Wednesday, February 22, 2012

The Treason of Mary Louvestre, By Dr. My Haley

On Thursday evening, March 8, at 6pm, Dr. My Haley will be speaking at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of Hampton Roads. Dr. Haley will discuss her new historical fiction book, The Treason of Mary Louvestre. This book focuses on Mary Louvestre, a former slave-turned-spy from Norfolk, who copied the plans of CSS Virginia and made the dangerous trek to Washington, D.C., in early 1862. She then presented those plans to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles. Mary Louvestre's courage allowed the Union to see CSS Virginia's plans before she went into battle with USS Monitor.

Growing up under her grandmother’s watchful tutelage, Myran Elizabeth Lewis spent her early childhood in South Charleston, West Virginia, before her parents moved the family to Columbus, Ohio. While working on her doctorate in Communications and African American Studies at The Ohio State University, Dr. Haley was inspired by a speech delivered on campus by Alex Haley, writer and author of The Autobiography of Malcolm X. After achieving her goal of earning a Ph.D., she set out on her next goal: to work with the author. Impressed by Dr. Haley’s drive and talent, Alex Haley gave her a major assignment—to assist him in writing the remaining two-thirds of a book that was long overdue to his publisher. Within a matter of months together they completed the work and that book, Roots, catapulted Alex Haley to international fame. My and Alex married in 1977 and over the years she continued to collaborate on many of his projects, including the miniseries Roots: The Next Generation. After Alex’s death, Dr. Haley immersed herself in writing pieces based upon her younger years growing up with her grandmother and writing screenplays for feature film and television.

Advance copies of Dr. Haley's book will be available for purchase at a large savings off list price. She will also be available for book signings after her talk. This program is completely FREE of charge, but reservations are required by Friday, March 2. Food and beverages will be provided. Reserve your spot today by emailing laura.l.orr@navy.mil or calling HRNM's reservation line at 757-322-3109.

Direct all questions to Laura at 757-322-3108 or laura.l.orr@navy.mil. We look forward to seeing you at HRNM on Thursday, March 8!

Monday, February 13, 2012

Summer 2012 Internships Available!

Summer interns at HRNM are a very important part of our staff. Interns help with a variety of projects, including creating education programs, conducting fun programs in the museum, and running special events. This internship gives students the opportunity to see how a museum works and to use their creativity to design programs for teaching Naval history in a fun way. You can check out some of the programs last summer's interns worked on for more details. We're now accepting applications for the summer 2012 internships! Details for applying follow:


The Hampton Roads Naval Museum is seeking applicants for a part-time, unpaid summer internship. Intern(s) will work with museum educators on summer programs, daily public programs and museum interpretation, educational tours, special events, research, and writing. Interns should demonstrate an ability to present to visitors individually and as a group. Organizational skills are important. Knowledge of American and Military history preferred.

Length: approximately 12 weeks (depending on intern’s schedule)
Starting date of internship: Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Required commitment: 32 hours per week
Experience: History or Museum Studies undergraduates with at least incoming sophomore standing (or have recently graduated), or currently registered as graduate students (or have recently completed coursework). A minimum GPA of 3.0 is required. There will be no housing provided; intern is responsible for obtaining lodging and board.

2012 Deadline: Applications must be postmarked or emailed by March 15, 2012.

To Apply for the Internship Program:
Submit résumé or curriculum vitae and contact information for two professional references. Also include a brief essay of 500 words or less answering: Why do you want to work in a museum? All requested materials must be collected in a single envelope and mailed to the internship coordinator at the following address:

Matthew Eng
Hampton Roads Naval Museum
One Waterside Drive, Suite 248
Norfolk, VA 23510-1607

You can also email your internship application materials to matthew.t.eng@navy.mil. Contact Matt with any questions or inquiries at the above email address or 757-322-3168.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Norfolk Naval Shipyard by John Taylor Arms


This is a 1942 etching of Norfolk Naval Shipyard by nationally-known Gothic artist John Taylor Arms. It shows the battleship Alabama (BB-60) being made ready for war and the craneship/ex-battleship Kearsarge (at right) at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. This is one of several Arms prints that are currently in the museum's collection.

Known mostly for his detailed drawings and prints of churches and cityscape scenes in Europe and the United States, Arms frequently sketched and printed U.S. Naval warships. This is possibly due to the fact that he served as an officer in the U.S. Navy during World War I. After the war, he attended Princeton Law School before transferring to M.I.T. to train as an architect. In the 1930s, he decided to devote all of his time to his art and teaching. His 1934 work, Handbook of Print Making and Print Makers, is one of the central textbooks on the subject.

Arms' skill as an artist is lauded for his ability to extract every little detail from his subject. He used sewing needles and magnifying glasses to achieve the level of detail seen in his work. The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., has more than sixty of Arms' drawings in their collection. Some of them can be seen here.