New artifacts from Adm. Farragut collection now featured in Town Museum
Farragut Museum has expanded its growing Adm. David Glasgow Farragut exhibit, sharing the new artifacts in a temporary exhibit that started Monday, March 15.
“The Farragut Museum already houses one of the country’s largest permanent collections of Adm. David Glasgow Farragut artifacts, and a new temporary exhibit, which opened Monday, March 15, showcases even more of the Museum’s extensive collection,” Farragut Public Relations coordinator Wendy Smith stated in a press release.
The new exhibit, installed in the Bill Dunlap Gallery, includes documents, prints and other artifacts telling the story of the first commissioned admiral of the U.S. Navy, Smith said.
“The items being used for this exhibition consist of things that are normally housed in our archival storage,” Farragut Historic Resources coordinator Julia Barham said. “Many of these are original period photographs and documents that the public rarely gets to see.”
For example, Barham said, “one of the items that has never been displayed is a postcard with an original photograph of Admiral Farragut with his wife and son at “the flume” dated 1866.
“This is the only informal photo we have of Farragut with his family,” she added. “I also have a very interesting photo album that was presented to Farragut by the officers on the U.S.S. Hartford after the Battle of Mobile Bay.”
“Admiral Farragut was born a few miles from the Town that was named for him and is best known for a paraphrase of a comment he made during the Battle of Mobile Bay on Aug. 5, 1864: ‘Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead,’” Smith related, adding, “The Museum’s permanent exhibit includes Farragut’s personal china, uniform ornamentation, family photographs, manuscripts, letters of interest and a large collection of scrimshaw.”
She pointed out all of the items used in the exhibit are from the museum’s permanent collection and will return to archival storage when the exhibition ends.
“Due to their delicate nature, most of these items cannot be displayed for long periods of time,” Barham said. “This is why I am so excited to share them with the public for a short period during this upcoming special exhibition.
“It’s always exciting for me to utilize special exhibit gallery space to showcase additional items that belong to our permanent collections,” she added.
“We have so many interesting items relating to Admiral Farragut and I think the general public will be excited to see more items pertaining to his fascinating role in the Civil War.”
The Museum, located inside Town Hall at 11408 Municipal Center Drive, has reduced hours due to COVID-19 preventative measures from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Thursday.
The Frances L. Abel Gift Shop, which recently re-opened, features a variety of items, including local and Civil War history books, crafts, toys and “The History of Concord & Farragut,” a documentary commissioned by the Farragut Museum Committee.
For more information, or to schedule a group tour, contact Barham at 865-218-3377 or visit the website at museum@townoffarragut.org.
