Beschreibung:

3 3/4 x 5 3/ in. albumen photograph on cardstock mount featuring studio portrait of Brigadier General Alfred W. Ellet seated, in profile. N.p.: n.p., [1860s]. (Sharp, bold image in very fine condition, light spotting, brief signs on verso of removal from a mounting.) SIGNED BY ELLET at the bottom of the image and extending onto the foot of the mount: “Alfred W. Ellet / Late Brig Gen Commanding / Miss Marine Brigade & Ram / Fleet Miss River.” [With:] 30 x 21 in. partly printed "Muster Roll of Detachment" on Ram Fleet, 59th Regiment of Illinois Volunteers, 30 April 1862 – 31 August 1862, Paid 7 October 1862. (Document separated at most of the folds and pieced back together with archival tape, which on the verso obscures, but does not entirely conceal, some of the writing.) SIGNED BY ELLET: “Col Alfred W. Ellet / Comdg Ram Fleet / Miss River.” Alfred W. Ellet, formerly Lieutenant Colonel, 59th Illinois, assumed command of the Ram Fleet in June. He was promoted to Brigadier General in November 1862 after proposing a mixed force of infantry, cavalry, and artillery that never exceeded 850 men to act as "marines" aboard the roving Mississippi Ram Fleet. Ellet led the Mississippi Marine Brigade during the Vicksburg Campaign in a series of smaller combined operations that generally reflected well upon the nascent command, despite complications of leadership. In the face of ongoing administrative problems and internal complaints, the Secretary of War ultimately ordered the MMB disbanded in August 1864. At this point, a number of long-serving officers were summarily relieved or discharged angering General Ellet, while the enlisted "marines" were removed from their vessels and assigned to shore duty in Vicksburg. The Richard B. Cohen Civil War Collection Lots 79-98; 116; 138-153; and 266 Cowan's is pleased to offer the third installment of Richard B. Cohen's collection of Civil War Brown Water Navy photography. Richard was known to many in the field as a "disciplined collector who maintained a relatively narrow focus having built an important, perhaps unsurpassed collection in his area of specialization." From cartes de visite to large format photographs, this portion of the collection features a noteworthy selection of images of Brown Water Navy warships, among them, the USS Benton, Choctaw, Lafayette, and Louisville. Many important identified naval officers are also represented, including an exquisite CDV of the promising young officer, Lieutenant Commander William Gwin, who died of wounds aboard the USS Benton following an artillery duel with Confederate forces at Snyder's Bluff, and an exceptionally large war-date photograph of the controversial commander of the USS Pittsburgh, Egbert Thompson. This auction also features a premiere selection of autographs and manuscripts from Richard's carefully curated collection. Highlights include a letter from Jefferson Davis to his distant cousin, John J. Pettus, Governor of Mississippi, dated a year before secession, conveying intricate plans for securing armaments in preparation for the war; an Abraham Lincoln signed endorsement; a letter from Admiral D.G. Farragut from New Orleans, offering excellent insight into his "political" thinking as well as his dedication to his work; correspondence from Gideon Welles, David Dixon Porter U.S. Grant, and W.T. Sherman; and a pair of superb letters with highly descriptive accounts of the Battle of the Monitor and Merrimac. Provenance:The Richard B. Cohen Civil War Collection