View of the Stone Fleet which sailed from New Bedford Nov. 16th 1861.
date: label: Date made
content: 1862
name: label: copyright holder
content: Russell, Benjamin
label: maker
content: L. Prang & Company
label: original artist
content: Russell, Benjamin
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: Black and white print of a fleet of sailing ships: sixteen barks and ships, four pilot boats, and a revenue cutter. All are identified below the image.
label: Description
content: On December 19, 1861, under orders from Rear Admiral Samuel Francis DuPont, a fleet of 24 aging whaleships weighted down with stones were sunk in Charleston Harbor. The supervisors of the Union blockade hoped that this “Stone Fleet” would deter Confederate blockade runners from entering the port of Charleston. This print depicts 21 of the ships, each of which is identified by a key in the lower margin. These vessels include four pilot boats (Rescue, Richmond, Effort, and Vision), eight barks (Garland, American, Harvest, Leonidas, Amazon, Cossack, Frances Henrietta, and Herald), eight ships (Maria Theresa, Rebecca Simms, South America, Archer, Courier, Potomac, Kensington, and L.C. Richmond), and a revenue cutter (Varina).
label: Description
content: The print was drawn by Benjamin Russell (1804-1885), a painter and lithographer from New Bedford, Massachusetts, who had worked on a whaling ship from 1841 to 1845. His illustration of the Stone Fleet was printed by L. Prang and Company. Louis Prang (1824-1910) was born in Breslau, Prussian Silesia, and immigrated to America in 1850. Settling in Boston, he began his lithographic career in 1856, partnering with Julius Mayer. In 1860, he established his own firm, which grew to become one of the largest producers of American colored lithographs during the 19th century. The company’s first lithographic prints were Civil War battle scenes, maps, and portraits of military and political leaders. Louis Prang & Co. remained in operation until 1898, producing greeting cards, facsimiles of American and European paintings, and natural history prints.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Massachusetts, Boston
topic: label: Subject
content: Civil War
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Domestic Life
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content: Art
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content: Peters Prints
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content: Domestic Furnishings
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Harry T. Peters "America on Stone" Lithography Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: DL.60.3250
label: catalog number
content: 60.3250
objectType: label: Object Name
content: lithograph
label: Object Type
content: Lithograph
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: image: 13 1/2 in x 24 3/4 in; 34.29 cm x 62.865 cm