Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Bachrach & Chase [Spar deck of the U.S.S. Santee]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05111.01.0030 Author/Creator: Bachrach & Chase Place Written: s.l. Type: Photograph Date: circa 1865 Pagination: 1 albumen : b&w ; 27.8 x 35.4 cm. Order a Copy

One undated photograph entitled, "Spardeck 'Santee,'" printed by Bachrach & Chase. Photograph was taken on upper deck and includes canons and the ship's wheel. Three sailors visible in the middle of the deck.

The USS Santee was engaged in cutting out the rebel-armed schooner Royal Yacht from Galveston Bay, Texas on 7 November 1861. The Santee helped to capture and burn the Royal Yacht in the Bolivar Channel. In the action, the ship's pilot George Bell (Captain of the Afterguard) was wounded and earned a medal of honor for his heroism and good service. In October 1862, the Santee arrived at Newport, R.I., following refit at the Boston Navy Yard, serving as a school ship for the Naval Academy. She continued to serve the Academy until 1912.

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