Battle of Paoli

Museum of the American Revolution
Museum of the American Revolution
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Not on View
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On the night of Sept. 20-21, 1777, a column of British soldiers launched a surprise attack on Continental Army troops encamped in a field near modern-day Malvern, Pennsylvania. In the ensuing struggle, known as the Battle of Paoli, British light infantrymen and light dragoons inflicted heavy casualties on Pennsylvania Brigadier General Anthony Wayne's fleeing troops. British Army light infantry Lieutenant Richard St. George Mansergh St. George, an Irish artist and veteran of the battle, commissioned this painting by Italian artist Xavier della Gatta in 1782 to remember the violence and trauma he experienced at Paoli.
Artwork Details
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Battle of Paoli
Painted by Xavier della Gatta
Naples, Italy
1782
Gouache on Paper
Museum of the American Revolution
2003.00.0495
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Breaking Down Xavier della Gatta's Battle of Paoli Painting
British Army officer Richard St. George remembered Paoli as a “nocturnal bloody scene” and helped create the detailed painting of the battle.
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Cost of Revolution: The Life and Death of an Irish Soldier
September 28, 2019 - March 17, 2020Cost of Revolution: The Life and Death of an Irish Soldier followed the untold story of Irish soldier and artist Richard St. George, whose personal trauma and untimely death provide a window into the entangled histories of the American Revolution of 1776 and the Irish Revolution of 1798.
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