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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.
U.S. Auxiliary Steam Frigate Merrimac
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

U.S. Auxiliary Steam Frigate Merrimac

Artifact IDMO 1942.239.20
Object Type Drawing
Artist (American artist, 1804 - 1878)
Dateca. 1856-1861
MediumPaper (wove), Paint (watercolor), Ink
Dimensionsoverall (sheet) H 20 3/8 in x W 28 3/4 in (51.8 cm x 73 cm )
Physical DescriptionAn original pen and ink and watercolor drawing of the USS MERRIMACK (1855). It depicts a side view of the three-masted ship, with a single smokestack, at sea under full sail. An American flag flies at the stern. The drawing is signed by the artist in the lower right: G. G. [or G. C.] POOK Del. The title of the drawing runs beneath the image: U.S. AUXILIARY STEAM FRIGATE MERRIMAC [sp].


Historical NoteThe steam frigate USS MERRIMACK (1856-1861) - sometimes incorrectly referred to as the USS MERRIMAC - was completed in 1855 at the Boston Navy Yard. Commissioned in 1856, the ship was for a time the flagship of the Pacific Squadron. After its decommission in 1860, the MERRIMACK was burned and sank by Federal forces the following year while anchored at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia. The Confederacy salvaged the ship and converted it to an armored ironclad, commissioned as the CSS VIRGINIA in 1862.

Franklin Roosevelt was an avid, lifelong collector of prints, engravings, and paintings illustrating the history of the United States Navy. He considered this drawing to be a rare item.
Additional Details
Custodial History NoteDeposited at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum by Franklin D. Roosevelt on March 28, 1942. It was donated as a bequest of FDR to the Library in 1947.
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.
In Collection(s)
Not on view