The Gloucester Museum Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, was awarded the Virginia Humanities Rapid Grant in the amount of $3,500 to update the museum’s Battle of the Hook and Second Surrender exhibit.

“We were awarded that full amount for the creation of a new exhibit,” said Historic Resources Supervisor Robert Kelly.

The new exhibit will be titled, “1781: The Revolution in Gloucester—The Battle of the Hook and Second Surrender.” The original exhibit was implemented over a decade ago.

“Since that time, there’s been new scholarship,” said Kelly.

The Battle of the Hook is approaching its 250th anniversary in only five years with big commemoration plans in the works. “To do that, we would like to update and enhance our current exhibit,” said Kelly.

The new exhibit will not only show troop movements and casualties, but will also feature perspectives from soldiers, women, enslaved people and more from that time period.

“It’s a local story, but it’s also a state and national story,” he said, denoting the importance of the battle.

The Battle of the Hook and Second Surrender are not just about the closing days of the American Revolutionary War.

“There’s a human element to it as well,” said Kelly.

According to the terms of the grant, the exhibit must be finished by next January. “We’ll start work on this project in May,” he said.

The exhibit is planned to be interactive with audiovisual components and professionally designed and installed. It will be part of the museum’s “continued effort to share the county’s history in an engaging way,” said Kelly.

In order to make this happen, the museum will need more funding. “We’re going to be looking for additional funding sources,” he said.

The museum foundation is continuously fundraising for museum exhibits and programming. It contributed $10,000 to the recently completed second floor museum renovation.

The new exhibit will be especially helpful to students studying history pertaining to the American Revolution. It will be open to both students and those curious, alike, years before the 250th commemoration.

“We want to be telling that story before we get to the 250th,” said Kelly.