CAPTURE OF THE MEXICAN STEAMERS "MARQUES OF HAVANA" & "GENL. MIRAMON," ADMIRAL MARIN COMDG. AT ANTON LIZARDO, ON THE NIGHT OF THE 6th OF MARCH 1860, BY THE U.S. SHIP SARATOGA.T. TURNER, U.S. NAVY COMMANDING [caption title]

Crosby, Pierce: Newell, John Perry

Published by J.H. Bufford, Boston, 1867

About this Item

Tinted lithograph, 17 x 21 inches. A few small chips and short closed tears at edges, not affecting image. Browned, a few patches of light dampstaining at top edge, horizontal line of dust soiling across upper quarter of sheet. Good. Matted. A rare lithograph of the U.S.S. Saratoga at the Battle of Anton Lizardo. The battle, which took place just off Veracruz in March 1860, played an important role in ending Mexico's Reform War by denying the rebel conservatives much needed munitions and ensuring their defeat by liberal government forces. The Saratoga, formerly a part of Perry's Far East Squadron, had been sailing in the Gulf of Mexico under the command of Thomas Turner, and attacked the two Mexican rebel ships on the understanding that they had defected from the Mexican navy and were now considered pirates by their government. On March 6 the Saratoga and several smaller accompanying ships succeeded in capturing the General Miramon and running the Marques of Havana aground after close-quarters, ship-to- ship fighting. The lithograph was executed by John Perry Newell after an original sketch by Lieut. Pierce Crosby, who later became a rear admiral. Newell was known for his popular naval lithographs and had this image published by the firm of John Bufford, where he got his start in the late 1850s. The present instance of his work is quite rare. A 1933 Goodspeed's catalogue makes reference to a fable that only four copies were made before the stone was destroyed, and neither the Library of the Naval Department nor the Library of Congress has a copy. Indeed, no copies are recorded by OCLC, although a copy is known at the Mariners' Museum Library in Newport News. An attractive image, almost never encountered on the market, of a lesser-known American naval engagement just prior to the Civil War. Seller Inventory # WRCAM54318

Bibliographic Details

Title: CAPTURE OF THE MEXICAN STEAMERS "MARQUES OF ...

Publisher: J.H. Bufford, Boston

Publication Date: 1867