Zwaanendael Museum

06/19/2026

Happy Juneteenth, Delaware!

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, declaring all enslaved people to be freed in accordance with the Emancipation Proclamation signed 2 years before.

This holiday marks the effective end of slavery in the United States.

06/18/2026

The Merman is on the pitch! ⚽️

Are you enjoying the World Cup this year? The Merman certainly is!

06/15/2026

Today, come visit the Merman table at the New Castle Court House Museum! Today from 10 to 4.

School’s out✅
Nice weather✅
Merman ✅
New Castle Court House Museum open✅
The Separation Day celebration continues today! We are open 10-4 with a special Cryptids and Civics program and then come back at 7pm to learn about the grievances in the Declaration of Independence.

Image Description: cut out of Merman from Zwaanendael in front of the New Castle Court House Museum.

06/11/2026

06/09/2026

Where are those pesky Tories?!

Last week we introduced you to one of the units of the 1st Battalion of the Kent County Militia. This week meet the Kent County Militia's 2nd Battalion.

The 2nd Battalion was organized in 1775. It had an unknown number of regular infantry companies and a light infantry company. During the war, the 2nd Battalion was primarily used to keep an eye on the loyalists and Tories of Delaware. In April 1778, a loyalist uprising led by Cheney Clow of Kenton, DE, took place on the Maryland/Delaware border of Kent County. Clow and his men raided homes and built a wooden fort along the state line. The 2nd Battalion and other Delaware militiamen quickly put down the uprising. Clow's fort was burnt and he would later be captured and tried for treason and murder. Clow was found guilty of murder of a sheriff's deputy during his arrest and hung in 1783. He is the only known Delaware loyalist executed by the state of Delaware during the war. As the war went on many of the men in the 2nd Battalion would go on to serve in several units of the Continental Army.

Illustrated here are two privates of the 2nd Battalion wearing their prescribed uniforms. The private on the left belongs to light infantry company. He wears a shortened blue coat with white facings and pewter buttons. His cap is a light infantry cap. The private on the right belongs to a regular infantry company. He wears a brown coat with white facings and pewter buttons. The regular infantry companies wore black round hats. Both uniforms include white waistcoats, breeches, stockings and black gaiters or spatterdashes.

Download the uncolored version to use as a coloring page to enjoy at home or stop by the Zwaanendael Museum and grab a copy!


ZM32

06/05/2026

The Loyalist return this Saturday, June 6th! Visit the encampment on the lawn of the museum and learn more about Lewes's many connections to the Revolutionary War.

A special historic paint making demonstration will be on- going throughout the day. Historic Interpreter and Volunteer Coordinator Jen B., will have historic pigments and tools that were used to to make, and store paint just like they did in the 18th century.

06/03/2026

Update- All June DeBraak tours are fully booked! Spots are still available for July, August and September!

Its June! Lots of great events are taking place at the Zwaanendael Museum this month. DeBraak tours, 250th programing, and special Pride Month social media posts are coming your way.

The Zwaanendael Museum is also open on Tuesdays! Visit the museum Tuesday- Saturday from 10a.m. to 4:15p.m. Admission is always free.

06/02/2026

A few weeks ago we introduced the New Castle and Sussex County Militias. Over the next two weeks we will introduce you to some of the units of the Kent County Militia. Today, we will take a closer look at the Kent County Militia's Dover Light Infantry Company.

Historical records indicate that Kent County had at least two battalions of militia. The Dover Light Infantry Company, formed in the spring of 1776, was part of the 1st Battalion. Captain Thomas Rodney, the brother of Delaware's Caesar Rodney commanded the company. For most of 1776 the company was tasked with keeping Delaware's loyalists in check. By the end of 1776, the Continental Army was in a dire need for men after numerous defeats. In response General George Washington called on the militias of the new 13 United States. The Dover Light Infantry Company answered the call and marched to Washington's aid.

The company fought at Trenton in December 1776 and Princeton in January 1777. For playing a vital role in the American victories at the battles, Washington assigned the company as his personal bodyguard. Thomas Rodney's wartime diary offers an insight into the company's service with the Continental Army. After serving as Washington's guard, the company returned to Delaware later in 1777. It activities through the rest of the war are unknown.

Illustrated here is the uniform of the Dover Light Infantry Company in December 1776. The private on the left wears a short green wool coat with red facings and white turn backs. He wears brown overalls. His cap is a jockey style leather cap with green ribbon and a red feather. The officer on the right wears a grey overcoat over his uniform. Other than riding boots, uniforms were the same for officers and enlisted men. It is believed all men in the company were prescribed the grey overcoats. Both are armed with muskets and wear their cartridge boxes around their stomachs. The boxes are nickname "belly boxes."

Download the uncolored version to use as a coloring page to enjoy at home or stop by the Zwaanendael Museum and grab a copy!


ZM30

05/29/2026

Nothing is more exciting than a box of artifacts!

Everything here is from the collection of the HMS DeBraak, an 18th century shipwreck that sank off the coast of Lewes. Join the Zwaanendael Museum for one of our 'Walk to DeBraak" tours, and you'll get a closer look at these items, as well as the remaining portion of the ship itself!

Spots are still open on Saturday, May 30th at 2p.m. Call the museum at (302) 645-1148 to reserve your spot!

Can't make it Saturday? Check out the rest of the tour schedule below:
June 4, 10a.m. ⁠
June 18, 10a.m ⁠
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July 2, 10a.m. ⁠
July 11, 2p.m. ⁠
July 16, 10a.m. ⁠
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August 6, 10a.m. ⁠
August 8, 2p.m. ⁠
August 20, 10a.m. ⁠
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September 3, 10a.m. ⁠
September 12, 2p.m. ⁠
September 17, 10a.m. ⁠

05/28/2026

Oh sun, how we have missed you! ⁠☀️⁠
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The Zwaanendael Museum is open today from 10a.m. to 4:15p.m. Stop in your daily dose of local history while you're out. ⁠
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