(Brother Jonathan No. 3) Charles Willson Peale (7.22.2012)

8/22/2019 (Brother Jonathan No. 3) Charles Willson Peale (7.22.2012)

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Brother Jonathans Images, No. 3.

Captain Charles W. Peale, 2d Battalion Philadelphia City Associators

Artist: Charles Willson Peale

Year: Circa 1777-78

Collection: American Philosophical Society

The first two installments of Greg Urwins Continental Images appeared two years

ago. Now renamed Brother Jonathans Images, and transferred to new caretakers,

number 3 in the series introduces Charles Willson Peale (15 April 174122

February 1827), artist, inventor, naturalist, and entrepreneur, whorendered more

likenesses of American participants of the War for Independence than any other

single painter. As soldier and politician Peale took an active role in Revolutionary

events, an experience that shaped his life and work.

Charles Willson Peale was born on April 15th 1741 in Queen Annes County,

Maryland, the son of Charles and Margret Peale. At the age of 13 he was apprenticed

to a saddlemaker in Annapolis, Maryland. After completing that apprenticeship,Peale commenced making his living repairing and cleaning watches, at the same

time honing his skills as a painter. In 1767 he went to England to study under the

artist Benjamin West, a fellow American. (At the time West was in the process of

completing his work General Johnson Saving a Wounded French Officer from the

Tomahawk of a North American Indian, and had received commissions from

George III for a number of portraits of the Royal Family. He founded the Royal

Academy of Arts in 1768.). Peale returned to American in the spring of 1769, and

began to paint full time.

Many of Peales family, associates, and patrons were Whigs and his pre-war writings

suggest that he was dedicated to the Revolutionary cause well before the beginningof hostilities. By 1774, aided by his connections and political affiliation, the artist

received a large amount of military-related work. One of the earliest came from John

Dixon, printer of the Virginia Gazette, who commissioned Peale to paint the flag of

the Independent Company of Williamsburg. While living for a short time in

Baltimore, he was then tasked with painting Mordecai Gist's Baltimore Independent

Company banner. A description of that flag in the Virginia Gazette vividly reflects

the artists growing militancy:

LIBERTY trampling upon TYRANNY, and putting off SLAVERY who is

approaching with hasty strides, and taking hold of DEATH, which isrepresented by a SKELETON on the right hand side. Behind the figure of SLAVERY is

a SEA. By the figure of LIBERTY is a column to denote STABILITY, and an extent ofcountry. The motto, REPRESENTATION or NO TAXATION.

In the fall of 1775, at 34 years of age, Peale himself began to engage in the

"exercising of war." He began by outfitting himself with a sword for "four guineas"

and other martial goods. Finally in June 1776, aiming to heighten his prospects,

Peale and his family set off for Philadelphia where they would make their home - off

and on - for the rest of his life.


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Charles Willson Peale arrived in Philadelphia at an obviously momentous time, and

began two endeavors that would take up much of his energy for the next two years:

military service and miniature portraiture. To his family's consternation, after

outfitting himself with a uniform, arms, and accoutrements, Peale enrolled on 9

August 1776 as a private soldier in the 4th Company, 2d Battalion, Philadelphia City

Associators (Pennsylvanias version of militia, at a time when the Quaker colonys

government did not formally sanction military units. In early 1777 Pennsylvania

passed a militia law, making service mandatory in order to spread the burden of

that states military defense.). Around this time he began his prolific production of

military-related miniature portraits. These likenesses were perfect wartime

keepsakes for separated family members. For the artist, miniatures were well-suited

to the dual life of a soldier-painter, as he could (and did) carry the tools of both

trades into the field and not only marched and fought, but executed commissions for

small portraits as well.

As Peale's renown for portraiture grew, so, too, did his reputation as a soldier. In the

democratic world of the Philadelphia Associators, he was elected by popular vote tothe rank of 2d lieutenant of his company on 5 October 1776 then to 1st lieutenant

on 19 November.

With the retreat of Gen. George Washingtons forces across New Jersey following the

dual debacles of Forts Washington and Lee, the Philadelphia Associators were called

into service. For the first time, Charles Willson Peale embarked on active service.

After crossing into New Jersey he learned that instead of advancing against the

enemy, the Associators would return to Pennsylvania. On December 7th, in Trenton

awaiting his turn to cross, Peale observed Washingtons ragged troops coming in.

Suddenly a man staggeredout of the line and came toward me. He had lost all his

clothes. He was in an old dirty blanket-jacket, his beard long, and his face full ofsores which so disfigured him that he was not known by me on first sight. Only

when he spoke did I recognize my brother James. Twenty-seven year old James

Peale entered Col. William Smallwoods Maryland Battalion as an ensign in January

1776, and took part in the battles for Manhattan. The unit lost heavily at Long

Island, and was further reduced by illness. By the time they reached Trenton

Smallwoods men numbered only around one hundred.

Amongst Charles Peales limited campaign luggage was his "miniature apparatis."

Besides noting in his journal the vagaries of camp life and he also told of finding

time to begin "a miniature of Capt. Bernie," and a day later "one of Capt. Boyd." Five

days later, following a description of battalion drill the soldier-artist mentionedhaving completed the Bernie miniature and that he was owed "twenty-eight dollars

for it."

Just after the new year Peale took part in his first action, at the Second Battle of

Trenton. While at Trenton his captain turned over command of the company to

Lieutenant Peale, a position he would hold for almost two years. The night of

January 2d Washingtons army withdrew and the following day fought at Princeton.


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Peale noted of that affair, he "carryed (his) Platoon to the Top of the Hill & fired tho'

very unwillingly for I thought the Enemy rather too far out. and then retreated

Loading we Returned to the Charge & fired a 2d time & Retreated as before the 3d

time coming up the Enemy began to Retreat ..."

