Khan Academy: An American Ship

The subject of this painting is probably the U.S.S. Powhatan, Commodore Matthew Perry's flagship on his second expedition to Japan in 1854. The previous year Perry had come to Japan, delivered a letter from President Millard Fillmore to the shogun's officials, and left, promising to return. Perry's 1854 expedition, larger than the first, comprised seven ships. Inset at the upper-left corner are portraits of Commodore Perry and his deputy, Henry Adams.