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Take a closer look at the decorated tents of two Connecticut regiments. These tents paralleled a road that led from Verplanck’s Point to Peekskill, New York.

Image: Museum of the American Revolution, Gift of the Landenberger Family Foundation 

For the past 60 years, the image shown below has puzzled historians. Created by Italian artist Xavier della Gatta in 1782, the painting vividly and accurately depicts the 1777 Battle of Germantown, part of the Philadelphia Campaign of the American Revolutionary War. Della Gatta, however, never set foot in America. Why did Xavier della Gatta choose to paint this battle and how was he able to depict it so accurately? Careful detective work has revealed answers in the life of Richard St. George, who fought with the British Army at the battle. St. George also provided the eyewitness details for della Gatta's Battle of Paoli painting.

Richard St. George worked with Italian artist Xavier della Gatta to create the painting of the Battle of Germantown. The painting, which is part of the Museum's collection and was on display in the Museum's special exhibition Cost of Revolution: The Life and Death of an Irish Soldier, merges different actions into one scene, including the moment Richard St. George was carried off the battlefield after he suffered a devastating head wound.

Learn more about Xavier della Gatta's Battle of Germantown painting in our collection as well as his Battle of Paoli painting that he produced with the help of Richard St. George. Explore more about Richard St. George and his work with Italian artist Xavier della Gatta that was featured in the Museum's special exhibition Cost of Revolution: The Life and Death of an Irish Soldier.

Here, three women gather at the Rocky Hill Inn in Montgomery Township, Somerset County, New Jersey, for a state election held on October 13-14, 1801. Two white women hold ballots to vote, as was the right of property-owning women in New Jersey. A woman of African descent, possibly as a voter, or possibly as the enslaved property of one of the other women, clenches her hand in her pocket.

Scenes like this one were not uncommon at polling places in New Jersey from the 1790s until 1807. Though little known today, New Jersey Laws of 1790 and 1797 held that: “All free inhabitants of this State of full age, and who are worth fifty pounds proclamation money…shall be entitled to vote for all public officers.” This included women and free people of color.

The tableau figures were made by StudioEIS with contributions from Carrie Fellows, Kirsten Hammerstrom, Scott Lance, Paul McClintock, Gabriela Salvador, Jana Violante, Janeen Violante, and Kalela Williams.

This documentation of Grand Jury Presentments in Charlestown, South Carolina makes numerous legal arguments for why South Carolina and other American colonies would be justified in dissolving their connection to Great Britain. Also included are various grievances against King George III and Parliament, similar to those that were later included in the Declaration of Independence when it was adopted by Congress.

Courtesy of South Carolina Department of Archives and History

Take a closer look at the fortifications on both sides of the Hudson River. Notice the S-curve in the Hudson River that made West Point such a strategic location.

Image courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. 

For the past 60 years, the image shown below has puzzled historians. Created by Italian artist Xavier della Gatta in 1782, the painting vividly and accurately depicts the 1777 Battle of Germantown, part of the Philadelphia Campaign of the American Revolutionary War. Della Gatta, however, never set foot in America. Why did Xavier della Gatta choose to paint this battle and how was he able to depict it so accurately? Careful detective work has revealed answers in the life of Richard St. George, who fought with the British Army at the battle. St. George also provided the eyewitness details for della Gatta's Battle of Paoli painting.

Richard St. George worked with Italian artist Xavier della Gatta to create the painting of the Battle of Germantown. The painting, which is part of the Museum's collection and was on display in the Museum's special exhibition Cost of Revolution: The Life and Death of an Irish Soldier, merges different actions into one scene, including the moment Richard St. George was carried off the battlefield after he suffered a devastating head wound.

Take a closer look at the outlying defenses on the rocky hills and cliffs south of West Point. Notice the Hudson River in the foreground and the Continental Army’s hilltop fortifications. 

Image courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. 

This battle map of the British Army’s attack on New London and Groton in Connecticut shows the positions of the American Legion on the left side of the map. London served with the American Legion as it assaulted New London. British Brigadier General Benedict Arnold led the attack on the town and the surrounding fortifications. After intense fighting, the British Army defeated the Revolutionary forces defending the towns.

Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress, Washington, DC