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Oil on canvas, 51cm x 82cm
The confederate raider 'SS Florida' is shown in full starboard profile under sail and steam with an unidentified Union merchant ship which has been forced to heave-to and is no doubt about to be boarded. She flies the Confederate flag at her after peak and a Confederate pennant from the main mast. The scene is undramatic. The accurate portrayal of 'Florida' is the artist's principal concern and the captured vessel is shown in a standard starboard profile in the middle distance.
The wooden hulled 'Florida' was built by William C Miller & Son of Toxteth Dock, Liverpool, and was fitted with engines by Fawcett, Preston & Company. During construction the pretence was maintained that she was destined for an Italian owner under the name 'Oreto'. Despite official doubts, which included an inspection, she was able to leave the Mersey in March 1862 and sailed for Nassau. Again her confederate ownership was investigated but in January 1863 she escaped to sea fully armed and began her career as a raider. She sank 36 Union ships before being captured illegally in the neutral Brazilian port of Bahia by the Union warship 'Wachusett' in October 1864. She sank in Hampton Roads, Virginia, in suspicious circumstances the same year.
Although not signed, perhaps because of the political considerations involved, this painting is clearly the work of Samuel Walters.