CINCINNATI, OHIO — Leading the day at Cowan’s American history auction June 10 were a Samuel Walters ship painting that attained $126,000, setting a world auction record price, and a Civil War archive of Brevet Brigadier General James H. Kidd of the 6th Michigan Cavalry that fetched $102,000.

Walters (British, 1811–1882) painted a rare portrait of the Confederate blockade runner CSS Colonel Lamb at sea in 1864. The Liverpool-based English maritime artist painted several American ships, and this example is the only extant Confederate vessel he painted.

The CSS Colonel Lamb was built in 1864 by Jones, Quiggen & Company, and then transferred to the Confederacy. The Company was known to have produced several Confederate commissions. The Colonel Lamb survived the Civil War and was eventually sold to the Brazilian government as a transport ship. Given the date of his oil on canvas, Walters executed the painting while the Lamb was in service for the Confederate Navy.

The Kidd archive included a Custer valor medal in 14K gold and blue enamel made by Tiffany. Also in the 23-item archive is Kidd’s sword and a 14K gold GAR badge having a 6th Cavalry hanger.

A complete report on the auction will appear in an upcoming edition.