Newsletter 2018

THE
J U L Y 2 0 1 8 V O L U M E 1 I S S U E I
NEUS-ANCE
What's inside?
Manager's Report
New Collections & Temporary Exhibit
New Temporary Exhibit
Governor Caswell Memorial Site
Educational Programs
History Hogs
Best Gift Shop Finds
Part timers & Volunteers
CSS Neuse Gunboat Association
Event Calendar
Part-Timers & Volunteers
Interns
Events
Staff
Follow us on social
media!

MANAGER'S REPORT
By Matthew Young
Since December of 2017, the CSS Neuse has opened a new exhibit on the First
Battle of Kinston in our upstairs mezzanine area. While the exhibit is temporary
in nature, the information and exhibits will become part of the long term plan to
develop that area into an exhibit on the role of both the Union and Confederate
armies in Eastern NC from 1861 to 1865. We also opened a new exhibit in our
temporary gallery on Civil War Photography.
In addition, we held several programs including a series of talks on the roles of
women and African-Americans in the Civil War, a book talk on the Battle of
Roanoke Island, a cleanup day at the Caswell Memorial and subsequent
reopening of that site, and had our free day for BBQ Festival on the Neuse for
which we had a day long program on medicine and disease in the Civil War.
We also did an “Artifact Bracket” in conjunction with March Madness where we
had the public vote for their favorite CSS Neuse artifacts in a playoff style
bracket.
The winner was the ship’s stove! We plan to hold this social media event again
next year where we will bring back the Final Four and post some new objects
to vote on.
For the last half of the year, we hope to continue to fundraise for our phase III
exhibits and look forward to hosting more fun programs, some of which we
haven’t done before. We will have a new archeology exhibit in our temporary
case, our photography program will occur in July, our Heirloom, Antiques, and
Militaria ID program in September, Shipbuilding Saturday in October, along
with an espionage themed dinner theater in October, a Civil War encampment
at Caswell in November, and a museum theater program in December entitled
“A Walk through Christmas Past.”
So far, 2018 has been filled with new opportunities and challenges, and we look
forward to seeing what the rest of the year will bring.

NEW COLLECTIONS
& TEMPORARY
EXHIBIT
BY DAVID STONE
Temporary Exhibit
We have a temporary display at our museum that focuses – pun intended – on
photography during the Civil War. Photography was a relatively recent development, with
earlier processes being time consuming to expose and develop and using expensive or
delicate materials for the finished image such as silvered copper plate or glass. Rapid
development in techniques and processes reduced the time to make an image, and more
importantly, lowered the price to make photography affordable for almost anyone. Our
display features a variety of types of photographs from our collection, as well as an
example of the type of early camera that could produce everything from glass plate
negatives to tintypes.
Carol Toppin donation
Last month we received a gracious donation from Mrs Carrol Toppin of a variety of Civil
War artifacts and books. The books, including a set of North Carolina Troops, 1861-1865,
will be a valuable addition to our research library. There are a variety of battlefield relics
that were collected in eastern North Carolina, including the Kinston area and Bentonville.
Donny Taylor, site manager from Bentonville, was with the collector when he recovered
many of these artifacts and remembers the locations where many of them were found.
Among the wide variety of artifacts are Confederate made belt buckles, a battle damaged
canteen, and a sardine tin with an intact, finely stamped brass label. There are also some
items that are not dug relics, including a collection of cavalry sabers and officer swords, a
Whitney revolver, an excellent eighteenth century Brown Bess bayonet, glass inkwells, and
a couple of leather cartridge boxes. It is a nice collection of items representative of the
Civil War in Eastern North Carolina.

NEW COLLECTIONS
& TEMPORARY
EXHIBIT
BY SAMANTHA BERNARD
Upcoming Temporary Exhibit
This fall the CSS Neuse Interpretive Center will be displaying a temporary exhibit on
maritime archaeology. This exhibit will help visitors explore and better understand the
steps involved in the archaeological process as well as displaying some conserved Civil
War artifacts which include two items from the vessel itself and a Confederate bayonet.
Visitors will have a crash course in understanding the difference between a salvage
operation and an archaeological one. These steps range from research prior to an
excavation to the work that follows a dig. Not only will visitors learn about the individual
process involved in archaeology, but they will gain a better understanding of the state and
federal laws surrounding the discovery of artifacts.

