This collection consists of six pages of pencil and ink sketches dated from 1861 to 1863 and signed J.M.S. The sketches depict various scenes of the American Civil War from the Union perspective including barracks, soldiers, and steamships related to the blockade of the Confederacy. Two sketches contain page numbers, suggesting they had previously been bound together. Not all sketches include the signature "J.M.S." J.M.S. has yet to be identified.
Sketch 1 includes the notation, "Page 6 Company F passing Marine Barracks Sunday morning / J.M.S. 1861."
Sketch 2 is a portrait of an unidentified young man, "The Corporal, Company F."
Sketch 3 shows "The 1st Corporal and his havelock / Page 3 / J.M.S. 1861."
Sketch 4 contains "U.S. Stmr Nansemond off Hatteras / J.M.S. 1863." This sketch could be a scene from the USS Nansemond's chase of blockade runner CSS Douro in October of 1863 near New Inlet off the coast of North Carolina. Douro was run ashore and captured, with both ship and cargo destroyed.
Sketch 5a depicts a "North Carolina Reserve" soldier armed with a rifle and bayonet.
Sketch 5b displays the demise of Revenue Cutter Caleb Cushing during the Battle of Portland Harbor on June 27, 1863, with the caption "Rev Cutter Caleb Cushing becalmed then blown up." In this sketch, Lieutenant Charles W. Read of the Confederate Navy and his men can be seen abandoning Caleb Cushing on a lifeboat and then in another scene the ship exploding. On the back of page 5 is a pencil sketch of a soldier.
Sketch 6 shows a "Blockade Runner" steamship.
