Lot 9: ATTRIBUTED TO THOMAS MITCHELL (1735-1790) 'The

ATTRIBUTED TO THOMAS MITCHELL (1735-1790)
'The Tartar, Roebuck and Phoenix forcing the passage of the Hudson River, July 1776'
Signed and inscribed and dated on reverse 1981
Oil on canvas
28 x 46in. (71 x 117cm.)
From a cartouche accompanying this lot: In July 1776 Lord Howe arrived at Sandy hook to join his brother, General Sir William Howe, in the concentration which led to the capture of the New York. As a preliminary move the Admiral sent a squadron under Captain Hyde Parker, (afterwards Nelson's Commander-in-Chief at Copenhagen), to reconnoiter the north River. Hyde Parker in the Phaenix, with the Tartar and Roebuck, sailed 25 miles upstream despite the interference of the fire ships and heavy sustained cannonades from both shores; and returned after a month with their purpose accomplished.
++Heavy retouching throughout. Filling-in cracks. The top half of the sky contains original finish but there is heavy retouching to the lower half.