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Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Rebel Ironclad Merrimac Destroying the US Frigate Congress
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

Rebel Ironclad Merrimac Destroying the US Frigate Congress

Object numberMO 1957.44
Name Painting
Artist (American, 1839-1929)
Date1862
Mediumpainting: canvas, paint (oil), board
frame: wood
Dimensionsframe H 17 5/8 in x W 27 in x D 1 5/8 in (44.8 cm x 68.6 cm x 4.1 cm )
DescriptionAn oil on canvas painting (mounted to waxed board) of the CSS VIRGINIA (formerly the USS MERRIMACK) destroying the USS CONGRESS at Newport News, Virginia in 1862. The full title is: Rebel Ironclad MERRIMAC [sp.] destroying the US Frigate CONGRESS, Newport News, Va, March 9, 1862. The scene depicts the VIRGINIA, on the left, firing at the CONGRESS, on the right, from which flames can be seen rising from the deck. Behind the VIRGINIA are two additional Confederate war ships. To the right of the CONGRESS is a partially sunken sailing ship, presumably the USS CUMBERLAND. The painting is signed by the artist in the lower left corner: Xanthus Smith.

The painting is framed in a 1¼" black-painted wood frame with gilt inner trim.
Label TextFranklin Roosevelt was an avid, lifelong collector of prints, engravings, and paintings illustrating the history of the United States Navy. In 1922, he purchased this Xanthus Smith painting from Newman F. McGirr, a Philadelphia book and art dealer. FDR often purchased naval artwork from McGirr during the 1920s and 1930s.

Smith was a marine artist who served in the United States Navy during the Civil War. He is best known for his depictions of important naval battles of that war—a special interest of FDR’s.

Roosevelt was initially attracted to this painting of the 1862 battle between the CSS Virginia (formerly the USS Merrimack) and the USS Congress, which he found listed in a McGirr catalog. One of his Delano relatives had been instrumental in the Merrimack’s construction. Roosevelt approached this purchase cautiously. In a March 7, 1922, letter to McGirr he noted: “I should not care to have it if it were one of the paintings of Mr. Smith which looks more like a mathematical drawing than a work of art, but if it is one of the better paintings I should be glad to have you send it over to me at 49 East 65th Street, New York City, to see.”

After viewing the painting, FDR paid McGirr $42 for it. He attached a note to the bill: “Glad to have—Much better than I thought! FDR.”

Several months later, Roosevelt wrote McGirr again. “I like the painting of the Merrimac [sp.] so much that I wish you would send me on approval Xanthus Smith’s painting of the Sinking of the Alabama” (see MO 1957.45). That painting depicts the 1864 battle in which the USS Kearsage sank the famed Confederate raider. FDR purchased it for $47.25.

Additional Details
Credit LineEstate of Franklin D. Roosevelt
National Archives Catalog CollectionFranklin D. Roosevelt Library Museum Collection (National Archives Identifier 735948)
National Archives Catalog SeriesUnited States Navy Materials (National Archives Identifier 782673)
Use Restriction StatusUnrestrictedCopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.
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