Confederate Brass Ship Bell Dated 1864 from the CSS ALEXANDRA For Sale

Confederate Brass Ship Bell Dated 1864 from the CSS ALEXANDRA
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Confederate Brass Ship Bell Dated 1864 from the CSS ALEXANDRA :
$6800.00



A rare 1864 dated Cast Brass Confederate Ship Bell from the CSS ALXEANDRA. Weight 26.6 lbs, 11\" diameter and 10.5\" tall. The bell comes with a specially made wooden display rack from which the bell can be easily removed or put back in place. An old newspaper wood cut image of the Alexandra is shown.


The bell comes from the collection of a retired Duke University doctor who is a British and American citizen. It was found over 40 years ago from an antique shop along the coastal area of either South Carolina or Georgia.


Confederate attacks using British made ships on American vessels gave the U.S. government grounds to sue the British government for damages caused by the CSSAlabamaand other British-made Confederate ships.


Charles Prioleau, a cotton merchant, ship owner, and strong financial backer of the Confederacy from Liverpool, had ordered a war vessel “ALEXANDRA”to be built on behalf of the Confederacy, and it was registered to the Preston & Fawcett Engineering Co. The ship was built by a subcontractor – Wm C. Miller & Sons shipyard.


The ship was intended to be a gift to the Confederate government from Fraser, Trentholm & Company, cotton brokers and ship-owners whose Liverpool agent was Charles Prioleau.


The small wooden 300 ton vessel “Alexandra” was very strongly built with a screw steam engine to power her propeller and a three-masted barquentine rig. At 145 feet long, she was smaller than the “Florida” which was 191 feet long.


The Alexandra was described by Miller ship builders as suitable for use as a yacht or mail boat, though she was very suitable for conversion into a gunboat. She was commissionedon March 7 1863 and named Alexandra after the Princess who married the Prince of Wales on March 10.


The British government was deeply embarrassed by the CSS“Alabama”and other Confederate ship attacks on Union ships and was fearful of being dragged into the conflict. Citing the Foreign Enlistment Act of 1819, British officials ordered the seizure of the CSS Alexandra in on April 5 1863.


The ensuing legal action from this seizure served as a test case for future Confederate shipbuilding in Britain. The hearing took place in London, rather than Liverpool which had a pro-Confederate reputation.


The seizure of the CSSAlexandrawas greeted by an editorial in theLiverpool Mercurypraising the government\'s decision to intervene and condemning ship building on the grounds that it was “the interest of a great commercial community like this that the destruction of property at sea in times of war should be as much dismissed as possible.”


Prioleau and Bulloch hired former Solicitor General Hugh Cairns to act as their defense. The British courts ultimately affirmed builders their right to build ships, as long as they were not armed, but the CSS“Alexandra”case still dragged on through a series of appeals and counter suits. To avoid further litigation, the British Government increasingly relied on executive power to enforce the Declaration of Neutrality. In addition, the activities of James Bulloch were placed under much greater scrutiny. In 1863, the British government also seized ironclad vessels Bulloch had commissioned to be built by John Laird Sons & Co.


It was common knowledge that the “Alexandra” had links to the Confederacy, since a report in the newspapers on March 16 stated “a gunboat built by Messrs W C Miller & Sons at Liverpool for the Confederates was launched last week”.


Before the ship’s sailing, the Union consul, Thomas Dudley, in Liverpool used Union agents to support this allegation and he placed their evidence before the British government.


The Union spies were motivated by payment and were a rather disreputable bunch of men. Much of their evidence was hearsay and not legally significant. Dudley stated from the Miller shipyard that “Alexandra” was intended as a Confederate gunboat based on Captain Tessier discussing the construction of her.


The evidence presented was that “Alexandra” was very suitable for conversion to a warship and that she would be converted into a Confederate warship. After a year-long series of court proceedings, in May 1864 she was eventually cleared on condition that she was clearly fitted out as a merchant vessel.


The ship was renamed “Mary” and sailed from Liverpool on July 17 1864 and arrived off St. George\'s Harbour in Bermuda on August 30. The ship returned to Halifax, then returned to Bermuda on November 14 1864 and then left for Nassau, arriving on November 29. Union spies reported seeing guns on board, so she was again the subject of court proceedings.


It is unknown if the ship bell was removed from the Alexandra and replaced with a new bell for the Mary upon sailing, or if the ship kept its original ALEXANDRA bell dated 1864. It would take more time to replace the bell and the ship\'s launching had long been delayed.


One 12 pound gun (built by Fawcett & Preston) and cases of shells were found among the goods stowed aboard, but she was released on 30 May 1865, too late for the Confederacy.

This a rare opportunity to own a confederate ship\'s brass bell. It has a great bell sound. The bell is very fine overall condition.


I am selling an item that has comefrom a fine collection.All merchandise is guaranteed to be as represented in the supplied description and pictures.

Sorry No International Shipments.

FreeShippingvia US Priority Mailpaid by Seller.

Due to the value of the Item, the Item will beinsured by the Seller.




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