Oversize outdoor albumen group portrait of the crew of the USS C.P. Williams. 8 x 5 in.

An excellent, framed Civil War albumen of the crew of the schooner USS C.P. Williams posed with their 13-inch sea mortar or "stubby gun". These large sea mortars were mounted on strong iron beds, turned on vertical pivots, and fired explosive shells at high angles to clear the walls of forts or other obstructions. The men in this picture are clearly thrilled with their fearsome new cannon, as evidenced by the dramatically posed officer resting against the barrel and a drummer and other band members posed behind him. 

The C.P. Williams was purchased by the Navy Department at New York City on 2 September 1861 and fitted out as a mortar schooner. She was commanded by Acting Master A. R. Langthorne and reported to the Mortar Flotilla in the Mississippi River. In 1862, the C.P. Williams cruised the lower Mississippi, joining in the bombardments of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, Louisiana from April 18–23, and Vicksburg, Mississippi from June 27 – July 3, as well as blockading Berwick Bay.

After sailing north for repairs, she joined the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron at Port Royal, South Carolina, and was soon engaged in the Battle of Legareville. During the remainder of the war, she patrolled the rivers and sounds of the area, fired on forts, covered landing parties, and engaged detachments of Confederate cavalry ashore. After some time spent in Charleston Harbor, she returned to Philadelphia, where she was sold soon after the Civil War ended.

This is an excellent example of an iconic Naval photograph, professionally framed and ready to hang. 

[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Photography, Early Photography, Historic Photography, Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes, Tintypes, Cased Images, Union Cases, Albumen Photographs, CDVs, Carte de Visites, Cartes de Visite, Carte-de-visite, Cartes-de-visite, CDV, Cabinet Cards, Stereoviews, Stereocards] [Navy, Naval History, Brown Water Navy, David Glasgow Farragut, David Dixon Porter, Battle of Mobile Bay, Battle of New Orleans, Blockade, Confederate Blockade]