CDVs of Brown Water Navy Gunboats, USS Essex, General Thomas, and Argosy

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American Historical Ephemera and Photography

By Cowan's Auctions

Nov 19, 2020

Set Reminder 2020-11-19 10:00:00 2020-11-19 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : American Historical Ephemera and Photography https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/cowans/american-historical-ephemera-and-photography-5894
Cowan’s Auctions, a Hindman Company, is pleased to present the November 19 Fall Auction, featuring over 400 lots of historically significant photography, manuscript material, artwork, and other ephemera dating from the 18th through the early 20th century, including the Civil War. Cowan's Auctions dawnie@cowans.com

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• Lot Description
  Lot of 3 CDVs. Period copy carte of the USS Essex. The familiar dome top pilot house identifies the USS Essex lying at anchor inshore probably near Baton Rouge. A.D. Lytle: Baton Rouge, LA, n.d. See Lot 88 for the story of the fighting Essex.
  
  Near profile photograph ink identified on verso as "US Gunboat Gen. Thomas." Uncredited: n.d. Interestingly, the CDV is also finely inked "Gen Thomas" across the port wooden sidewheel. USS General Thomas (No. 61) was commissioned August 1864 and carried five guns. She was assigned patrol duty on the Tennessee River above Muscle Shoals, Alabama.  During the time General Hood was mounting his campaign into Tennessee to divert General Sherman's march on Atlanta, the gunboat patrolled the river vigilantly to prevent Confederate troops from crossing. At  Decatur, Alabama on October 28, 1864, the General Thomas engaged strong batteries from General Hood's army. After passing the batteries downstream and sustaining several hits, General Thomas rounded to and in company with the gunboat Stone River, poured a withering crossfire into the Confederate emplacements forcing the enemy to withdraw.  After Hood's repulse at Nashville in December, General Thomas was employed on the upper Tennessee River to block his escape route. She aided General James Steedman in his successful attack on Decatur, Alabama on December 27 by giving his infantry concentrated gunfire support. The gunboat attempted to pass over Elk River Shoals to prevent a Southern crossing of the river but was prevented by low water. In February 1865 she destroyed the camp of Confederate General Phillip Roddey's cavalry and operating out of Bridgeport remained on patrol for last months of the war. General Thomas was then turned over to the War Department in June 1865 and struck.
  
  CDV of the sternwheel gunboat USS Argosy identified by the numeral "27" painted on her wheelhouse. Uncredited: n.d. Argosy was a civilian acquisition converted and commissioned in March 1863 mounting 8 guns.  She initially patrolled the Tennessee supporting Army operations until that state was cleared of the enemy. Shifting to the Mississippi River Argosy engaged in routine patrol and escort duty with the occasional interdiction mission to capture and destroy supplies and contraband. Argosy was an eyewitness to the last significant naval event on the Mississippi. When on patrol between New Orleans and Donaldsonville the Confederate ram CSS Webb attempted to reach the open Gulf by running past Argosy in the predawn darkness. Rumors abound that Jefferson Davis was trying to make his escape and telegraph messages quickly alerted the entire Mississippi Squadron to the daring enemy sortie. A line of Union vessels soon blocked the Webb's path as she was incapable of making the necessary speed to evade and escape. Satisfied that a fight was senseless, Webb's commanding officer ran her aground and "set her afire, ordering his crew to scatter..." Argosy was decommissioned in August 1865 and returned to civilian use. 
  
  The Richard B. Cohen Civil War Collection 
  
  Lots 37, 69-98, 295 
  
  Cowan's enthusiastically presents the second installment of collector Richard B. Cohen's matchless archive of Civil War Brown Water Navy photography. Richard was known to many in the field - indeed some of these images may resonate from a bygone transaction or "show and tell' - but to those who knew him best he'll be remembered as a "disciplined collector who maintained a relatively narrow focus having built an important, perhaps unsurpassed collection in his area of specialization." This catalogued portion of the core collection is a seamless continuation of high quality photography highlighted by an array of Brown Water Navy warships in desirable carte-de-visite format. We counted no fewer than 22 different Mississippi River vessels, some battle-weary and familiar, others obscure, but all identified with many named in period ink. Research confirmed that several of these CDVs were signed by an officer who had served aboard the ship conveying the historic connection and spirit of "wooden ships and iron men." The last of the larger format albumen warships are also included - the USS Blackhawk, Eastport, and Louisville. A fine quartet of lots feature sought-after enlisted sailors. We proceed with eight additional lots of multiple identified officer cartes, the myriad of navy rank insignia during the Civil War both complex and instructive. We think it opportune to quote a comment from a previous buyer who emailed that, "...I draw inspiration from their BWN service when known, and when not offering (him) the opportunity to reconstruct an aspect of overlooked Civil War naval history." Now comes the time to further disperse Richard B. Cohen's collection and recycle the photography to the care of the next generation, and in so doing we salute a lifelong endeavor unlikely ever to be duplicated.
  
  Provenence: The Richard B. Cohen Civil War Collection

  Condition

  Essex carte trimmed at bottom, else about VG.  Gen. Thomas carte sepia toned and severely trimmed back to albumen, G.  Argosy with irregular edges, trimmed top and bottom, G.
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