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The First Barbary War: The Tripolitan War

The First Barbary War: The Tripolitan War

Contents Introduction: The Barbary Wars Barbary Wars Timeline Background to the Conflict Early American Interactions with Barbary States The First Barbary War: The Tripolitan War Between the Wars The Second Barbary War: The Algerine War Aftermath: America's Presence...
The Best of the West: Western Americana at the Clements Library

The Best of the West: Western Americana at the Clements Library

Inspired by the work of scholar and antiquarian book dealer William S. Reese (1955-2018), this exhibition highlights Western Americana in the Clements Library collections. Featuring narratives of travel, settlement, and Native American relations, and including works in Spanish, German, and French, the selections represent some of the rarest and most significant 18th and 19th century sources on the American West.

The War of 1812: A Bicentennial Exhibition

The War of 1812: A Bicentennial Exhibition

The War of 1812 has sometimes been called a forgotten conflict. This second confrontation between the United States and Great Britain did, in fact, have a considerable influence on the future development of the country as well as its relations with Canada, Native Americans, and Europe.

1759: Britain’s Year of Victories

1759: Britain’s Year of Victories

In 2009 the Clements Library marked the 250th anniversary of the British victories of 1759 by presenting a few of the treasures from its collections that illustrate the events and participants in that momentous year. This online version has been enhanced by the addition of further materials.

Impressions of France Behind the Lines

Impressions of France Behind the Lines

The Clements Library exhibition “Over There” with the American Expeditionary Forces in France During the Great War is open through April 26, 2019, on Fridays from 10am to 4pm. The following material is excerpted from a pamphlet produced to accompany the...

Out of the Ordinary Gems & Oddities Trivia Answers REVEALED

Many of you who visited our previous exhibit might have participated in the trivia challenge What Is That Thing?  We invited visitors to identify objects in case 16. We can now reveal their names and purposes! Read what the mystery objects were below: First...

New Additions to Exhibit on Clements Library Collecting

Tobias Lear, A Minute Account of the Last Sickness and Death of George Washington, Mount Vernon, Virginia: December 14, 1799. Tobias Lear Papers.Just inside the great bronze doors of the Clements Library, visitors will find an exhibit about the collecting history of...