Philo McGiffin: A Man of Wit and Dash

The U.S. Naval Academy Museum’s galleries in Preble Hall are replete with the biggest names in U.S. naval history—James Lawrence, David G. Farragut, Chester W. Nimitz—and, for a limited time, the lesser-known but fascinating Philo N. McGiffin. He is the subject of the museum’s temporary exhibit, “Philo McGiffin: A Man of Wit and Dash.” Bringing artifacts from the museum’s collections together with those of the Washington County (Pennsylvania) His­torical Society, the small, two-room exhibit provides a glimpse into the tumultuous world of a man whose humor and tenacity made him the stuff of legend.