Capture of H.B.M. Frigate Macedonian by U.S. Frigate United States, October 25, 1812

Thomas Chambers, Capture of H.B.M. Frigate Macedonian by U.S. Frigate United States, October 25, 1812, 1852, oil on canvas, 34 ⁷⁄₈ x 50 ¹⁄₄ in. (88.6 x 127.5 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Sheldon and Caroline Keck in honor of Elizabeth Broun, 1992.18

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Artwork Details

Title: Capture of H.B.M. Frigate Macedonian by U.S. Frigate United States, October 25, 1812
Artist: Thomas Chambers
Date: 1852
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum
/
2nd Floor
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East Wing
Dimensions: 34 ⁷⁄₈ x 50 ¹⁄₄ in. (88.6 x 127.5 cm.)
Credit Line: Gift of Sheldon and Caroline Keck in honor of Elizabeth Broun
Mediums: oil
Mediums Description: oil on canvas
Classifications: Painting
Subjects: Architecture — boat — Macedonia
Architecture — boat — United States
History — United States — War of 1812
Object Number: 1992.18
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1992.18

Artwork Description

The rolling waves and swirls of smoke in this painting convey the noise and excitement of battle. To patriotic nineteenth-century Americans, the victory of the frigate United States over the British ship Macedonian in 1812 marked a triumph against British sea power. Off the Canary Islands, Stephen Decatur's ship damaged the Macedonian's hull, dismasted, and captured her. Decatur became an American hero who famously proclaimed "Our country-...may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong."

Exhibition Label, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2006