Existing comment:
Mr. Sterling Morton of Chicago purchased this fine bone model of a French two-decker in London in the 1920s or '30s. He later had it restored and, at his death in 1961, bequeathed it to the US Naval Academy Museum.
No one can say today why it has traditionally been called L'Achille (Achilles), as no name is inscribed on the model's stern. The real French ship L'Achille was captured by the British in 1794 during the first fleet engagement of the French Wars. Dubbed "The Glorious First of June," the battle produced the first significant influx of French POWs into England. |