Historical artifacts are seen displayed at the Spotsylvania County Museum in Virginia. The artifacts had been donated by a local Chancellorsville group to the former USS Chancellorsville (CG 62), a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser. But after the Navy vessel was renamed the USS Robert Smalls last year, the artifacts were moved to their new home at the Spotsylvania museum. (Facebook)
(Tribune News Service) — Civil War and other artifacts once displayed on a U.S. Navy warship originally named in honor of the Battle at Chancellorsville are set to be added to the collection at Spotsylvania County’s museum.
The U.S. Navy recently approved the transfer of the artifacts from the warship to Spotsylvania, according to a news release from the county.
The artifacts include a cavalry saddle, an 1860 cavalry saber, excavated battle artifacts, a framed map of Chancellorsville, a print of the battle, a book covering the strategy of the battle along with items connected to the battleship.
The warship — commissioned in 1989 and first deployed in March 1991 to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Desert Storm — is now called the USS Robert Smalls. Smalls was born into slavery in South Carolina and eventually became a skilled sailor and statesman.
The ship was renamed in 2023 as part of the congressionally mandated Naming Commission, “which outlined several military assets across all branches of service that required renaming due to confederate ties,” according to a February 2023 Navy statement.
The Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser was originally named to honor the Battle of Chancellorsville, a stunning victory by the Confederate Army. The battle came with heavy costs as more than 1,000 soldiers died, including Confederate General Stonewall Jackson who suffered fatal friendly fire wounds.
A group called Friends of the USS Chancellorsville collected the artifacts that were donated to the Navy and displayed on the warship.
The Ticonderoga-class guided missile-cruiser then-named USS Chancellorsville transits Makham Bay, Thailand, on May 1, 2011. At right, a U.S. sailor prepares to hoist the American flag aboard the ship while in Yokosuka, Japan, on Aug. 31, 2015. The ship was renamed the the USS Robert Smalls in 2023. (U.S. Navy)
Following the renaming of the ship, the county requested the artifacts be transferred to Spotsylvania so they could be displayed in the museum, which is located off State Route 3 “adjacent to preserved land from the first day of fighting at the Battle of Chancellorsville,” according to the county.
Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors member Drew Mullins said in the county statement that “we are grateful” the artifacts “have found a fitting home” at the museum, “where they can be shared with our community and visitors for years to come.”
The Courtland District supervisor added that the museum “is the perfect location and will serve to honor not only the ship itself and the crew who served our country while working on board, but also recognizes history while giving us the opportunity to learn from the lessons of our nation’s past.”
(c)2024 The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg, Va.)
Visit The Free Lance-Star
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
