December 10-13, 2024 Firearms & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/10/2024
Oil on canvas, 21 x 17 in., within original carved frame. John Joliffe Yarnall (1786–1815) was an officer in the United States Navy during the War of 1812 and the Second Barbary War. Born in Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia), Yarnall was appointed midshipman in the Navy on 11 January 1809 and can be considered the only US Navy officer to serve in the War of 1812 from the latter state. Between 1809 and 1812, Yarnall cruised the coastal waters of the United States in "Chesapeake" and "Revenge" enforcing the Embargo Act and protecting American vessels for seizure by French privateers and impressment by the Royal Navy. In 1813, he was transferred to Oliver Hazard Perry's flotilla and became First Lieutenant on board Perry's flagship, "Lawrence". He fought in the decisive Battle of Lake Erie on 10 September 1813 and, though wounded, refused to leave his post during the engagement. When Perry shifted his flag to "Niagara" during the battle, LT Yarnall assumed command of "Lawrence". After the battle, he took the squadron's wounded on board and carried them back to Erie for medical attention. For his performance in the battle, Yarnall earned Perry's commendation as well as a silver medal expressing the gratitude of Congress and the country. In the spring 1815, Yarnall sailed with Stephen Decatur in the frigate "Guerriere" during the Second Barbary War. On 17 June, off the Algerian coast, his ship encountered and captured Mashuda, the flagship of the Algerian Navy. During that engagement, Yarnall was wounded again and was subsequently selected to carry dispatches from Decatur to Washington, DC, embarking aboard the sloop "Epervier." The warship was last seen on 14 July 1815 as she passed through the Strait of Gibraltar and into the Atlantic. Presumably, the ship was lost with all hands and passengers, Yarnall among them. and all others on board went down with her during the transatlantic voyage. Two Navy warships have been honored with his name since his loss at sea. The artist Charles Delin (1756-1818) painted many American sea captains over the course of his career, but the Yarnall portrait is the only known portrait by him of a US Navy officer. PROVENANCE: purchased by Sack, Inc. "from direct descendants of Lieutenant Yarnall"; Sack P4144; private collection from c. 1950; sold as lot 881 in Northeast Auctions Maritime Sale, 19 August 2012. EXHIBITED AND PUBLISHED: Peter Benes and Historical Society of Newburyport, "Charles Delin: Port Painter of Maastricht and Amsterdam", 20 July-20 October 1985, catalog pp. 80-81 (No. 54); The Toledo Museum of Art, "The Battle of Lake Erie", July-December 2013. CONDITION: scattered inpainting under UV light examination.