Here is an amazing piece! This is a wonderful composite albumen image of 41 men. What makes it so special is that they are the crew of U.S. Flagship Powhatan. Commodore T.P. Greene, Rear Admiral J.A. Dahlgren.The Powhatan's keel was laid in August 1847 and she was launched in Feb. 1850 at a cost of over 3/4 of a million dollars. She had a shakedown cruise, then was commissioned in Sept. 1852. She went to Vera Cruz on her first assignment, then joined the East India Squadron the following year. She served as Matthew Perry's flagship during November 1853, then went with the rest of the squadron to Edo Bay in Feb. 1854. She remained with the East Indian fleet until 1860 when war was imminent at home. She became a part of the Atlantic blockade fleet for most of the war. During the Civil War she also made her second deployment to the West Indies before participating in the defeat of Fort Fisher in Dec. 1864 and Jan. 1865. After the war she returned to the Pacific, first escorting monitor USS Monadnock to San Francisco, then joining the South Pacific Squadron for the next three years. She was commanded by Rear Admiral Dahlgren from December 1866 to July 1868. From 1869 to 1886 she was part of the North Atlantic Squadron. She was sold in 1886 and scrapped the following year. The image measures 8 inches by 9-1/2 inches in size and it is mounted on the original backing that measures 11-1/2 inches by 13-1/2 inches in overall size. Ont he back of the paper it has the crew all identified. The mount has some age stains but it still displays beautifully. What a wonderful naval item!