THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 3, 1995 TAG: 9511010167
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Short : 30 lines
A Hampton Roads Naval Museum exhibit, ``George Sirian: Portrait of a Survivor,'' features the story of a 19th century Portsmouth resident who served almost five decades in the Navy.
The exhibit is open and runs through Nov. 26. The museum is located on the second floor of Nauticus and admission to the exhibit is free.
Sirian died in Portsmouth in 1891 and still has descendants living in the area.
The exhibit will feature letters and documents, as well as an 1828 portrait of the late sailor, painted by New York artist Charles Cromwell Ingham.
The portrait was painted when Sirian was 10, four years after he had witnessed the massacre of his family in Psara, Greece, by the Turks during the Greek War of Independence.
Sirian was rescued by sailors from a U.S. warship stationed off the island's coast and was brought to the United States. Three years later, he signed on to the Constitution on which he served three tours before his naval retirement.
For more information about the exhibit, call 444-8971, Ext. 117. by CNB