This colored print features the USS Decatur which was an armed vessel anchored in Elliott Bay during the "Battle of Seattle" that took place on January 26, 1856. On this day, the native peoples in the area attacked the newly arrived white settlers who took refuge in the blockhouse or on the Decatur which proceeded to fire shells toward land. There were only two casualties for the settlers and the exact number of casualties the Indigenous peoples suffered is unknown. The battle was the penultimate event in a series of armed conflicts, known as the Puget Sound War, which stemmed from Washington Territory Governor Isaac Ingalls Stevens' (1818-1862) forced treaties with local tribes during 1854 and 1855, and the government's later refusal to honor the treaties. The "war" ended with the November 1856 wrongful arrest and later execution of a central figure of the war, Nisqually Chief Leschi (1808-1858). The artist, Mark Myers (b. 1945) is known for his portrayal of all things maritime, especially ships and the sea. He uses a variety of media, principally watercolours, oils, acrylics and Chinese inks, and sometimes pastels, lithography and etching. Born in 1945 in California. He pulls from his experiences as a sailor and rigger on traditional sailing ships from 1965-1973. He is a member of the Royal Society of Marine Artists and a founding member of the American Society of Marine Artists established in 1978.