1863 State Department Life Saving Medal. By Salathiel Ellis, after Emmanuel Leutze. Julian LS-1. Silver. Very Choice Mint State.66.8 mm, 5.2 mm at the rims. 1787.5 grains. At the height of the Civil War, a shipload of cotton from Union-held New Orleans left for England, captained by a Swedish immigrant who had brought the first shipload of food to New Orleans at the end of a crushing blockade. When Captain John Andersons barque <em>Pamelia Flood</em> capsized and broke up in a gale in the Irish Sea, William Griffith saved his life.<p>On behalf of a grateful nation, President Abraham Lincoln gave Griffith this medal. Today, it appears to be one of just three known survivors in silver, along with three awarded examples in gold.<p>This is a magnificent example of this scarce medal, one very rarely seen in any composition other than bronze, offered here in an exquisite state of preservation that far surpasses a typical awarded lifesaving medal. Medium to light silver gray is the aesthetic backdrop, accented by soft rose and pale blue toning with gently mottled effect. This was clearly presented in its original case and probably not removed from it more than a few times ever. The surfaces exhibit a few very faint hairlines in the fields but the robust prooflike reflectivity nicely accentuates the bold motifs that retain unbroken, heavily frosted texture creating a pleasing cameo contrast. A few tiny lint marks are noted, speaking to the attention put into striking this special award medal, requested directly by President Lincoln. Superb eye appeal throughout. Even more unusual than a nice medal is an original 19th century presentation case as well-kept as this one. Black leather covered wooden case of issue, with stamped gilt presentation inscription on the cover. Blind stamped linear border around the front cover, and gilt ornaments around the interior border when opened. Lined in deep burgundy velvet that is so clean that it appears almost as new. Fully intact with a functioning clasp.<p>The <em>Pamelia Flood</em> was a barque, a large sailing vessel, constructed in Green Bay, Wisconsin in 1858. She was 128 feet long with a 25 foot beam. The ship was a sensation upon her arrival in New York City from Green Bay via Quebec, when she became the largest ship yet to make passage via the Welland Canal, the man-made bypass of the Niagara River and its famous falls, connecting Lake Ontario to Lake Erie. She was the largest oceangoing vessel built in Green Bay up to that time, and she had a famous lineage as well: the man who built the <em>Pamelia Flood</em> was Maine-native Samuel Adams, a cousin to the famous Massachusetts revolutionary. His daughters married brothers; Laura and Victoria (Adams) Sargent became major figures in the early history of the Christian Science movement. At the time of her launch, the <em>New York Daily Herald</em> reported that "a new bark called the <em>Pamelia Flood</em>" was a "novel character" and "a proud item for the State of Wisconsin."<p>For the next four years, the <em>Pamelia Flood</em> crossed the Atlantic and made trips from the Eastern Seaboard to New Orleans. Most trips werent newsworthy, until January 1863. Under a headline that read "DISTRESSING SHIPWRECK," papers on the Welsh coast related that a ship wrecked off Holyhead on its way from Queenstown, County Cork, Ireland in a "terrific gale." "The <em>Pamelia</em> was bound from New Orleans," the <em>Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald </em>reported, "and had just put into Queenstown for repairs, having encountered severe storms on her passage. Fortunately the passengers, thirty in number, were landed there, or the results would have been more fearful." The captain, a Swedish-born American named John R. Anderson, was the only survivor; he "washed ashore near Clynog, in this country, on Wednesday morning." Upon his discovery, Anderson reported that the ship carried a cargo of cotton, oilseed cakes, and hides on their way to Liverpool, with a crew of 11 hands, a pilot, and the captain. The ship lost its masts in a heavy snowstorm and gale, then broke up in the waves; the other crew members were last seen clinging to broken pieces of the wreckage before they were swept away.<p>William Griffith saw wreckage near the shore the following morning and lingered, looking for survivors. A small crowd gathered and spotted Captain Anderson "clinging to the drifting timber." Several men ran into the surf to try to haul Anderson in; each fell or failed to reach him except Griffith, who managed to save both Anderson and a fellow Welshman who had been knocked down in the rough surf. Anderson was taken to a local home to recover, and locals kept him awash in comfort and company for several weeks following. A local photographer came to take a picture of the lucky survivor, and within a week or two the photo was advertised in the local paper, mounted on a card for 2s6d or unmounted for two shillings.