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1886-88 USS Kearsarge (1862-1894), Notated Working Sail Plan Drawing, Portsmouth

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:400.00 USD Estimated At:800.00 - 1,000.00 USD
1886-88 USS Kearsarge (1862-1894), Notated Working Sail Plan Drawing, Portsmouth
Civil War
Original Working Sail Plan of the “U.S.S. Kearsarge” Used During Her Refit Final Recommissioning Nov. 2nd, 1888
c. 1886-88, USS Kearsarge (1862-1894), Notated Drawing on fine linen wove paper of the Original Sail Plan of the “U.S.S. Kearsarge”, Portsmouth Navy Yard, Very Fine.
This large size, highly detailed Plan was drawn at the Portsmouth Navy Yard during the U.S.S. Kearsarge’s last refit. It measures about 39.25” x 20” housed under a clear plastic mounted cover fully to 40” x 27”. There is an outline of a small prior tag at upper right (likely removable), and has some wear from use. A contemporary handwritten pencil notation at right side notes, “Copy of this made for equipment May 9, 1888”. This Plan is from an original drawing, also noted: U.S.S. “Kearsarge” / scale 1/8 inch = one foot”. More original faint pencil notations are present. Famous for its historic Civil War Naval victory vs. CSS Alabama under command of Captain John Winslow, the Kearsarge was later recommissioned November 2nd, 1888 and then largely spent her remaining years protecting American interests in the West Indies, off Venezuela, and along the Central Americas. She departed Haiti January 30th, 1894 for Bluefields, Nicaragua, but was wrecked on Roncador Reef off Central America on February 2nd, 1894. Her officers and crew safely made it ashore. A very rare decorative Plan which would be a wonderful addition to display in any Civil War or American Naval History collection.
USS Kearsarge (1862-1894):

USS Kearsarge, a 1550-ton Mohican class steam sloop of war, was built at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine, under the 1861 Civil War emergency shipbuilding program. She was commissioned in January 1862 and almost immediately deployed to European waters, where she spent nearly three years searching for Confederate raiders.

In June 1864, while under the command of Captain John Winslow, Kearsarge found CSS Alabama at Cherbourg, France, where she had gone for repairs after a devastating cruise at the expense of the United States' merchant marine.

On 19 June 1864, the two warships, nearly equals in size and power, fought a battle off Cherbourg, France that became one of the Civil War's most memorable naval actions. In about an hour, Kearsarge's superior gunnery completely defeated her opponent the CSS Alabama, which soon sank.

After searching off Europe for the Confederate cruiser Florida, Kearsarge went to the Caribbean, then to Boston, where she received repairs before returning to Europe in April 1865 to try to intercept the ironclad CSS Stonewall. With the end of the Civil War, she remained in the area until mid-1866, when she was placed out of commission.

Kearsarge returned to active service in January 1868 and was sent to the the Pacific coast of South America. During 1869, she cruised across the ocean as far as Australia, then returned to Peru. The next year, Kearsarge sailed north to Hawaii, then moved on to Mare Island, California, where she decommissioned in October 1870.

In 1873-78, she was back in commission, cruising in Asiatic waters until September 1877, then transiting the Suez Canal to return to the U.S. East coast, where she decommissioned in early 1878.

Two more tours of duty awaited Kearsarge during the next decade and a half. She operated in the North Atlantic and Caribbean areas in 1879-83, then went back to Europe and Africa until late 1886.

From 1888 onwards, she was stationed in the West Indies and Central American areas. While en route from Haiti to Nicaragua on 2 February, she was wrecked on Roncador Reef. An effort to salvage her proved fruitless, and USS Kearsarge was stricken from the Navy List later in the year.