Louis Guy, the president of the Norfolk Historical Society, likes to quote a famous line given to Pogo by the artist Walt Kelly; “We are confronted with insurmountable opportunities.”And just now, in the midst of the global economic meltdown, just such an opportunity has fallen into his lap.
Somewhere around 1815-1820, a French naval officer, Andre-Jules-Francois Martineng, on assignment for the American Navy, sailed up the Elizabeth River and sketched what he saw. The result is half a dozen precisely drawn images of Norfolk and Portsmouth that are jaw-dropping in their depictions of the cities’ waterfronts.
Guy recently received a packet of photocopies of the drawings from the Michel Descours Galerie in Lyons, France, asking if the Historical Society would be interested in purchasing the originals. At the bottom of the letter, is a very discrete – but no less jaw-dropping – fig
ure of 75,000 Euros. At current rates, that’s about $102,000.The Dutch-inspired drawings “reflect the topographical study and scientific rigor characteristic of the sure and firm hand of a young 39-year-old officer,” the accompanying letter says.
There are two sketches Martineng made in Washington, of the West Front of the Capitol and a collage of several other buildings, including the White House, and a third of the harbor at St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, but six of the Norfolk-Portsmouth waterfronts.
One of the most intriguing is a sketch of Fort Nelson, the formidable bastion that once guarded Portsmouth. Originally built in 1776 and destroyed during the Revolutionary War, the fort was redesigned by Benjamin Latrobe and rebuilt, only to be knocked down to make room for the nation’s first naval hospital. Apparently, in all this time, no one bothered to sketch the fort. We didn’t know what it looked like – until now.
There are several drawings of the Norfolk waterfront and Fort Norfolk, which was built almost directly opposite Fort Nelson. Last, but certainly not least, is a sketch that looks as though the artist is sailing up the Elizabeth, with Fort Norfolk on the left and Fort Nelson on the right. It may be the closest thing we’ll ever have to a snapshot of life on the water in that era.
“As far as I can tell, this is brand new information,” Guy says.
But he’s scratching his head over how to raise money and interest. The Hampton Roads Naval Museum might be the most logical choice, but the society and museum are embarked on an ambitious plan to rebuild the massive powder magazine at Fort Norfolk. The Chrysler Museum of Art runs the city’s historic museum, the Willoughby-Baylor House, but the Chrysler’s main focus is art, not history.
It’s phenomenal that the only known drawings done from Norfolk Harbor during this period reside in a French city. The amazing thing is they’ve surfaced. An opportunity, but insurmountable? Only time will tell.
“Now that we know these drawings exist,” Guy says, “we need to find a way to bring them to Norfolk from France.”
Looking south on the Elizabeth River, with Fort Nelson on right and Fort Norfolk on left. Below, Fort Nelson, which once stood on the site of Portsmouth Naval Hospital. Norfolk Historical Society.
