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As surveyor general of the Continental Army, Simeon De Witt created this map of the encampment at Verplanck’s Point in 1782. The labeled regiments, indicated by their state abbreviations, helped identify the tents depicted in Pierre Charles L’Enfant’s panoramic painting. Washington’s headquarters and the adjutant general’s tent (where L’Enfant stood to paint the panorama) are visible on this map. At the encampment, Thomas Foster, a sergeant in the 7th Massachusetts Regiment, wrote in his journal, “We have here a fine encampment which will furnish the public with a curious map someday or other.” 

Image courtesy of Houghton Library, Harvard University, MS Sparks 158.1 (3) Seq. 9

As surveyor general of the Continental Army, Simeon De Witt created this map of the encampment at Verplanck’s Point in 1782. The labeled regiments, indicated by their state abbreviations, helped identify the tents depicted in Pierre Charles L’Enfant’s panoramic painting. Washington’s headquarters and the adjutant general’s tent (where L’Enfant stood to paint the panorama) are visible on this map. At the encampment, Thomas Foster, a sergeant in the 7th Massachusetts Regiment, wrote in his journal, “We have here a fine encampment which will furnish the public with a curious map someday or other.” 

Image courtesy of Houghton Library, Harvard University, MS Sparks 158.1 (3) Seq. 9

As surveyor general of the Continental Army, Simeon De Witt created this map of the encampment at Verplanck’s Point in 1782. The labeled regiments, indicated by their state abbreviations, helped identify the tents depicted in Pierre Charles L’Enfant’s panoramic painting. Washington’s headquarters and the adjutant general’s tent (where L’Enfant stood to paint the panorama) are visible on this map. At the encampment, Thomas Foster, a sergeant in the 7th Massachusetts Regiment, wrote in his journal, “We have here a fine encampment which will furnish the public with a curious map someday or other.” 

Image courtesy of Houghton Library, Harvard University, MS Sparks 158.1 (3) Seq. 9

As surveyor general of the Continental Army, Simeon De Witt created this map of the encampment at Verplanck’s Point in 1782. The labeled regiments, indicated by their state abbreviations, helped identify the tents depicted in Pierre Charles L’Enfant’s panoramic painting. Washington’s headquarters and the adjutant general’s tent (where L’Enfant stood to paint the panorama) are visible on this map. At the encampment, Thomas Foster, a sergeant in the 7th Massachusetts Regiment, wrote in his journal, “We have here a fine encampment which will furnish the public with a curious map someday or other.” 

Image courtesy of Houghton Library, Harvard University, MS Sparks 158.1 (3) Seq. 9

As a reward for military service during the Revolutionary War, veterans, like Andrew Ferguson, could apply to receive land in what is now the Midwest region of the United States. The land had been previously settled by Native Americans and taken over by the United States Government. According to an act passed by Congress in March 1855, veterans, their widows, or the children of deceased veterans could apply to receive 160 acres of land. This document records Andrew Ferguson’s application for his parcel of land. Ferguson’s application was approved, but he died in 1856, the same year he was granted the land. 

National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC/Fold3.com

Andrew Ferguson traveled west to Knox County, Indiana, in 1844 to apply for an increase in his Revolutionary War pension payments due to the growing pain of his wartime injuries. This written record documents his testimony given at the county courthouse and the support Ferguson’s application received from a fellow Black veteran named Daniel Strother. According to his testimony, Ferguson was wounded in the leg at the Battle of Camden in 1780 and in the head at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in 1781. Two doctors examined Ferguson following his testimony and agreed that his injuries prevented him from earning a living from manual labor. The doctors supported his claim for an increase in his pension payments, but the United States Government denied Ferguson’s request. 

National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC/Fold3.com

Williamsburg, Virginia, resident St. George Tucker wrote this letter to his wife Fanny in 1781 and described that the British Army left "pestilence" and "poverty" behind them following their occupation of the city. He noted that many enslaved people ran away from Williamsburg with the army. One of Tucker’s neighbors was left with "but one little boy...to wait on them.” Eve and her son George were among the enslaved people who left Williamsburg to follow the British Army in search of their freedom. St. George Tucker lived on the same street as the Randolph family, the owners of Eve and George.

Tucker-Coleman Papers, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary

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.

In 1851, Andrew Ferguson returned to the courthouse in Monroe County, Indiana, to describe his service during the Revolutionary and request an increase in his pension payment from the United States Government. Because of his old age (he was about 86 years old at the time) and the pain from his two wartime injuries, Ferguson could not support himself and his family. It is unclear if the government granted his request. 

National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC/Fold3.com

London served as a trumpeter in the American Legion, a Loyalist force formed by British Brigadier General Benedict Arnold. This portrait by an unknown artist shows Arnold in his British Army uniform. In the fall of 1780, just a few months before London joined the American Legion, Benedict Arnold infamously defected from the Continental Army and joined the British. 

Courtesy of Clive Hammond