Image courtesy of Ford Ward Museum
A Navy petty officer's cap.
Be sure to stop at Fort Ward Park to check out their exhibition, “Aboard Ship with the Jack-Tars of the Union Navy,” which opened in the fall and continues through 2026 at the City of Alexandria’s Fort Ward Museum at 4301 W. Braddock Road. The theme focuses on the U.S. Navy during the Civil War, and is being held in recognition of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Navy on Oct.13, 1775.
The Federal Navy, which began as a small and unprepared force at the outbreak of the Civil War, quickly expanded to succeed in blockading over 3,500 miles of Confederate coastline, securing the South’s major waterways, and engaging in a number of significant combat operations. By the end of the war in 1865, the U.S. Navy was the world’s largest naval force and a key factor in the North’s eventual victory.
Image courtesy of Ford Ward Museum
Commander James Ward, hand-colored lithograph
The strength of the U.S. Navy would not have been possible without the service of the thousands of sailors, or “jack-tars,” who manned the ships. A typical ship’s crew included men and boys of various ages and ethnic backgrounds, including a significant number of Black seamen who served on integrated crews.
The exhibition features examples of the tools, equipment, clothing articles, weapons and personal items used by Union sailors from Fort Ward Museum’s Civil War collection. Major themes focus on naval dress, which identified men by various ranks and roles, communications aboard ship, navigation, and weaponry used in combat. The exhibition includes a special profile on Commander James Harmon Ward, Fort Ward’s namesake, who was the first Union Navy officer to die in the Civil War.
Fort Ward is the best preserved of the extensive system of Union forts that comprised the Civil War Defenses of Washington. Fort Ward Museum and Historic Site is located at 4301 West Braddock Road in the City of Alexandria. For more information, please call 703.746.4848 or visit alexandriava.gov/FortWard.