<p>Anderson returned home to Brooklyn, resuming his career as a sea captain, patenting a pneumatic foghorn, and eventually finding work with the Brooklyn Elevated Railroad Company. He died in February 1901. His obituary noted that he had been shipwrecked three times, singling out the tale of <em>Pamelia Flood</em> for retelling.<p>William Griffith likewise returned to normal life soon enough, but a few months later he hit the papers again. Captain Anderson, back in the United States and grateful for his rescue, suggested to the American government that Griffith was due recognition for his heroism. Beginning with the arrival of a new set of dies at the Philadelphia Mint in May 1860, the United States Department of State had a new way to recognize foreign nationals who showed heroism in saving the lives of American seamen: a substantial and beautiful medal, designed by Emmanuel Leutze, the artist who painted the famous depiction of Washington Crossing the Delaware.<p>Between 1860 and 1874, the State Department had 19 medals struck from these dies in gold, 10 in silver, and 34 in bronze. Additional bronze medals were struck over the life of the dies for collectors.<p>The presently offered medal appears to be the finest of just three documented silver survivors. Another example, awarded to a sailor from Hamburg in 1862, is in the Alan Weinberg Collection. A third, awarded in 1861 and now graded AU-58 by PCGS was in the Henry Garrett Collection. Of the three examples in gold known to us, two are in the Alan Weinberg Collection (awarded in 1860 and 1861, the latter ex Ford V, October 2004, at $43,125) and an NGC MS-60 example awarded in 1861 was sold in our sale of November 2019.<p>The editor of the <em>Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald</em>, the local paper in North Wales, apparently saw this medal. He described it in the July 25, 1863 issue:<p><em>We are glad to find that Captain Anderson has placed the means of his deliverance in a right light before the government of his country, in consequence of which, a beautiful silver medal has been transmitted to Mr. W. Griffith, Ty Mawr, Clynog, by Earl Russell, to whom it was forwarded for presentation by the President of the United States, in acknowledgement of the part Mr. W. Griffith took on the above memorable occasion. A neat Morocco case, bearing an inscription stating by whom and to whom the presentation was made, and the circumstances that carried it forth, encloses the medal, on which the circumstances of the wreck are represented, surmounted by an inscription similar to that on the exterior of the case. The reverse side displays a handsome effigy of the outspread American eagle.</em><p>The newspaper also reprinted the presentation letter.<p><em>Foreign Office, July 17, 1863.</em><p><em>Sir - I am directed by Earl Russell to transmit to you the accompanying silver medal which he has received from the minister of the United States [Charles Francis Adams, the son of John Quincy Adams and grandson of John Adams] at this court, and which has been awarded to you by the President of the United States in acknowledgement of your services on occasion of the wreck of the ship </em>Pamelia Flood<em>, in January last, as well as of the kindness and hospitality shown by you to Captain Anderson, the only survivor, during his recovery from the effects of his exposure.</em><p><em>I request that you will have the goodness to acknowledge the receipt of the medal.</em><p><em>I am, sir, your most obedient humble servant, A.H. Layard.</em><p><em></em>The recipient, William Griffith, responded back to the Right Hon. Earl Russell, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, on July 20, 1863, writing from his home in Ty Mawr, Clynog:<p><em>Mr. Lord - I have the honour and pleasure to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 17th instant, accompanying a medal which the President of the United States was pleased to forward to me for my humble service on the occasion of the wreck of the ship </em>Pamelia Flood<em> in January last.</em><p><em>Its receipt was quite unexpected, for the slight service I had the opportunity of rendering to Captain Anderson was not more than would have been given by any Briton under similar circumstances. I am, however, proud to receive the medal, and shall be obliged if your lordship will convey to the President of the United States my grateful acknowledgements.</em><p><em>I have the honour to be, my Lord, your Lordships obedient servant, William Griffith.</em><p>Griffiths honor at owning this medal is clear from its extraordinary state of preservation, which far surpasses the vast majority of award medals of any type from this era. While we dont know where this medal has been since Griffiths passing over a century ago, each of its owners has clearly maintained it spectacularly. Were honored to bring it to auction. (Total: 1 medal; 1 case)
