Original Rare CIVIL War Usn Artwork From Battle Mobile Bay Naval Hero -2

  

Rare Civil War artwork period drawn by Naval Hero. West Chester Pennsylvania born Acting ensign Henry Clay Nields became one of the most decorated heroes of the 1864 battle of Mobile Bay.

Upon the sinking of the USS Tecumseh at the time of Farragut's immortal Full Speed ahead.. Nields was called into action from the Metacomet. Ordered to try to save the few survivors of the Tecumseh from drowning and both small and large gun fire, he set out in a small boat into the worst of the fray and succeeded in saving ten lives under what Farragut described as the "most galling fires I ever saw". Friend and foe alike paused to admire the boats courage during the heat of the battle.

Singled out shortly afterward, Nields was given an immediate promotion by Farragut and all of the small boats oarsmen were awarded the Medal of Honor. To Nields, a career Navy Man, this was the high water mark of his service and likely his life. He had his Masonic Jewel earned in 1865 engraved beautifully with a record of this action and image of the small boat and crew - an extreme rarity on jewels such as this. He died tragically young in 1880 while in the service.

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