John Despeaux (1794-1826) and John Joseph Despeaux (1817-1865)

Description

Oil on Canvas painting of John Despeaux (1794-1826) and his son John Joseph Despeaux (1817-1865), ca. 1825, attributed to James L. Wattles. John was a ship builder in Baltimore's Fell's Point. During the War of 1812, he served as a private in the Corps of Marine Artillery, Maryland Militia. His son, John Joseph, became a ship's captain. He and eleven other men were killed in shipwreck of the "Sir John Franklin" off of Franklin Point, near San Francisco, California, on January 17, 1865. His body was recovered and interred at Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore.