Programs to explore 1798 sinking of HMS DeBraak May 21
Visitors to Lewes will have an opportunity to learn about the 1798 wreck of the British warship HMS DeBraak in the program The Wooden World Revealed, set to take place outdoors from 10 a.m to 4:15 p.m., Saturday, May 21, in Zwaanendael Park next to the Zwaanendael Museum at 102 Kings Highway in Lewes.
Held in conjunction with Lewes’ Maritime Day celebration, activities will include block-and-tackle demonstrations; Life at Sea, a program on day-to day experiences on an 18th century sailing vessel; and at 2:30 p.m., a presentation of the program The Wreck of the DeBraak.
Admission is free and open to the public; guests are urged to bring their own chairs. In the event of inclement weather, the program may be canceled. For details, call the museum at 302-645-1148.
His Majesty’s Sloop of War DeBraak was a British warship that was escorting and protecting a convoy of British and American merchant ships en route to the United States when it capsized and was lost off Cape Henlopen May 25, 1798. The remains of the ship's hull and associated artifact collection have been curated by the Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs since they were acquired by the State of Delaware in 1992. An exhibit on the ship, A Seaborne Citizenry: The DeBraak and Its Atlantic World, is currently on display at the museum.
The Zwaanendael Museum was built in 1931 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the state's first European colony, Swanendael, established by the Dutch along Hoorn Kill (present-day Lewes-Rehoboth Canal) in 1631. Its exhibits and presentations provide a showcase for Lewes-area maritime, military and social history. For details, go to history.delaware.gov/zwaanendael-museum.
