Lot 80: Edward John Russell (Canadian, 1832-1906) The

Edward John Russell (Canadian, 1832-1906) The U.S.S. President at anchor during a squall signed and dated lower right "Edwd J. Russell/1904" watercolor heightened with gouache on wove paper 19-1/2 x 28-3/4 in. (49.5 x 73 cm.) sight. [not examined out of the frame]
The U.S.F. President was a 44-gun frigate of the United States Navy. She was launched in April 1800, The U.S.F. President and her sisters were larger and more heavily armed and built than other frigates of the period. During her lifetime the President served in the defeat of the Barbary pirates in the First Barbary War and made several extended cruises during the War of 1812, patrolling as far away as the English Channel and Norway, and captured the armed schooner H.M.S. Highflyer and numerous merchant ships. In May 1811, she was at the center of the Little Belt Affair, in which her crew mistakenly indentified the H.M.S. Little Belt as the H.M.S. Guerriere, which had impressed an American seaman, resulting in an exchange of cannon fire.