IMPORTANT 13 STAR US CIVIL WAR BOAT FLAG LATER USED AS FLAG ON SMALLEST SAILING SHIP “RED, WHITE & BLUE” TO CROSS THE ATLANTIC IN 1866

IMPORTANT 13 STAR US CIVIL WAR BOAT FLAG LATER USED AS FLAG ON SMALLEST SAILING SHIP “RED, WHITE & BLUE” TO CROSS THE ATLANTIC IN 1866. This 13 Star Boat Flag measures 32″ on hoist & 42″ on fly. The hoist is inscribed in contemporary brown ink “USS FLAMBEAU’S PICKET BOAT 1864 ACTING ENSIGN JM HUDSON”. The reverse of hoist reads “SHIP RED WHITE & BLUE OF NEW YORK TO LONDON 1866” and “PARIS EXPOSITION 1867”. Captain John M. Hudson was an Ensign on the United States Steamship Flambeau in 1864. He used his small “picket boat flag” on miniature ship Red, White & Blue which he captained from New York on July 9, 1866 and landed in Hastings, England on August 16, 1866. His arrival caused much notoriety for himself and the inventor & builder of this boat, Oliver R. Ingersoll. Ingersoll was trying to market this small 26′, two-ton, three-masted miniature ship for potential use as a life boat. The crowds and the acclaim of the arrival of The Red, White & Blue in England must have met with similar fervor of the arrival of Charles Lindbergh in Paris on his historic transatlantic air flight. The sailing of a 26′ boat from NY to England was just as exotic an adventure in 1866. When the ship arrived many skeptics questioned whether the ship had actually come from America since this had never been done in such a small vessel and the vessel would have had to average 96 miles a day. Several newspapers published letters of noted scholars & sailors stating this could not have been done. Several of these orig letters are contained in this archive with letters of other scholars studying the orig, detailed log of the cruise stating no doubt this trip did occur because coordinates cited on a daily basis could not have been fabricated and several other vessels sighted The Red, White & Blue in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and cited coordinates & dates identical to that of their ship’s log. After all this, the sailors were vindicated and the journey stands as one of the most impressive sailing feats of the 19th C. To those who have never made an extended voyage in a small craft in the open ocean, they might visualize this crossing as easy, possibly pleasant. But the log of the little ship tells the real story. The water taken aboard during storms & heavy seas caused the clothing & bedding to remain wet & moldy for the duration of the trip. Much of the stores & food spoiled and had to be discarded. The Captain’s watch which was critical to determine the longitude of the vessel rusted after 4 days and they had to navigate by sights at sunrise, sunset and the noon meridian. Significant events noted in the accompanying orig log: on July 18th about 11:30pm “Struck something hard on port bow and stopped the headway.” (The metal hull withstood the blow without any leaks, a wooden boat would probably have sank.) July 24th “Fearful foam rising 5 to 6 feet.” July 30th “A large whale passed by at 3am.” Aug 4th “Saw a barque, the first in 20 days.” Aug 6th “Strong gales & heavy seas from midnight to morning. A blind sea took ship on the port quarter & hove the vessel on its starboard beam but it righted after a half minute, everything soaked.” Aug 7th “Opened the 6th keg of water.” Aug 12th “Shipped a very heavy sea between main & mizzen rigging and completely knocked the ship on her beam ends. This was the 4th knock-down since leaving New York. From the noon position, found that the ship had overrun the reckoning by 27 miles south. Not bad in a distance of 3,300 miles. Entering the English Channel 34 days after leaving New York.” Aug 19th “Fanny died after being sick for several days.”(Fanny was the ship mascot along with her two-man crew, Captain and mate). After such acclaim, Captain Hudson became quite a celebrity and displayed his ship in the Crystal Palace in London and later at the Paris Exposition of 1867. There was a small pamphlet published that an orig copy is present with this archive that was available at the Crystal Palace Exhibition in 1866. There are two orig 1866 Currier & Ives hand-colored lithographs showing this flag flying from “The Miniature Ship Red, White & Blue”. The orig manuscript ship’s log is over 70 pgs long and measures about 15″ x 10″ and is filled with ink text detailing every detail of travel. There are also 12 newspaper clippings pasted onto a blank page in log from various newspapers showing opinions of the voyage. Also accompanying in this lot is a 100 page bound manuscript “Red, White & Blue Log of a Life on the Ocean Wave”. Included in this narrative is a history of the ship and also mentions of several yacht races including the America’s Cup race. This manuscript apparently was written to be made into a book based on the orig log and documents here. There are numerous testimonial letters & printed documents concerning the history of this flag and ship and Captain John Hudson’s history including his rank insignia and a couple documents referring to John Hudson’s Civil War naval service. This is a wonderful American 13 star Boat Flag with extraordinary history and provenance and archive. PROVENANCE: William Guthman CONDITION: Flag overall is in very good condition as conserved. Flag retains good and discernible orig ink markings on hoist. Bunting has several contemporary repairs to time of use in the canton as can be seen in photos. There are several holes and stained areas but colors are still vibrant & bright. Log book & manuscript book are very good and complete, easily read. There is some chipping to covers but contents good & discernible. The numerous letters, fliers and pamphlets associated with this archive are all in average good condition and in loose-leaf binder and protective sleeves. Captain Hudson’s Civil War era naval rank shoulder boards are very good overall, though missing a couple rows of bullion border, the black wool backgrounds and embroidered fluted anchor insignia are complete and overall very good. There are also some gold bullion cuff stripes that either date from the Civil War or during Captain Hudson’s voyage on “The Red, White & Blue”. The two framed Currier & Ives prints both appear very good, one showing foxing & acid burn, though colors are still excellent on both. Brass plaque is excellent retaining most all of its orig silver plate. 4-44916 JS42 (40,000-60,000)

