Jack Nastyface and His World: The Archaeology of a British Warship

The Zwaanendael Museum and Historic Lewes welcomes archeologist and curator Chuck Fithian for this special maritime presentation!

Using information derived from the study of the DeBraak and its associated artifacts, this presentation will provide an archaeological perspective on the world of the naval sailor. It will show the complexities of their “wooden world,” and place it into the wider context of maritime culture, naval warfare, and the historical events shaping the late eighteenth century Atlantic world. While the DeBraak’s Delaware story takes place in the late 1790s, this presentation will also discuss the vessel and her captain’s connections to the American War for Independence.

About The Speaker

Chuck Fithian is a Historical Archaeologist, with over forty years of experience working in the Mid-Atlantic region. He is the retired Curator of Archaeology for the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs, where he oversaw the State’s extensive archaeological collection and managed several archaeological and historical research projects. This included the conservation, research and curation of the hull and associated collection of the DeBraak. For this work, Chuck was inducted into the Delaware Maritime Hall of Fame in 2023. After leaving HCA, he served as lecturer and staff archeologist at Washington College. He is currently working on a social history of the Delaware Regiment during the American Revolution, and the documentation of Delaware’s military and logistical landscape during the American Revolution.

Free admission. The program begins at 5p.m. at the Historic Lewes Maritime Museum, 101 Adams Ave., Lewes DE.