May 1, 1861-Dated Early Civil War, Rare Broadside style Handbill issued just over Two Weeks after the Surrender of Fort Sumter titled, “By Submarine Telegraph From The Seat Of War ! - A Naval Engagement ! - The United States Triumphant !!” New York, Framed, Very Fine.
This printed Broadside style Handbill, is framed to 11.5 x 8.75 inches and measuring 7.5 x 5 inches (by sight), issued from New York on May 1, 1861, just over two weeks after the surrender of Fort Sumter. Headlines, “BY SUBMARINE TELEGRAPH FROM THE SEAT OF WAR!, A NAVAL ENGAGEMENT!, THE UNITED STATES TRIUMPHANT!!”, and “BRILLIANT ACHIEVEMENT OF THE HARRIET LANE!”. It reports that the Union steamer Harriet Lane, while off Old Point Comfort, was boarded by a vessel called the Carlisle, and "vigorously returned the fire of the Carlisle, which, after a spirited contest of a few minutes, ceased firing; its gun having been dismounted and flag lowered," leaving the Carlisle, in the broadside's words, with "not a spar standing." A closing paragraph headed “LATER” walks the victory back somewhat, reporting that, "it is feared that the Harriet Lane is injured more than was at first supposed, with two holes discovered in her stern and her pumps unable to keep pace with the leak”.

The Harriet Lane's own documented Civil War service does not include this engagement, and no vessel named Carlisle appears in the standard naval chronologies of the period; the episode does not appear to be corroborated outside this broadside. What the Harriet Lane did genuinely do in these same weeks is well established: as part of the squadron sent to resupply Fort Sumter, her Second Lieutenant, Daniel Thompkins, fired on the merchant steamer Nashville on the evening of April 11, 1861, when that vessel failed to show her colors, an action credited by Coast Guard historian Captain Commandant Horatio Davis Smith, USRCS, Ret., as the first naval shot of the Civil War.

The gap between the ship's real record and this broadside's claims is itself the more interesting story: in the anxious, poorly verified news environment of the war's first weeks, when telegraph dispatches were partial and slow to confirm, city printers rushed sensational "Extra" broadsides onto the street on the strength of rumor alone, and this piece reads as a representative example of that pattern, trading on the novelty of the telegraph itself as a badge of credibility.

This broadside presents with several folds and scattered light soiling. It is professionally modern matted and framed under special UV-Protective Plexiglas, ready to hang on display.

Provenance: Collection of Ambassador J. William Middendorf II.


The USS Harriet Lane was a revenue cutter of the United States Revenue Cutter Service and, on the outbreak of the American Civil War, served as a ship of the United States Navy and much later the Confederate States Navy.

The ship was named after the Niece of Senator and later United States President, James Buchanan; and during his Presidency, she acted as First Lady. The cutter was christened and entered the water for the Revenue Service in 1859 out of New York City. It saw action during the Civil War at Fort Sumter, New Orleans, Galveston, Texas, and Virginia Point.

USRC Harriet Lane again transferred to the Navy on March 30, 1861, for service in the expedition sent to Charleston, South Carolina, to supply the Fort Sumter garrison after the outbreak of the American Civil War. She departed New York April 8 and arrived off Charleston April 11.[3][4] On the evening of the 11th, Harriet Lane fired on the civilian steamship Nashville when that merchantman appeared with no colors flying. Nashville avoided further attack by promptly hoisting the United States ensign. When Major Robert Anderson surrendered Fort Sumter 13 April, Harriet Lane withdrew with her sister ships.

According to Coast Guard historian Captain Commandant Horatio Davis Smith, USRCS, Ret; Second Lieutenant Daniel Thompkins Fired the First Naval Shot of the Civil War with the thirty-two pounder he commanded on the deck of the Harriet Lane, fired at the mail steamer Nashville when she failed to show her colors.

The Confederates captured her in 1863, whereupon she was converted to mercantile service. Union forces recaptured her at the end of war. At that point, the U.S. Navy declared her unfit for service and sold her. New owners out of Philadelphia renamed her Elliot Ritchie. Her crew abandoned her at sea in 1881.
Civil War, Broadside, 1861, Handbill, Fort Sumter, New York, Ambassador J. William Middendorf II