In U.S. Frigate Congress on the California Coast, artist Christopher
Blossom presents us with the flagship of the California squadron
during the war with Mexico. Built between 1839 and 1842 at the
Portsmouth Navy Yard in Maine, the Congress served off South
America in the 1840s. The Civil War brought Congress back to
U.S. waters, joining the blockade of the Confederacy's Atlantic
coast. In March 1862, US Congress was attacked by the ironclad
CSS Virginia and forced to surrender.
Signed by the artist. |