French School, 19th/20th c ., "Charleston Viewing Fort Sumter Repulsing 9 Iornsides [sic]", oil on canvas, titled, inscribed and French canvas stencil en verso, 24 3/4 in. x 40 in., framed . Provenance: Estate of A. Leon Hebert; Williamson-LeBlanc Collection, Cornstalk Fence House, New Orleans. Note: After the secession of South Carolina from the Union in 1860, the United States military held Fort Sumter, located off the shores of Charleston, until South Carolina forces led by General P.G.T. Beauregard took the fort on April 13, 1861. Two years later, Union forces unsuccessfully attempted to retake the fort, using the ironclad frigate New Ironsides, the tower ironclad Keokuk, and the monitors Weehawken, Pasiac, Montauk, Patapsco, Nantucket, Catskill, and Nahant. The ships fired on the fort on April 7, 1863 into the night, which the artist depicts in this skillfully rendered canvas. As an eye witness, the artist would have had a wealth of knowledge regarding the placement of the ships, as well as the large group of Charlestonians who gathered to watch the bombardment.