Image scanned and/or photographed, then color-corrected by Pat Cagney.

Bombardment of the Forts of Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina

Artist Unknown

CultureAmerican

Dateca. 1861-1862

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsOverall: 27 1/4 x 35 1/4 in. (69.2 x 89.5 cm)
Overall, Frame: 33 13/16 x 42 7/8 x 3 in. (85.9 x 108.9 x 7.6 cm)

InscribedSee description, above.

Credit LineGift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch

Object number76.53.26

Not on view

DescriptionThis is an oil on canvas painting depicting the bombardment of the forts at Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina. Inscribed at the bottom of the painting is: "Fort Hatteras and Clarke" - Bombardment by the United States Fleet under Commander Silas H. Stringham and the forces under General Butler, August 27, 1861. Names of ships are inscribed at the bottom of canvas, from left to right: "Susquehanna, Cumberland, The Minnesota, Fanny, Wabash, Pawnee, Geo. Peabody, Adelaid, Monticello, and Harriet Lane."

Label TextBombardment of the Forts of Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina, ca. 1861-1862 American Oil on canvas This artist has captured the chaos of one of the Civil War’s early naval battles with precise detail, carefully charting the position of the Union ships involved in the assault and delineating the rigging and other shipboard architecture. The Confederate forts guarding the Hatteras Inlet were a vital objective for the American navy and their capture marked the first major Union victory of the war. Though the artist has taken a point of view among the Union fleet, this painting was probably based on a print rather than an eyewitness account. Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch 76.53.26 ProvenanceFound in West Chester County, New York; Puchased from C.A. Carpenter, Jr. by Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, 3/8/1963; Given on loan to the Chrysler Museum at Norfolk, Virginia, 12/13/1974; Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch to the Chrysler Museum, 1976. Exhibition History"Three Hundred Years of American Art in the Chrysler Museum," Chrysler Museum at Norfolk, Va., March 1 - July 4, 1976. (Exh. cat. p. 54). "Americans and the Sea," Pensacola Museum of Art, Pensacola, FL, Sept. 11 - Oct. 31, 1982. (Exhib. cat. fig. 22). "Democratic Designs: American Folk Paintings from the Chrysler Museum," Willoughby-Baylor House, Norfolk, VA, August 16, 2014 - April 5, 2015. "Message in a Bottle: Picturing Maritime Culture in Hampton Roads," Barry Art Museum, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, April 12, 2024 - January 5, 2025.Published ReferencesWalter P. Chrysler, Jr., Clifford W. Schaefer, and Dennis R. Anderson. THE GIFT OF AMERICAN NAIVE PAINTINGS FROM THE COLLECTION OF EDGAR WILLIAM AND BERNICE CHRYSLER GARBISCH: 48 MASTERPIECES. Norfolk, VA: The Chrysler Museum. 1975: p. 65. Dennis R. Anderson. THREE HUNDRED YEARS OF AMERICAN ART IN THE CHRYSLER MUSEUM. Norfolk, VA: The Chrysler Museum. 1976: p. 54. Introduction by Roger B. Stein. AMERICANS AND THE SEA. Pensacola, FL: Pfeiffer Printing for the Pensacola Museum of Art. 1982: p. 23. Drew Pullen, _Portrait of the Past: The Civil War on Hatteras Island, North Carolina_ Vol. 2 (New Jersey: Aerial Perspective, 2001), cover ill., 4. Drew Pullen, _Portrait of the Past: The Civil War on Roanoke Island, North Carolina_ Vol. 3 (New Jersey: Aerial Perspective, 2002), 2, 140.