Coast Guard Museum

The U.S. Coast Guard Museum, tucked away on the grounds of the picturesque U. S. Coast Guard Academy, is the public exhibition space for the Coast Guard Heritage Asset Collection.  The Collection contains art and artifacts that span the two hundred and twenty-plus-year history of the United States' premier maritime service.  Featuring everything from models of a series of early steamships to the 270-foot cutter that plies the waters of today, the exquisite craftsmanship captures the changes in ship design over the last two hundred years.  For figurehead buffs and wood carvers alike, the museum offers a small but choice collection of carvings.  Of special value is the original figurehead from the Coast Guard's training ship Eagle.  One of the largest figureheads displayed in an American museum, it hangs as if mounted on the bow of a ship.  Cannon, paintings, uniforms, and medals round out the displays.  A stroll through the grounds of the Academy, watching the flag raising and lowering, attending a chapel service, reading the memorials in the park overlooking the Thames River, and, when available, walking the decks of barque Eagle and reviewing the Corps of Cadets, immerse those who come to the Academy in the history of the U.S. Coast Guard and its five predecessor agencies: the Revenue Cutter Service, the Life-Saving Service, the Lighthouse Service, the Bureau of Navigation, and the Steamboat Inspection Service.

Visiting the U.S. Coast Guard Museum

The museum is located in Waesche Hall on the grounds of the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut.  New London is located two hours south of Boston and two-and-a-half hours north of New York City along Interstate 95.  The New London Train and bus station and the Long Island Ferry Terminal are only five minutes from the museum by car or taxi. 

Admission to the museum is free but you will need a government-issued photo identification to enter the campus. Please note that due to Academy security procedures international visitors are requested to make an appointment with the Curator before visiting the museum.  Contact the Historian's Office for more information: History@uscg.mil.