Item No. 8686829

CDV view of U.S. Navy Commander Paul Shirley. A native of Kentucky, Shirley joined the Navy in 1839 as a midshipman. He advanced in rank through his career, and by the Civil War was in command of the sloop U.S.S. Cyane, stationed at San Francisco. In 1863, Shirley and his sailors boarded schooner J. M. Chapman, which was preparing to get underway from San Francisco and was suspected of being a Confederate privateer. A cache of weapons and ammunition was discovered in the schooner’s hold and the privateer’s crew were arrested and confined at Alcatraz. Later in 1863 he was promoted to commander and assigned to command the U.S.S. Paul Jones, and in 1864 commanded the U.S.S. Suwannee in pursuit of the Confederate raider Shenandoah. In the CDV view, Shirley poses in a double-breasted frock with epaulettes. On the reverse is the imprint of San Francisco photographers Addis & Koch over a 3-cent revenue stamp. Shirley signed, “Paul Shirley / Commander / U.S. Navy.” At the base of the mount Shirley wrote, “for my little friend Lizzie Spotts.” Modern pencil notes detail Shirley’s career. Measures 2 3/8” x 4”.