Lot 29: EDWARD LAWTON MOSS (IRISH, 1843-1880) HMS BULLDOG

EDWARD LAWTON MOSS (IRISH, 1843-1880) HMS BULLDOG SHELLING THE FORTS AT CAP HAITI ON 9TH NOVEMBER 1865 AFTER SINKING THE REBEL VESSEL VALDROGUE signed with monogram l.r.; the following inscription is taken from the label attached to the backboard, "H.M.S. Bulldog shelling the Forts at Cap Haiti, on 9-11-1865, after sinking the rebel vessel Valdrogue. This in reply to the rebel leader, Salnave, shooting the occupants of the British consulate. The Bulldog then stuck on a reef and was abandoned and blown up by her crew under Captain Wake, who was later censured by a Court Martial/Painted by S/Cdr E.L. Moss R.N" pen and ink and watercolour with over traces of pencil 18cm x 31cm; 7in x 12 1/4in Moss was a naval surgeon who spent most of his short career and life in foreign seas. A lot of Moss' letters, literature and art were about his first ship 'HMS Bulldog'. Sadly his dramatic life at sea came to a mysterious end when in 1880 his boat 'HMS Atalanta' disappeared without a trace off Bermuda.