Virginia War Museum
Virginia War Museum | |
---|---|
Established | 1923 |
Location |
9285 Warwick Boulevard Newport News, Virginia United States |
Type | Military History |
Website | Virginia War Museum |
Coordinates: 37°1′10.9″N 76°27′6″W / 37.019694°N 76.45167°W The Virginia War Museum is located in Huntington Park on Warwick Blvd., Newport News, Virginia. The museum contains exhibits on American military history from 1775 to the present.[1]
History
The Virginia War Museum was founded in 1923 by the Braxton-Perkins Post #25 of the American Legion as the American Legion Memorial Museum of Virginia.[1] The City of Newport News assumed overall administration of the museum in the 1950s and it was known as the War Memorial Museum of Virginia. In 1987, the Virginia War Museum Foundation was established by the Newport News City Council and the museum adopted its current name.
Collections
The Museum's collection includes, weapons, vehicles, tanks, cannons, artifacts, uniforms and posters from various periods of American history. Highlights of the Museum's collection include a section of the Berlin Wall and the outer wall from Dachau Concentration Camp. The museum also contains a research library with archives. The museum boasts a handwritten order by General George Washington, issued during the campaign following the Battle of Brooklyn and the subsequent retreat across Westchester County. Uniforms or other items worn by a number of prominent American generals, including Mark Clark, James Doolittle, and Colin Powell, are on display.