Description:

U.S.S. CHESAPEAKE VS. U.S.S. SHANNON
JAMES FREEMAN CURTIS (d. 1839) U.S. Naval officer and midshipman aboard the U.S.S. Chesapeake when it was captured by the H.M.S. Shannon in the climatic 1813 battle off Boston Harbor. He additionally served aboard U.S.S. Constitution when she captured the H.M.S. Cyane and H.M.S. Levant. He was also the father of James F. Curtis II (1825 - 1914) the noted 49er, San Francisco vigilante leader and the city's first police chief. Superb A.D.S. "James Freeman Curtis U.S. Navy" 1p. oblong 8vo., Boston, Sept. 22, 1817 certifying the identity of a seaman who served with him aboard the U.S.S. Chesapeake in the 1813 battle. The document reads, in full: "This certifies that he bearer Thomas Arthur served on board the U.S. Frigate Chesapeake from the period of her sailing from Boston in Decr. 1812 till she was captured by the British Frigate Shannon June 1st 1813. & was carried as a prisoner of War to Halifax, during all which time I belonged to said ship as a midshipman." Matted and framed with a partly-printed D.S. "Thomas Arthur", 1p. legal folio, Boston, Sept. 23, 1817, appointing Charles P. Curtis of Boston as his lawful attorney: "I Thomas Arthur. late a seaman on board the Frigate Chesapeake, now of Boston ... ordain .. in my stead and place ...Charles P. Curtis ... Attorney at Law to be my true, sufficient and lawful attorney for me and in my name ... to demand & receive from the Clerk of the District Court of the United Sates for the District of Massachusetts - or from the Marshall of said District ... all sums of money owed me as prize money for any captures made by the Frigate Chesapeake ... " The attorney named in the power of Attorney was James Freeman Curtis' older brother Charles Pelham Curtis, a prominent member of the Boston Bar. The 1813 duel between the two frigates was made famous by the Chesapeake's Capt. James Lawrence's final order: "Don't give up the ship!" Both documents bear the usual folds, some minor marginal tears, else very good. condition. Both matted and framed with an image of the naval battle between the American and British frigates.

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December 9, 2011 11:00 AM EST
Stamford, CT, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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