SCRIMSHAW TOOTH, 1776 NAVAL BATTLE
19th c. tooth with 20th c. carving
BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN
approx. nine ships engaged in battle, title in border; the reverse with standing figure of Liberty holding a 15-star American flag, an eagle standing at her side, 5.5"
By descent from a New Jersey private collector.
October, 1776, Revolutionary War. The American fleet at Lake Champlain consisted of 16 various ships under the command of General Benedict Arnold. "We have a wretched motley crew in the fleet, the marines the refuse of every regiment, and the seamen, few of them ever wet with alt water." Out-gunned and out-numbered, after a long day's intense battle, the American fleet cunningly slipped past the British fleet to safety in the darkness. Shocked at dawn to find the enemy gone, the British pursued. Close to final defeat, Arnold commanded that the final five vessels be run aground in Ferris Bay, Vermont and torched, their flags flying, so that the British would not capture them. Arnold and those marines remaining, fled to Fort Ticonderoga.
Crack through naval scene, other small cracks.
Estimate: $400 - $600
Realized: $300 - Excluding Buyer's Premium
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Lot 308 : SCRIMSHAW TOOTH, 1776 NAVAL BATTLE
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