continued… The museum was in a single room. It focused primarily on the history of the slave trade and the USS Constellation’s role in trying to stop the illicit trade after slavery was outlawed. There was also an assortment of artifacts from various years that the USS Constellation was in service and a video playing on a loop. Since it was air conditioned, we were happy to linger in the museum and enjoy the cool air.

In our own personal travels this summer, we’d learned about the inception and progression of slavery in Jamestown. When we visited Fort Monroe, we learned a little bit about the abolition of slavery in 1865. In Yorktown, we’d learned that during the Revolutionary War, more and more colonists opposed slavery and by 1784, five states had already banned slavery. When the fledgling new American government was drafting the constitution in 1787, they set a 20-year moratorium on federally banning slavery, hoping that in 20-years they’d come up with viable political and economic alternatives for the states that relied on slavery.

continued… Next was the 5″/38 Caliber upper handling room. The 5″/38 gun was mounted on deck directly above this room. Projectiles (top half of the ammunition) and powder cartridges (bottom half of the ammunition) were stored separately. When needed, they were put together and passed to the gunmen above.