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Free tours of the DeBraak for current, former members of U.S. military offered July 27

July 23, 2013

At  9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. Saturday, July 27, U.S. military members are invited to attend free lecture tours of the hull of HMS DeBraak, a British warship that was escorting and protecting a convoy of British and American merchant ships en route to the United States when it was capsized and lost off the Delaware coast May 25, 1798.

Normally $10 per person, free tickets for the July 27 tours are available for current and former members of the U.S. military and their families and are restricted to ages 10 and above. Tickets are available only through the Shop Delaware website, http://shop.delaware.gov/index.php?cPath=155. For more information, call 302-645-1148.

All programs begin at the Zwaanendael Museum, 102 Kings Highway in Lewes, where a lecture on the ship will be presented in conjunction with A Seaborne Citizenry: The DeBraak and Its Atlantic World, an exhibit that has been on display at the museum since Dec. 1, 2012. The exhibit tells the story of the vessel, its crew and the historical context within which it operated in the late 18th century.

Ticket holders will then be transported via van to the DeBraak hull facility in nearby Cape Henlopen State Park for a curator-led tour of the surviving section of the ship's hull.

This special offering is part of the Blue Star Museums program, a vehicle for outreach to members of the United States armed forces. A collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense and more than 1,800 museums across America, the program offers free admission to all active-duty military personnel and their families from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

 

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