space Antique Arts Home  |  Store Home  |  My Cart  |  My Orders  |  Wish List  |  FAQ  |  Contact Us   
Search:   
separator

War Between the States

AUTOGRAPHS

By Category
Click to view Confederate Autographs
Click to view Historical
Click to view Music
Click to view Politicians & Statesmen
Click to view Sports
Click to view U.S. Naval Autographs
Click to view Union Autographs
Click to view World War II Autographs

Store Home
Browse All Items
Our Newest Additions
Search
Our Products
Click view sub-categories AUTOGRAPHS
Click to view Confederate Autographs
Click to view Historical
Click to view Music
Click to view Politicians & Statesmen
Click to view Sports
Click to view U.S. Naval Autographs
Click to view Union Autographs
Click to view World War II Autographs
Click to close category BOOKS
Click to view Civil War Books
Click to view Civil War Magazines
Click to view Historical Books
Click to view World War II Books
Click to close category CIVIL WAR & HISTORICAL ART
Click to view Engravings, Lithographs, Prints, Maps, Etc.
Click to view Harper's Weekly & Frank Leslie's Prints
Click to close category CIVIL WAR BONDS
Click to view Confederate Bonds
Click to close category CIVIL WAR DOCUMENTS
Click to view Confederate Documents
Click to view Union Documents
Click to close category CIVIL WAR LETTERS
Click to view Confederate Letters
Click to view Union Letters
Click to close category CIVIL WAR MEMORABILIA
Click to view Merchant & Patriotic Tokens
Click to view Miscellaneous
Click to view Patriotic Imprints
Click to view Relics
Click to close category CIVIL WAR VETERANS
Click to view Confederate Veterans
Click to view Miscellaneous
Click to view Union Veterans & Grand Army Of The Republic
Click to close category CURRENCY
Click to view Confederate & Southern States Currency
Click to close category GETTYSBURG
Click to view Miscellaneous
Click to close category HISTORICAL MEMORABILIA
Click to view Advertising
Click to view Imprints
Click to view Manuscripts
Click to view Miscellaneous
Click to view The American Revolution
Click to close category MEDAL OF HONOR
Click to view Autographs
Click to view Photographs
Click to close category NEWSPAPERS
Click to view Antebellum Newspapers
Click to view Confederate Newspapers
Click to view Harper's Weekly Illustrated Newspapers
Click to view Miscellaneous
Click to view Union Newspapers
Click to close category PHOTOGRAPHY
Click to view Autographed CDV's
Click to view Cabinet Cards
Click to view Civilian CDV'S
Click to view Confederates
Click to view Miscellaneous
Click to view Officers & Enlisted Men
Click to view Outdoor Views
Click to view Presidents, Politicians, Famous Personages
Click to view Stereo Views
Click to view Surgeon & General B.J.D. Irwin, MOH, Personal Collection
Click to view Union Generals
Click to view United States Navy
Click to view WBTS Confederate Image Archives
Click to view WBTS Union Image Archives
Click to close category PORTRAITS & HISTORICAL ART
Click to view Famous People, Historical Scenes & Illustrations
Click to view Prominent Americans
Click to close category POSTAL HISTORY
Click to view Civil War, G.A.R. & U.C.V. Postcards
Click to view Confederate Covers & Stamps
Click to view Miscellaneous Envelopes, Stamps, Etc.
Click to view Patriotic Covers
Click to close category PRESIDENTIAL MEMORABILIA
Click to view Miscellaneous
Click to close category THE ANTEBELLUM SOUTH & AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY
Click to view Documents, Engravings, Newspapers, Photographs, Etc.
Order Policies
About Us
Contact Us!
Our Mailing List
Calendar of Events
Links

Autograph, Admiral Samuel F. Du Pont

 
Autograph, Admiral Samuel F. Du Pont (Image1)
Click to zoom
      Ask a Question   Send to a Friend
 

Sold and Show
Item Number: Auto4675
 

 



PayPal.com
We also accept Checks and Money Orders.
 
 
 
 


