Selected for United States Army Service, the American Steamship HARTFORD became one of 23 ships in the Quartermaster's Roll to transport American servicemen to and from stations of duty and conflicts around the world. This significant portrait shows the 1338-ton steamship on approach to New York with homeward-bound soldiers after suppressing Philippine revolutionaries fighting America's annexation of the territory. The U.S. gained the Far East domain alongside Puerto Rico and Guam with the Treaty of Paris ending the 1898 Spanish-American War.
Built of iron by a Philadelphia yard in 1892, the HARTFORD measured 220'L x 40.6'B x 13'D, and served in the Connecticut River Line service, connecting Hartford to all points forward in the greater New England region, again crossing paths and sharing passengers with the New York, New Haven & Hartford Rail Company. With the arrival of the United States as a World Imperial Power alongside United Kingdom, France and Spain, the need for troop transports arose, and U.S.A.T. TERRY enlists in 1900.
The artist has portrayed United States Army Transport TERRY riding swiftly through the oceanic blue at a half-head of steam, encountering little resistance. Her large size is shown nicely in relation to her passengers and crew onboard. Jacobsen's meticulous rendering of the transport steamer is in keeping with his reputation as America's most prolific ship portraitist.
Also signed with Jacobsen's 31 Palisades, West Hoboken, New Jersey address.
