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Naval History and Heritage Command

NH 115254 Wooden figurehead from USS DELAWARE of Tamanend, Chief of the Delaware Indians (D. 1693).

Wooden figurehead from USS DELAWARE of Tamanend, Chief of the Delaware Indians (D. 1693).
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Title: Wooden figurehead from USS DELAWARE of Tamanend, Chief of the Delaware Indians (D. 1693).
Caption: Photographed in 1920. Carved by William Luke (born 1790) of the Gosport Yard at Norfolk. The ship was launched on 21 October 1820; the figurehead was completed later. DELAWARE was destroyed by Union forces when they abandoned Norfolk Naval Yard on 21 April 1861, but the figurehead was saved. Brought to the Naval Academy, Annapolis, about 1874-1876 and placed in front of Recitation Hall on Stribling Row, it was incorrectly called by a number of names including Tecumseh and was dubbed "God of Two-Five," the passing grade at the Academy. In 1906 it was restored and moved between the Lyceum and Old Seamanship Building. See Naval Institute proceedings (May-June 1914, page 721), "Tamanend vs. Tecumseh," for proof of identification.
Description: Presented by Rear Admiral Yancey Williams, USN, March 1931.
Catalog #: NH 115254
Copyright Owner: Naval History and Heritage Command
Original Creator:
After this Year: 1920
Before this Year: 1929
Original Medium: BW Photo
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