BOMBARDMENT OF VERA CRUZ - March 9, 1847
Adolphe Jean-Baptiste
Bayot after Carl Nebel. Hand-colored lithograph. Appleton & Co., NY.
1851.
This illustration by Carl
Nebel was published in George Wilkins Kendall's classic work The War Between the United States and Mexico Illustrated. In it Kendall
states:
"The reasons which induced the artist to select the Navy battery as the point from which to sketch his picture were numerous ~ among the most important its high and commanding
position, the full view of the city obtained, the importance it had in its reduction, and to pay a compliment, well-merited if poor, to the spirited officers and sailors of the American Squadron."
To be sure, Nebel relied on a
similar work by Walke but is generally accurate. His depiction of the uniforms of the naval personnel shows some officers wearing the regulation dark blue, long frock
coats. Others, probably midshipmen and enlisted men, wear short blue jackets. Some appear without
jackets, in frocks of white cloth lined with blue cotton cloth. Some officers and men wear white pantaloons designed for
tropical climates, while others wear dark blue, reflecting the discretion commanding officers had over the uniforms of their men. Head gear is accurate, reflecting the variety then
in use: enlisted men wearing flat, black hats; officers either with blue undress cap with gold bands or straw hats.
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