Lot 502
Powder Horn Depicting the Three-Masted Ship Liberty, 1775. With a large detailed scrimshaw engraving of the Liberty; to the right is "II Ship Liberty" and below is "Capt. John King's Horn 1775"; 9" in length.
The USS Liberty was one of the Continental armed vessels on Lake Champlain. She was a schooner, armed with two four-pounders, four two-pounders and eight swivels, and she supported the Continental forces during the Canadian campaign. Built at Skenesboro (now Whitehall) on Lake Champlain, New York for wealthy landowner and former British Army Captain Philip Skene, she was captured on May 11, 1775, and renamed Liberty.
Vol. II, p. 87 of Naval Documents of the American Revolution (William Bell Clark, editor, 1966) gives the General Order of Major General Philip Schuyler, Camp at Isle aux Noix, Sept. 13, 1775, "The Schooner 'Liberty' will proceed with the Army--Capt Douglas & Lt. Lockwood will chuse out determined Volunteer Crew and good Rowers for the Gallies." In one of the first naval battles of the American Revolution, American commander Benedict Arnold (not yet a traitor) lost many of his ships during the battle of Valcour Island (Oct. 11, 1776). The Liberty, which was away on a supply run, escaped the fate of most of Arnold's fleet, but she was destroyed in June 1777 as Burgoyne marched south.
Estimated Value $2,000 - 3,000.
Ex. The Claude Harkins Collection of Americana; Guthman Americana, 1993.
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| Realized $4,800 |
