A watercolour painting of the US Navy corvette ‘Lancaster’ (1858), built in Philadelphia. She is shown here with her flying jib, foresail and mainsail partially furled, but there is little sense of activity on board. A rowing boat full of figures, including an admiral, makes its way toward the ship lower right, lending movement and interest in this otherwise rather static portrait. The stars and stripes is flying from her spanker yard. ‘Lancaster’ was the largest of five screw sloops built on the authority of an Act of Congress approved in 1857. In 1859 she went on to the Pacific Station and remained there as flagship until 1867, taking no part in the Civil War (F.M. Bennett, ‘The Steam Navy of the United States’, p. 158)