• Historic buildings and the waterfront in New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park

    New Bedford Whaling

    National Historical Park Massachusetts

Trading Cards

Carl-Cruz-Collection-NBHSCarney_small
William H. Carney, the first African American to earn a medal of honor.
New Bedford Historical Society, Carl Cruz Collection

54th Regiment Civil War Trading Cards
The park is offering free trading cards featuring figures of the Civil War who had ties to New Bedford. The ten cards are part of a series of 189 cards available at participating national parks throughout the northeastern United States while the National Park Service observes the Civil War 150th anniversary (2011-2015). Click the names below to learn more about a few of New Bedford's heroes.

Charles Douglass

Isaiah King

James Grace

Lewis Douglass

Robert Gould Shaw

Samuel Harrison

Tobey and Coggeshall Building

William Carney

William Jackson

William Powell

Did You Know?

Whaling vessels in New Bedford harbor

In 1857, at the height of whaling, there were a total of 329 whaling vessels in New Bedford's fleet, which employed roughly 10,000 men.