Lot 463
Le Bihan (French, 19th c.), "The Sinking of the C.S.S. Alabama by the U.S.S. Kearsage off the Cherbourg Peninsula, June 19, 1864", oil on canvas, signed lower left, 16.5in. x 24 in. E10000/15000 Note: Under the command of Admiral Raphael Semmes (1809-1877) the Confederate ship C.S.S. Alabama successfully raided, captured and destroyed over eighty Union ships during the Civil War. While the C.S.S. Alabama was laid up in the Cherbourg Harbor off the coast of France for major repairs, the Federal Ship U.S.S. Kearsage trapped her in the port. Admiral Semmes sailed the still-damaged Alabama out of the harbor and engaged her Union adversary. In the famous battle of June 19, 1864 the Alabama was sunk. This historic painting depicts Semmes and his crew as the English yacht Deerhound, rescued them. The Confederate sailors were taken to England, where the English refused to turn the crew over to Federal authorities. Semmes eventually returned to America and served as a Brigadier-General in the Confederacy. After the war, he was put on trial for escaping after the surrender of the Alabama. Reference: Humphreys, Anderson Semmes America. Provenance: Admiral Raphael Semmes Katherine Semmes Wright, 1937, Electra Wright Larkin, around 1965, A Museum collection, since 1991, to a Semmes family descendant.
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