Auction: Firearms - Spring 2012

Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

Image	Lot	Price	Description
	2426	$0.00	IMPORTANT 13 STAR US CIVIL WAR BOAT FLAG LATER USED AS FLAG ON SMALLEST SAILING SHIP “RED, WHITE & BLUE” TO CROSS THE ATLANTIC IN 1866. This 13 Star Boat Flag measures 32″ on hoist & 42″ on fly. The hoist is inscribed in contemporary brown ink “USS FLAMBEAU’S PICKET BOAT 1864 ACTING ENSIGN JM HUDSON”. The reverse of hoist reads “SHIP RED WHITE & BLUE OF NEW YORK TO LONDON 1866” and “PARIS EXPOSITION 1867”. Captain John M. Hudson was an Ensign on the United States Steamship Flambeau in 1864. He used his small “picket boat flag” on miniature ship Red, White & Blue which he captained from New York on July 9, 1866 and landed in Hastings, England on August 16, 1866. His arrival caused much notoriety for himself and the inventor & builder of this boat, Oliver R. Ingersoll. Ingersoll was trying to market this small 26′, two-ton, three-masted miniature ship for potential use as a life boat. The crowds and the acclaim of the arrival of The Red, White & Blue in England must have met with similar fervor of the arrival of Charles Lindbergh in Paris on his historic transatlantic air flight. The sailing of a 26′ boat from NY to England was just as exotic an adventure in 1866. When the ship arrived many skeptics questioned whether the ship had actually come from America since this had never been done in such a small vessel and the vessel would have had to average 96 miles a day. Several newspapers published letters of noted scholars & sailors stating this could not have been done. Several of these orig letters are contained in this archive with letters of other scholars studying the orig, detailed log of the cruise stating no doubt this trip did occur because coordinates cited on a daily basis could not have been fabricated and several other vessels sighted The Red, White & Blue in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and cited coordinates & dates identical to that of their ship’s log. After all this, the sailors were vindicated and the journey stands as one of the most impressive sailing feats of the 19th C. To those who have never made an extended voyage in a small craft in the open ocean, they might visualize this crossing as easy, possibly pleasant. But the log of the little ship tells the real story. The water taken aboard during storms & heavy seas caused the clothing & bedding to remain wet & moldy for the duration of the trip. Much of the stores & food spoiled and had to be discarded. The Captain’s watch which was critical to determine the longitude of the vessel rusted after 4 days and they had to navigate by sights at sunrise, sunset and the noon meridian. Significant events noted in the accompanying orig log: on July 18th about 11:30pm “Struck something hard on port bow and stopped the headway.” (The metal hull withstood the blow without any leaks, a wooden boat would probably have sank.) July 24th “Fearful foam rising 5 to 6 feet.” July 30th “A large whale passed by at 3am.” Aug 4th “Saw a barque, the first in 20 days.” Aug 6th “Strong gales & heavy seas from midnight to morning. A blind sea took ship on the port quarter & hove the vessel on its starboard beam but it righted after a half minute, everything soaked.” Aug 7th “Opened the 6th keg of water.” Aug 12th “Shipped a very heavy sea between main & mizzen rigging and completely knocked the ship on her beam ends. This was the 4th knock-down since leaving New York. From the noon position, found that the ship had overrun the reckoning by 27 miles south. Not bad in a distance of 3,300 miles. Entering the English Channel 34 days after leaving New York.” Aug 19th “Fanny died after being sick for several days.”(Fanny was the ship mascot along with her two-man crew, Captain and mate). After such acclaim, Captain Hudson became quite a celebrity and displayed his ship in the Crystal Palace in London and later at the Paris Exposition of 1867. There was a small pamphlet published that an orig copy is present with this archive that was available at the Crystal Palace Exhibition in 1866. There are two orig 1866 Currier & Ives hand-colored lithographs showing this flag flying from “The Miniature Ship Red, White & Blue”. The orig manuscript ship’s log is over 70 pgs long and measures about 15″ x 10″ and is filled with ink text detailing every detail of travel. There are also 12 newspaper clippings pasted onto a blank page in log from various newspapers showing opinions of the voyage. Also accompanying in this lot is a 100 page bound manuscript “Red, White & Blue Log of a Life on the Ocean Wave”. Included in this narrative is a history of the ship and also mentions of several yacht races including the America’s Cup race. This manuscript apparently was written to be made into a book based on the orig log and documents here. There are numerous testimonial letters & printed documents concerning the history of this flag and ship and Captain John Hudson’s history including his rank insignia and a couple documents referring to John Hudson’s Civil War naval service. This is a wonderful American 13 star Boat Flag with extraordinary history and provenance and archive. PROVENANCE: William Guthman CONDITION: Flag overall is in very good condition as conserved. Flag retains good and discernible orig ink markings on hoist. Bunting has several contemporary repairs to time of use in the canton as can be seen in photos. There are several holes and stained areas but colors are still vibrant & bright. Log book & manuscript book are very good and complete, easily read. There is some chipping to covers but contents good & discernible. The numerous letters, fliers and pamphlets associated with this archive are all in average good condition and in loose-leaf binder and protective sleeves. Captain Hudson’s Civil War era naval rank shoulder boards are very good overall, though missing a couple rows of bullion border, the black wool backgrounds and embroidered fluted anchor insignia are complete and overall very good. There are also some gold bullion cuff stripes that either date from the Civil War or during Captain Hudson’s voyage on “The Red, White & Blue”. The two framed Currier & Ives prints both appear very good, one showing foxing & acid burn, though colors are still excellent on both. Brass plaque is excellent retaining most all of its orig silver plate. 4-44916 JS42 (40,000-60,000) Auction: Firearms - Spring 2012 Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

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