(WAR OF 1812) The President engaging the Endymion while purs

Sale 1946 - Lot 403

Price Realized: $ 2,070

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 1,500 - $ 2,500

CONTEMPORARY NAVAL BATTLE SKETCH (WAR OF 1812.) The President engaging the Endymion while purs.d by the Brit.s. Pen-and-ink and wash sketch, possibly by British officer William Skiddy, 110x195 mm sheet size, on laid paper; chipped with minor loss, areas of browning in image, 2 small cellotape repairs with resulting staining; in an early frame. Np, circa 1815

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On 15 January 1815, Captain Stephen Decatur, commanding the U.S.S. President, attempted to run the British blockade of New York's harbor. Engaging the HMS Endymion off Sandy Hook, the two ships shelled each other for over 2 hours. Although Decatur crippled the Endymion, the President was badly damaged and was easily captured shortly thereafter by the British fleet. This sketch, which names each ship in the bottom margin, shows the President bombing the Endymion with the British fleet approaching in the background. See Edgar Newbold Smith's American Naval Broadsides (New York, 1974) No. 165 for a similar print lithographed by Samuel Walters in Liverpool in the 1830s after a sketch by British officer William Skiddy. The print is a view of the battle from the same orientation but at a later point, showing the fleet capturing the President with the badly-damaged Endymion retreating.<