AMERICAN MADE TELESCOPE WITH LARGE ATTACHED SILVER PLAQUE that is beautifully engraved "Presented to/Mr. Alexander Leslie/by E. P. Corwin and Friends/for heroic conduct in saving/the life of E. P. Corwin/July 18th 1865". Four draw telescope signed by the maker "U. S. Superior Telescope/Beckel Brothers New-York". 10.25" long with 4 draws extending to 36". Pivoting cover for eyepiece lens. Other lens in first draw with edge chips but optics still produce clear, erect images. Brass barrel with brown leather cover that was professionally replaced at some point in time. Condition overall good. No objective lens cap. In their August 28, 1865 edition the New York Times reported the presentation of this very scope and includes the inscribed presentation word for word. Apparently this incident took place at the Poughkeepsie Regatta on the Hudson on July 18, 1865. The times describes it as a high-profile four oared boat race that pitted the Thomas Collyer(from New York City) against Floyd Fields(from Poughkeepsie). Apparently there were hundreds of thousands of dollars in stakes and large sums were bet on the outcome. The race had a controversial end with the New York boat charged with a foul that was upheld in favor of the Poughkeepsie boat which led to protests and near rioting. An edition of Harpers Weekly also covered the drama and included an illustration with their report. Further research needs to be done to find out more about each man and exactly what caused Corwin needing to be saved. Probably a good starting place would be a Poughkeepsie historical society of the Poughkeepsie Eagle neither of which are fully digitized.  Interesting nautical item.