Description: Lot of two (2) 1864 CIVIL WAR newspapers with long and detailed front and back-page headline reports announcing that the CONFEDERATE RAM CSS ALBEMARLE has been SUNK by a daring nighttime US NAVY RAID, including a complete printing of the official report of Union captain William Cushing, who commanded the expedition - #1I-022 Please visit our ebay store for printed on the front page other FANTASTIC Americana, Antiquarian Books and Ephemera. SEE PHOTO-----TWO COMPLETE, ORIGINAL NEWSPAPERs, the _World (NY) dated November 2& 3, 1864, with fantastic US and CONFEDERATE NAVY history! Perfect for framing and display! In December 1815, the House of Commons and the Senate of North Carolina unanimously resolved to commission a full-length statue of Washington. Governor William Miller, with the assistance and recommendation of Thomas Jefferson, determined that Canova should be the sculptor and that Thomas Appleton, American consul in Livorno, Italy, should handle the negotiations. Washington had died in 1799, and Jefferson recommended that Canova use the marble bust of Washington by Giuseppe Ceracchi as a model for the head; Appleton owned a plaster copy. Canova started work on the statue at his studio in Rome in 1817, completing several sketches and maquettes (also described as modellos or bozzettos). He finished the statue in 1820. Governor Miller had requested a United States Navy vessel to transport it from Italy. Commodore William Bainbridge, commander of USS Columbus, delivered it to Boston on July 22, 1821. The statue ultimately arrived in Raleigh, North Carolina, on December 24 and was installed in the rotunda of the state house as part of an official ceremony, attended by Governor Jesse Franklin and the legislature. Colonel William Polk, an officer in the American Revolutionary War, addressed the audience in the dedication speech, comparing Canova to Michelangelo and praising Washington. Canova did not see the statue installed in North Carolina: he died in Venice in 1822. In March 1825, the Marquis de Lafayette viewed the statue and was reported to state that "the likeness was so much better than he expected to see." Albemarle successfully dominated the Roanoke and the approaches to Plymouth through the summer of 1864. By autumn the U. S. government decided that the situation should be studied to determine if something could be done: The U. S. Navy considered various ways to destroy Albemarle, including two plans submitted by Lieutenant William B. Cushing; they finally approved one of his plans, authorizing him to locate two small steam launches that might be fitted with spar torpedoes. Cushing discovered two 30-foot picket boats under construction in New York and acquired them for his mission [some accounts have them as 45 to 47 feet ]. On each he mounted a Dahlgren 12-pounder howitzer and a 14-foot spar projecting into the water from its bow. One of the boats was lost at sea during the voyage from New York to Norfolk, Virginia, but the other arrived safely with its crew of seven officers and men at the mouth of the Roanoke. There, the steam launch's spar was fitted with a lanyard-detonated torpedo. On the night of October 27 and 28, 1864, Cushing and his team began working their way upriver. A small cutter accompanied them, its crew having the task of preventing interference by the Confederate sentries stationed on a schooner anchored to the wreck of Southfield; both boats, under the cover of darkness, slipped past the schooner undetected. So Cushing decided to use all twenty-two of his men and the element of surprise to capture Albemarle. As they approached the Confederate docks their luck turned, and they were spotted in the dark. They came under heavy rifle and pistol fire from both the shore and aboard Albemarle. As they closed with the ironclad, they quickly discovered she was defended against approach by floating log booms. The logs, however, had been in the water for many months and were covered with heavy slime. The steam launch rode up and then over them without difficulty; with her spar fully against the ironclad's hull, Cushing stood up in the bow and pulled the lanyard, detonating the torpedo's explosive charge. The explosion threw Cushing and his men overboard into the water; Cushing then stripped off most of his uniform and swam to shore, where he hid undercover until daylight, avoiding the hastily organized Confederate search parties. The next afternoon, he was finally able to steal a small skiff and began slowly paddling, using his hands and arms as oars, down-river to rejoin Union forces at the river's mouth. Cushing's long journey was quite perilous and he was nearly captured and almost drowned before finally reaching safety, totally exhausted by his ordeal; he was hailed a national hero of the Union cause for his daring exploits. Of the other men in Cushing's launch, one man, Seaman Edward Houghton, also escaped, two others [A.M.M. John Woodman and 1/C fireman Samuel Higgins] were drowned following the explosion, and the remaining eleven were captured. Cushing's daring commando raid blew a hole in Albemarle's hull at the waterline "big enough to drive a wagon in." She sank immediately in the six feet of water below her keel, settling into the heavy river bottom mud, leaving the upper casemate mostly dry and the ship's large Stainless Banner ensign flying from the flagstaff at the rear of the casemate's upper deck. Confederate commander Alexander F. Warley, who had been appointed as her captain about a month earlier, later salvaged both of Albemarle's rifled cannon and shells and used them to defend Plymouth against subsequent Union attack. Lieutenant Cushing's successful effort to neutralize CSS Albemarle is honored by the U.S. Navy with a battle star on the Civil War campaign streamer. Very Good condition. This listing includes two complete entire original newspapers. VINTAGE BOOKS AND FINE ART stands behind all of the items that we sell with a no questions asked, money back guarantee. Every item we sell is original printed on the date indicated at the beginning of its description, unless clearly stated as a reproduction in the header AND text body. U.S. buyers pay calculated priority postage which includes waterproof plastic and a heavy cardboard flat to protect your purchase from damage in the mail. International postage is quoted when we are informed as to where the package is to be sent. We do combine postage (to reduce postage costs) for multiple purchases sent in the same package. We accept payment by PAYPAL. We ship packages daily. This is truly a piece OF HISTORY that YOU CAN OWN!
Price: 45 USD
Location: Oxford, Maryland
End Time: 2025-01-09T16:23:36.000Z
Shipping Cost: N/A USD
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All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Refund will be given as: Money back or replacement (buyer's choice)
