U.S.S. Pennsylvania in Port by J.E. Buttersworth

Oil on panel "U.S.N. Pennsylvania Arriving in Port", signed lower right "J E Buttersworth," circa 1870.  
The painting depicts what appears to be a celebration in New York harbor.  The USN Pennsylvania is being towed into New York harbor by a black hulled paddlewheel steamer flying an American flag.  The USN Pennsylvania is very recognizable because she was the only four-deck ship in the United States Navy.  The vessel is flying the Union Jack from her foremast and the American flag off the gaff. The Pennsylvania is firing rounds from her starboard sides towards shore and the rounds are being answered by rounds being fired from the top of Castle Garden, an old fort at the mouth of the East River.  To the right of the Pennsylvania is another naval sailing ship under tow.  In the foreground there are two long boats filled with sailors in blue uniforms.  The sky is very dramatic with light shining through heavy cloud cover.  The purple and pink highlights in the sky are Buttersworth trademarks.  The greenish-blue sea is relatively calm and is also painted in a standard Buttersworth fashion. (PA-828) 
Reference:  Schaefer, Rudolph J., "J.E. Buttersworth 19th-Century Marine Painter", Mystic, Connecticut: Mystic Seaport, 2009, p. 194.  A very similar painting is illustrated on this page.  The painting in the book has the Pennsylvania firing on its port side and no firing from Castle William.  There are a few other differences, but the concept of the composition is extremely similar. The USN Pennsylvania was the only four deck ship launched.  She was built in Philadelphia in 1837 and sailed to the Navy yard in Norfolk, Virginia.