Three Companion Albumens of Gunboats at Baton Rouge, USS Conemaugh, Switzerland, and Choctaw

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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 identified in the same hand including two square cut albumens with another rectangular view stamped on verso in red "Property of Charles Scribner's Sons," a publisher. 
  
  The pair of square cut images are both roughly 4 x 4 in. on slightly larger mounts. One is a profile shot of a rakish looking side-wheeler incorrectly inked "Albatross off Baton Rouge, La."  The vessel is, in fact, the USS Conemaugh, another side-wheel steamer purchased by the navy and commissioned in July 1862. Conemaugh was initially assigned to the South Atlantic blockading Squadron where she served as a picket inshore frequently "engaging Confederate batteries and detachments along stream banks."  After an extended overall she joined the West Gulf Blockading Squadron and during the spring of 1864 captured a Confederate blockade runner, later participating in the battle of Mobile Bay under Farragut. Conemaugh remained active until she was decommissioned in July 1867 and sold out of service.  The other square cut is captioned "Wharf and transports," presumably at Baton Rouge. A closer examination reveals the battle damaged US Ram Switzerland in the background at far left with tilted stack.  The side-wheeler Switzerland was one of the original Ellet rams associated with the Mississippi Marine Brigade that participated in the battle of Memphis in June 1862.  She later patrolled up the Yazoo and was damaged by shore batteries while passing Vicksburg on March 25, 1863 and later the next week at Grand Gulf. She operated on the Red River as the siege of Vicksburg commenced. Switzerland was never formally commissioned into the Navy and was sold off in October 1865.  
  
  The larger albumen is incorrectly captioned "Flag Ship 'Carondelet' - after passing Vicksburg - taken in front of Baton Rouge, La." with the same text is penciled on verso. In fact, the albumen is the large one-off sidewheel steamer USS Choctaw commissioned in March 1863. Purchased by the Army in September 1862, the former merchant vessel was converted into an ironclad ram before transferring to Navy control at St. Louis. Streaming up the Yazoo she engaged Confederate batteries at Haynes' Bluff between April 29 and May 1, 1863 being struck no less than 53 times. Choctaw remained on station and contributed to the destruction of the Confederate works and navy yard at Yazoo City later in the month. In June she joined in repelling an attack at Milliken's Bend rescuing a number of Confederates from the river and taking them prisoner. During the spring of 1864 she was engaged in operations that preceded the capture of Fort DeRussy. Choctaw was decommissioned  in July 1865 and sold out of service in March 1866. 
  
  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

  The two square mounts exhibit strong clarity, one mount with minor edge damage.  Both VG.  The larger albumen is somewhat soft in focus showing heavy edge damage to three corners of the mount, G+. 
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