The End Of The End

On April 9th 1865, Confederate General Robert E Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S Grant and to many Americans and outside observers this, if... more

by Anthony Lyon

Original - Not For Sale

Price

Not Specified

Dimensions

30.000 x 20.000 inches

Title

The End Of The End

Artist

Anthony Lyon

Medium

Painting - Acrylics On Canvas Board

Description

On April 9th 1865, Confederate General Robert E Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S Grant and to many Americans and outside observers this, if it wasn't the actual end, marked the beginning of the end of the American Civil War. The end proved to be a protracted affair. Many history commentators are now coming to the view that the actual end took place on 6th of November 1865, at 10am in the middle of the River Mersey, Liverpool, England. This was when Lieutenant (Commanding) James I Waddell surrendered the surface raider the Shenandoah to Captain James A D Paynter of HMS Donegal and this was in effect "the end of the end". So this has become the title of my painting.

About one day after the surrender, a large detachment of armed Royal Navy Marines (distinguishable by red jackets and black trousers) and sailors were placed on board the Shenandoah following a security incident. Prior to this Captain Paynter had allowed a more friendly and relaxed atmosphere to prevail. The painting shows a very plausible event which may well have occurred. This is because the three vessels had become a scene of intense interest. In the picture, from left to right we have :

HMS Donegal - a formidable ship of the line with 101 guns.
The CSS Shenandoah with armed Royal Navy marines and sailors on board
HMS Goshawk - a gunship, lashed to the Shenandoah.

Liverpool and it's docks are on the right of the scene and the entrance to the River Mersey is in the background.

In right foreground we have a mysterious boat. Who is aboard? Is it a newspaper reporter pushing his luck? Is it the very able US consul to Liverpool, Thomas H Dudley spying on the cluster of vessels. He was well known for prowling round Liverpool's docks during the Civil War trying to gain intelligence on the Confederates.

The marines and sailors are now under orders to open fire on anyone trying to leave or board the Shenandoah without permission. The lookouts notice the little boat. A warning is shouted to move away. The fisherman employed to row the vessel wastes no time in fleeing the scene and rows for his life. The mysterious man in the stern leans forward trying to keep a low profile. Incident over!

On the 8th of November the matter was resolved when Captain Paynter was instructed by the British Government to release the entire crew of the Shenandoah without charge......... except British nationals. These adventurers would have broken British law by joining in the American Civil War. He then had the unenviable task of trying to determine who were the British crewmen. He soon found this to be a complete waste of time. Waddell had already told him he had no documentary evidence to confirm any crewmember's nationality. When questioned, each told Captain Paynter that they were a "Southerner" but with.....an English accent, a Scottish, accent, a Welsh accent and so on! Paynter wasn't fooled but nobody would come forward to dispute their claims and he had no other means of pressing home his suspicions. In the end he let them all go. It just wasn't worth the aggravation. He then gave the Shenandoah over to the United States Authorities.

Lieutenant Waddell and the Shenandoah's ship's surgeon later thanked Captain Paynter for his kindness throughout the affair even though Paynter had needed to clamp down on matters. Crisis over!

PLEASE NOTE: The watermark does not appear on the purchased print.
The picture remains the copyright of the artist.

Uploaded

September 20th, 2018