This archivally framed print measures 36.5” x 31.5”.  Overall excellent condition.  Does NOT have an accompanying artist signed COA.  Print is signed and number 36/50 AP (Artist’s Proof).

The watercolor was hailed as the "most accurate and exciting rendering" of the moment when the CSS Tennessee challenged 17 Union vessels in marine warfare before surrendering. (Holcomb, Robert. Director of Confederate Naval Museum). Taking advantage of the swollen river, Admiral Franklin Buchanan ordered the CSS Tennessee to be launched out of Selma early and towed up the river to Mobile. The 1273-ton ship was one of the best ironclads produced for the Confederate Navy. When it reached its destination, rebel ship builders fitted the vessel with the correct iron armor and cannons in February 1863. On the morning of August 4, 1864, Rear Admiral Farragut's flagship, the USS Hartford and a fleet of warships successfully steamed into the head of the channel, launching the Battle of Mobile Bay. In a furious cloud of gun smoke and cannon fire, the battle raged in the muddy waters. With only 6 hours of coal remaining in the Tennessee, Admiral Buchanan had two choices—to flee or to fight. Buchanan chose to go out gloriously. He ordered the ship to ram into the heart of the battle and take on the entire Yankee fleet, but his boldness waned as the bleeding officer saw the precarious state of the casemate. Anticipating its collapse, he hoisted the white flag and surrendered the vessel to the Union Army. The Union captured their prize and promptly recommissioned the vessel the USS Tennessee. After some repairs it returned to the river and served with the US Navy's Mississippi Squadron until the end of the Civil War. The Navy sold it for scrapping in November 1867.

Artist’s Proof:  It's customary for the artist to create additional prints called artist's proofs (AKA artist's prints), which number 10% of the limited edition. The numbering system for artist's proofs shows the print number over the total quantity of the artist's proofs. Print #7 out of 15 would have this written on it: AP 7/15. Artist's proofs are considered even more valuable than the original limited edition prints, since they are usually only sold once the edition itself has sold out.  [LD]

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