GOVERNOR CASWELL SITE
BY MORRIS BASS
After being closed for almost two years, The Gov. Richard Caswell Memorial is now
back open on Friday’s and Saturday’s. It took a lot of effort to get the grounds cleaned
up and the Memorial ready to re-open on April 7th. On March 31st, the Memorial
hosted a “Park Day”, which was part of a Nationwide park cleanup day. Volunteers
came out to the memorial and helped cut the azalea, that line the drive back, helped
picked up limbs and helped get the parking lot cleaned for use. We could not have meet
our opening date without those volunteers.
On April 7th, the Memorial held a re-opening event. Re-enactors, State Interpreters
and volunteers came out to hold a living history event. The events were moved inside
because of rain, but they still came out in celebration of, not only the re-opening, but
also of a check being presented to the Memorial by Children of the American
Revolution past President, Mary Lee Howell. Ms. Howell raise the money as her project
as President, go toward the continued repairs of signage, exhibits and the painting of
the Memorial. The money has already help us buy the paint to repaint the Offices
inside, and to start the work on repairing some of the exhibit panels around the
Memorial. A big old “Thank You’, goes out to all who made this event such a success.
In the coming months, the Memorial, will be planning upcoming events and hopefully
finishing up repairs to exhibit panels and will be working with the Daughters of the
American Revolution, in repairing the fence around the Caswell Cemetery.

EDUCATIONAL
PROGRAMS
BY RACHEL KENNEDY
Over the past six months, we have focused on diversifying our programming to reach new
audiences. In February, in support of Black History Month, we offered a free lecture series
on Women and African-Americans in the Civil War. Shannon Walker, from Brunswick
Town/Fort Anderson, Chris Meekins from the Archives in Raleigh, and Reginald
Hildebrand, a former professor at UNC Chapel Hill, were our guest speakers for the day
and we had a great day full of education and conversation.
In March, we hosted our anniversary program with a lunch and learn program on
Victorian mourning practices paired with a bus tour of the First Battle of Kinston. This
program was a huge success and we owe a lot of that to our guest speaker Kristian Phillips
from the Maritime Museum at Southport and Dr. Lonnie Blizzard, a board member for the
CSS Neuse Gunboat Association.
In May, we hosted our first free day of the year with displays and a presentation on Civil
War medicine and diseases. We had over 500 visitors stop by the museum to take pictures
and learn more from staff about the roles women played in the medical field during the
Civil War, the most common diseases in camp, and the triage process after being wounded
in the field.
Homeschool Day Program
I have created a homeschool day program that we are offering once a quarter. So far, this
program is a success and we are looking forward to future homeschool programs. In
March, with the help of Jan Tyler from the Tar Heel Civilians, Amanda Brantley from
Bentonville Battlefield, and staff members from the CSS Neuse, we offered a program on
textiles, which covered carding, spinning, weaving, dyeing, sewing, and clothing
production.
In May, we offered a program on sailor life and ironclads, which allowed families to learn
about shipbuilding, ropemaking, history of ironclads, sailor life, rations, naval medical
ships, and children participated in a STEM activity to learn the science behind why boats
float. They had the opportunity to use household items to see if they could build a boat that
will float a penny in the water.

EDUCATIONAL
PROGRAMS
BY RACHEL KENNEDY

SCOUTS AND HISTORY HOGS
BY RACHEL KENNEDY
Scout Night at the Museum
Recently, I have put together a Scout program which allows Scout groups to spend the
night at the museum and earn an activity patch. Our Scout program is open to all Scouts
and we partner with the CSS Neuse II to make this program a success, by providing
dinner and a tour of the life size model of the CSS Neuse. After dinner, we have a variety of
activities to choose from including: soldier life, sailor life, Civil War medicine, 19th
century toys, games, and amusements, shipbuilding, espionage, textiles, and
archaeology.
I am working with interns this summer to put together resources to assist in meeting
requirements for the following merit badges:
• Textiles
• Archaeology
• American Culture
• Entrepreneurship
History Hogs
In January, the CSS Neuse partnered with Bentonville Battlefield and Historic Bath to
create a Tar Heel Junior Historian Chapter in Kinston. Our group is called the History
Hogs and over the past several months, our group has learned about Civil War medicine,
pirates and archelogy, open hearth cooking, and soldier life. A few of the group members
attended the Annual Convention at the North Carolina History Museum in April.
We hosted our first fundraiser in June at Historic Bath to help raise funds for our first
camping trip to Boone, North Carolina. The History Hogs and their families will have the
opportunity to learn about Western North Carolina history. We have plans to begin
working on our History in Action project in August, which will entail the History Hogs
adopting the heirloom garden at Historic Bath. The Hogs will be traveling to various sites
doing research on 18th century heirloom gardens, planting for the winter season, and
raising funds to redo the informational panels in the garden as well. We have a busy year
planned and our kids are excited to be learning about history and making an impact in
sites.

