Curator, Portsmouth Museums
Published March 27, 2020
Wayward Souls: United States Naval Vessels under the Rising Sun
Learn about the fates of American ships captured by the Japanese during the early days of the Second World War.
Published August 19, 2020
Portsmouth’s German Village
Published July 25, 2021
Interned German sailors constructed a “village” complete with a church, windmill, houses, shops, fences, and gardens on a stretch of riverfront property at the Navy Yard adjacent to their hulking ships.
First in the Fight: DD-342 USS Hulbert
By Ross Patterson II
Published August 18, 2021
From the late World War I era through the 1930s, the most common vessels in the Navy’s inventory were Wickes and Clemson class ‘four stacker’ destroyers.
PORTSMOUTH CITY HISTORY
The Hiker Monument
The story of the Hiker statue on Crawford Parkway and North Street.
By Diane Cripps, Curator of History, Portsmouth Museums
Published April 2020
“A Native of this Place”
The Richard Dale Monument, Portsmouth, Virginia
By Diane Cripps, Curator of History, Portsmouth Museums
Published April 2020
Remarkable Portsmouth
Learn about Portsmouth’s waterfront buildings and the country’s oldest naval hospital.
Published July 2020
Remembering Coleman’s Winter Wonderland
Take a walk down memory lane with stories about the founder and all that went into creating the displays.
Published December 2020
Charles “Mule” Peete and Portsmouth’s Charles Peete Little League
By all accounts, Franklin-born, Portsmouth-raised Charles Peete had everything it took to be a standout major-league ballplayer.
Published December 2020
First Baseman Buck Leonard
The “Classiest First Baseman in Organized Baseball” passed through Portsmouth twice on his way to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Published January 2021
Portsmouth’s World War II Fallen
Dead Man’s Ridge:
The Last Day for a Portsmouth Soldier
Meet Ivan Verdenburg, a graduate of Cradock High School’s Class of 1943, and a Glider Infantryman with the 17th Airborne.
Published September 1, 2021
Tragedy in the Air:
The Last Flight of a Portsmouth Airman
William Carl Sawyer was a Cradock High School Class of 1939 graduate and a B-24 Liberator gunner with the 389th Bomb Group.
Published September 1, 2021
Lost at Sea:
The Last Cruise of a Portsmouth Sailor
Vernie Musgrove attended Cradock High School in 1940 before dropping out to work at the Navy Yard, eventually enlisting as a shipfitter aboard LST-695.
Published September 1, 2021