War Period Signature With Rank

(1803-65) Appointed a midshipman in 1815. He fought prominently during the Mexican War, operating on the Pacific coast where he quickly showed his skill as a naval combat commander, taking or destroying thirty enemy ships and clearing the Gulf of California in the process. Du Pont transported Major John Fremont’s troops to San Diego, where they captured the city. Du Pont then continued operations along the Baja coast, including the capture of La Paz, and burnt two enemy gunboats in the harbor of Guaymas under heavy fire. He led the main line of ships that took Mazatlán on November 11, 1847, and on February 15, 1848, launched an amphibious assault on San José del Cabo that managed to strike three miles inland and relieve a besieged squadron, despite heavy resistance. He was given command of the California naval blockade in the last months of the war and, after taking part in further land maneuvers, was ordered home. Du Pont served most of the next decade on shore assignment, and his efforts during this period are credited with helping to modernize the U.S. Navy. He studied the possibilities of steam power, and emphasized engineering and mathematics in the curriculum that he established for the new United States Naval Academy which he was appointed superintendent of. He was an advocate for a more mobile and offensive Navy, rather than the harbor defense function that much of it was then relegated to, and worked on revising naval rules and regulations. After being appointed to the board of the United States Lighthouse Service, his recommendations for upgrading the antiquated system were largely adopted by Congress in a lighthouse bill. Du Pont was appointed commandant of the Philadelphia Naval Yard in 1860, and expected to retire in this post, but the outbreak of the Civil War altered not only his plans but the course of history. When communication was cut off with Washington at the start of the Civil War, Du Pont took the initiative of sending a fleet to the Chesapeake Bay to protect the landing of Union troops at Annapolis, Maryland. In June 1861, he was made president of a board in Washington formed to develop a plan of naval operations against the Confederacy. He was appointed flag officer serving aboard the steam frigate Wabash as commander of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, leading from Norfolk, Virginia the largest fleet ever commanded by an American officer at that time. On November 7th, Du Pont led a successful attack on the fortifications at Port Royal harbor in South Carolina. This victory enabled Union naval forces to secure the southern waters of Georgia and the entire eastern coast of Florida, and an effective blockade was established. Du Pont received commendations from U.S. Congress for his brilliant tactical success, and was appointed rear admiral on July 16, 1862. Towards the end of 1862, Du Pont became the first U.S. naval officer to be assigned command over armored "ironclad" warships. Though he commanded them ably in engagements with other ships, they performed poorly in an attack on Fort McAllister, due to their small number of guns and slow rate of fire. Du Pont was then given direct orders from the Navy Department to launch an attack on Charleston, South Carolina which was the site of the first shots fired in the Civil War with the fall of Fort Sumter and the main area in which the Union blockade had been unsuccessful. Though Du Pont believed that Charleston could not be taken without significant land troop support, he nevertheless attacked with nine ironclads on April 7, 1863. Unable to navigate properly in the obstructed channels leading to the harbor, his ships were caught in a blistering crossfire, and he withdrew them before nightfall. Five of his nine ironclads were disabled in the failed attack, and one more subsequently sank. The Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles, blamed Du Pont for the highly publicized failure at Charleston, and made him the scapegoat. Du Pont himself anguished over it and, despite an engagement in which vessels under his command defeated and captured a Confederate ironclad, he was relieved of command on July 5, 1863, at his own request. Though he received the help of Henry W. Davis, a U.S. Congressman from Maryland, to get his official report of the incident published by the Navy, an ultimately inconclusive congressional investigation into the failure essentially turned into a trial of whether Du Pont had misused his ships and misled his superiors. Du Pont's attempt to garner the support of President Lincoln was ignored. However, subsequent events vindicated Du Pont's judgment and capabilities. A later U.S. naval attack on the city failed, despite being launched with a significantly larger fleet of armored ships. Charleston was finally taken only by the invasion of General Sherman's army in 1865. Du Pont died on June 23, 1865.

War Period Signature With Rank: 4 1/2 x 2 3/4, in ink, Respectfully Yrs., S.F. Du Pont, Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy. Affixed to a 5 x 7 1/2 album page. This came directly out of an 1865 dated autograph album whereby prominent Union generals, admirals and politicians sent their autographs to be sold for charity for widows, orphans and the poor.



You might also like:
Autograph, Admiral Hiram Paulding, U.S. Navy

Autograph, Admiral Hiram...
$ 35.00
Autograph, Admiral Louis M. Goldsborough

Autograph, Admiral Louis...
$ 50.00
Autograph, Admiral John A. Dahlgren, U.S. Navy

Autograph, Admiral John...
$ 95.00
Autograph, Admiral Thomas T. Craven, U.S. Navy

Autograph, Admiral...
$ 75.00
Autograph, Admiral Charles S. Boggs, U.S. Navy

Autograph, Admiral...
$ 75.00
Autograph, Admiral Christopher R.P. Rodgers, U.S. Navy

Autograph, Admiral...
$ 50.00
Autograph, Admiral Charles H. Davis

Autograph, Admiral...
$ 50.00
Autograph, Commodore Henry W. Morris, U.S. Navy

Autograph, Commodore...
$ 75.00
Autograph, Commander Tunis A.M. Craven, U.S. Navy

Autograph, Commander...
$ 250.00
Autograph, Gideon Welles

Autograph, Gideon Welles
$ 175.00


PayPal.com
We also accept Checks and Money Orders.

Store Home  ·  About Us  · Catalog  ·  Contact  ·  FAQ / Policies  ·  Privacy  ·  Security  ·  Antique Arts home

· Calendar of Events · · Links ·  Tell a Friend About this Site!  · Join our Mailing List ·

War Between the States
P.O. Box 267
Lady Lake, FL 32158
US
Contact Us!
Updated: Thursday, March 28 2024
©1995-2024 TIAS.com. All rights reserved.