In the collections of the Library of Congress is a panoramic view of the Hudson River in watercolor by Pierre L’Enfant. That includes a few vignettes of the American camp at West Point, New York, in 1782.
Scott notes:
A woman is shown holding a tin kettle for three soldiers to eat directly from it, while an interested (and likely hungry!) dog waits nearby. To their left are two girls climbing up the hillside. Again according to the exhibition’s notes, documents from 1782 list 150 women and children at West Point in addition to about 3,600 soldiers. Wives, daughters, and sweethearts, these women sewed, washed laundry, and supplied food for the men - important if often overlooked contributions to the military effort.Go to Scott’s posting for close-ups of the relevant portions of the panorama.
Last year she shared an artifact owned by the New-York Historical Society, shown above: a ceramic lamb, a few inches long, that a child probably lost while camping with the British army near New York City.
Both these artifacts are on loan to Philadelphia’s Museum of the American Revolution, now offering an exhibit titled “Among His Troops: Washington’s War Tent in a Newly Discovered Watercolor.” L’Enfant is also credited with the long panorama at the center of that exhibit, which will be up until 19 February.
Thanks for sharing my posts to a wider audience, John! Don't know if you've been able to visit the Museum of the American Revolution here in Philadelphia yet, but it's one room after another of wonderful and inspiring artifacts like these that combine to tell the larger story of the war. One of the best things about the museum is its ability to showcase items on loan from small and often obscure collections, both private and public. Things on display are always changing, so as a result there's always something new to see.
ReplyDeleteAnd no, I'm not employed by the museum - though my enthusiasm often makes readers ask if I am. ;)
I visited the Museum of the American Revolution in the summer during a road trip to Nashville and enjoyed it greatly. Would be happy to come back, though it looks like New Englanders will have to wait until after the Super Bowl.
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