Three CDVs of Brown Water Navy Officers, Incl. Josiah Benton, USS Osage

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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 of identified navy officers, two with Brown Water Navy backmarks. CDV of junior officer standing with sword, identified beneath portrait, "W. Wharry / US Navy." J.R. Brown: Cairo, IL, n.d. William Wherry served briefly as mate beginning 10/1/62 before his resignation 7/20/63.
  
  CDV, period copy shot identified beneath portrait, "Commodore Bailey." E. Anthony: New York, n.d. The subject is Theodorus Bailey: midshipman 1/1/18, lieutenant 3/3/27, commander 3/6/49, captain 12/15/55, commodore 7/16/62, rear admiral 7/25/66, retired list 10/10/66, died 2/10/77. In June 1861 Captain Bailey, a Mexican War veteran, took command of the steam frigate USS Colorado and joined the Gulf Blockading Squadron. Bailey played an important role in the capture of New Orleans, as one of the representatives who went ashore to demand the surrender of the city on April 25, 1862 amidst a hostile crowd. Shortly afterwards, Bailey was promoted to commodore and briefly commanded the naval station at Sackett's Harbor, New York. Bailey then raised his flag as officer commanding the East Gulf Blockading Squadron retaining that post until the summer of 1864 when an attack of yellow fever forced his reassignment. Bailey was then appointed commandant of the Portsmouth Navy Yard ending his service as rear admiral later in 1867.  
  
  CDV pencil signed on verso, "J.H. Benton / Pay'r / USN." A.J. Fox: St. Louis, MO, n.d. Josiah H. Benton was appointed acting assistant paymaster 9/11/62, discharged 9/25/65. The January 1, 1864 Navy Register lists A.A. Paymaster Benton assigned to the Mississippi Squadron aboard the USS Osage, a purpose-built single-turreted Neosho-class monitor built to Navy specifications. Joining Porter's Mississippi Squadron in mid-1863, she patrolled the Mississippi River interdicting Confederate raids and breaking up ambushes. Osage participated in the Red River Campaign in support of Army's operation to capture Fort DeRussy and could claim to have single-handedly captured Alexandria, Louisiana without firing a shot on March 15, 1864. Later in April she did exemplary work defending navy transports during the fight at Blair's Landing, "driving off Confederate forces with heavy losses after running aground and freed herself." In May, Osage became grounded on a sandbar near Helena, Arkansas and could not be quickly re-floated due to rapidly falling water. As the river receded she began to hog and broke her back causing significant damage to the hull and deck. She remained in situ until November when after temporary repairs she was towed to Mound City to make permanent repairs. Upon completion she descended the Mississippi and joined the West Gulf Blockading Squadron in time for the February 1 attack on Mobile, Alabama. While engaged at the battle of Spanish Fort on March 29, 1865, Osage ran up on a mine, the explosion causing her to sink rapidly with the loss of two men killed. The ship was later salvaged and sold in November 1867.
  
  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

  Wherry carte is slightly light, evenly soiled with noticeable edge wear on the mount and rounded corners, G.  Bailey CDV shows mottling typically associated with multiple generation cartes.  Surface with uniform soiling and wear with right corner bent and broken, G+.  Benton carte with strong tones but dented corners, else VG. 
  
   
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