HISTORY HOGS AND SCOUTS
BY RACHEL KENNEDY

A MEMBER OF THE
BECOME
CSS NEUSE
GUNBOAT ASSOCIATION
Over the past six months, the support group has written two
grants to receive funding for a children’s center at the CSS
Neuse Civil War Interpretive Center. The support group has
provided funding for the African-Americans and Women in the
Civil War program, Scouting events, supplies for school group
interactives, and assistance to the History Hogs.
Our group is currently working on developing a new
membership program and planning fundraising events for the
duration of the year. We have used funds to assist in marketing
with billboards and we are currently compiling content for a
new Gunboat Association website. We recently received grant
funding to create a new children's area in the museum and
funds for marketing.
We are excited about the changes the site is making and we are
happy to be able to contribute to educating the people of Lenoir
county about the CSS Neuse.
Register online at https://goo.gl/CkJrsm

JULY 2018
Events Calendar
July 11- Storytime and Crafts
July 14- Photography in the Civil War
SEPTEMBER 2018
September 15- Heirlooms, Antiques, and Militaria;
OCTOBER 2018
October 20- Shipbuilding Saturday
October 26- Espionage Dinner Theater
NOVEMBER 2018
November 17- Naval Civil War Living History at the Governor
Caswell Memorial
DECEMBER 2018
December 7 and 8- Evening Museum Theater- A Walk Through
Christmas Past
December 8- Victorian Christmas Open House
December 31- Museum New Year's Eve Party

Meet Our
Amazing
Part-Timers
& Volunteers!
"It's fun and I love history!"
-Robert Long
JOIN US!
Follow this link for
our Volunteer Application Form:
https://goo.gl/zd6bHz

Neuse. I have been volunteering here since December
history, the coworkers who I enjoy talking history stuff
Our 2018 Interns
Caleb Tart
Hi I’m Caleb and I am an intern here at the CSS
2017.
I enjoy working here due to the rather niche place
ships like the CSS Neuse occupy in American military
or pop culture stuff with, and I think working at the site
has given me a lot of good working experience. That
about does it for me.

Our 2018 Interns
Samantha J.
Bernard
The CSS Neuse has a fascinating history from its birth to its placement at the
interpretive center here in Kinston. The story is near and dear to the local community and
offers knowledge of North Carolina history that is easily accessible to individuals of all
ages housed within a beautiful facility in downtown Kinston. As the Educational
Programming and Visitor Services Intern at the CSS Neuse Interpretive Center it is my
goal to complete several projects that will better educate the public and local community.
One project is to create an underwater archaeology and conservation exhibit about the
CSS Neuse. In order to complete this goal, I will be creating a project that local scouts can
assist me in completing, this will not only provide the museum with a display but will also
provide the new generation with a hands-on opportunity to understand the various
aspects history and archaeology can create together.
This internship drew me in because of my interests in nautical history and
archaeology as well as my passion for education and public outreach. I am currently a
graduate student at ECU in the Program for Maritime Studies through the history
department. Prior to my enrollment in this program I was a public-school teacher in west
Texas. As a resident of Texas, I began my journey into education, history, and
archaeology while attending both undergraduate and graduate school at the University of
Texas Pan-American, now University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. While attending
graduate school in Texas I became interested in Civil War history and several years later I
am able to follow my passions and mix my love of archaeology, history, and education
into what I hope to be an engaging program for people of all ages.

Weddings
LOOKING FOR A
UNIQUE HISTORICAL
LOCATION FOR
YOUR EVENT?
Meetings
For Event booking information
contact Rachel Kennedy
252-526-9600 ext. 222
rachel.kennedy@ncdcr.gov

Our Staff
Matthew Young: Site Manager
Morris Bass: Operations Manager
Rachel Kennedy: Programs Coordinator
David Stone: Collections
Gary Riggs: Maintenance Mechanic
Jennifer Weisener: Part-time Historic Interpreter
AJ Drake: Part-time Historic Interpreter