2d Battalion, Philadelphia Associators

(Painting by Don Troiani,www.historicalimagebank.com)

Charles Peales journal entries hint at the apparel and equipment he used during the

1776-1777 winter campaign. On 18 March 1776 Peale mentioned leaving a "Huntg

shirt" at a friends house. July 22d he "purchased 1 1/2 yd Brown Cloth for a Coat.

pd. Mr. Riddle for a pr of white Briches...(and) for Cartouch Box ..."; July 23d, "pd. for

bayonet & Steel Ramrod"; July 25th "Belt for Bayonet... Scabbard"; July 26th, "Strap

to my gun"; October 9th, "pd for white Cloath Linnin for wastCoat & breches. Left
http://www.historicalimagebank.com/http://www.historicalimagebank.com/http://www.historicalimagebank.com/http://www.historicalimagebank.com/


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my Cloath with Mr. Tatum Taylor in front Street to make Regmantles for me";

October 16th, "paid Mr Tatem for makg. & finding Trimimings for my waste Coat &

Breeches; December 2d, purchased "a French great Coat & swanskin for under

wascoat of Mr. Tatem; December 5th, paid for "furd Gloves."

Peales Philadelphia was as revolutionary and democratic as Boston, and lower andmiddle class Whigs found themselves with political power. This environment was

perfect and respect for him amongst the Philadelphia militia propelled him into

government. Thus our soldier-artist became a leader in the citys influential Whig

society, a group that included such people as Thomas Paine and David Rittenhouse.

Charles Willson Peale,Self-Portrait in Uniform, 1777-78

(American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia Collection)

Peale's early dalliance with politics was interrupted by the British invasion of the

Delaware Valley in September 1777. For most of the latter half of the year he was

on active service with the Philadelphia militia. In late December Peale began


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experimenting with "cabinet size" oil paintings on small squares of canvas. Of these

small portraits and studies, only one is now known to exist; that sole survivor is the

focus of this vignette.

Exactly what Charles Peale wore when he painted this self-portrait is open to

conjecture, and only his white neckcloth, or roller, and black tricorn hat with goldbutton and gold braid loop, are apparent. His coat, obscured in the portrait, is likely

his Associators uniform. Connecticut Congressional delegate Silas Deane described

Philadelphia City Associator battalion apparel in a 3 June 1775 letter to his wife:

[short] dark-brown [coats], faced with red, white, yellow, or buff, according to their

different battalions, white vest and breeches, white stockings, half-boots, and black

knee-garters." Though written more than two years before Peale painted his self-

image, the Associator battalions retained similar uniforms (augmented by hunting

shirts) into 1777. A February 1777 notice describes a Philadelphia Associators 3d

Battalion deserter wearing a brown coat faced with white. Earlier 3rd Battalion

deserter ads mention white faced brown coats. Similar notices for the other

battalions have not been found. Since there is evidence that Col. John Bayards 2dBattalion wore brown with red facings, Peales 2d Battalion coat, whenever he wore

it, was brown and red.

With the British army nearing Philadelphia in late summer of 1777, Peale had to find

a secure place for his family to live outside the city. After doing so, he once again

joined the army, and was present at Germantown and Whitemarsh. An incident he

witnessed at the latter battle led to plans for another painting. That work has since

been lost, but a small preliminary study has survived and may be the subject of a

future installment.

After the winter of 1777-1778, Charles Willson Peale returned to the battle ofeveryday radical politics in Philadelphia. Because of Peale's reputation, military

experience, and popularity with the militia rank and file, he became a leader of the

radical Whigs, and was tasked with duties ranging from distribution of confiscated

grain to price regulation. He eventually had trouble dealing with the radicalism of

the Philadelphia "lower sort," and, finding himself without a constituency, was

ousted by the citys conservative Whig faction.

Thus ended Peales role in the wars military and political affairs, but his artistic

endeavors continued, and were eventually melded with his interest in natural

history, flora and fauna. This leads us to a related aside on military material culture.

Peales 20 June 1777 journal entry noted British depredations in New Jersey duringa brief occupation: "When we arrived at Summerset -Court-House I found only 3

familiys all the Rest having fled at the approach of the Enemy. 2 Churches and all

the Buildings except those 3 above mentioned [were] Torn to pieces, to make Tents

& fires." He refers here to board or plank tents and huts, used by the soldiers for

shelter. The British commander directed his troops to construct these structures:Head Qrs: Middlebush 14th: June 77 ... The Men are to Erect sheds with Pailing & Bords- The Troops to be Readay to march on the shortest notice Wooden tents were used a


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number of times by both sides during the war. One particularly interesting incident will

provide a final word picture. Maj. Joseph Graham, North Carolina Partisan Rangers,

described an action that took place below the "Newcomb River" in North Carolina,

probably in summer 1782, recounting, "we encamped at a place called Seven Creeks,

not far from the South Carolina line. It had rained in the day, and was cold; the night

was cloudy, and sometimes it was dropping. From some old houses the men had takenclapboards to make a kind of tent for shelter." A party of local Loyalists learned of their

presence and attacked; after penetrating the American pickets a "single gun was first

fired, which made an alarm, but before the men had time to rise, a full volley was

discharged on the camp. In the tent of boards, under which Captain Caruthers and six

men lay, it appeared next morning ten balls had gone through, none more than five feet

high; but when the fire came, his men had not got on their feet, and only one was

wounded. A young Dutchman of Lieutenant Monroe's command, was lying with his

head on a flat pumpkin for a pillow; two balls went through his pumpkin, but escaped

him."

Two postwar drawings show wooden tents in use. A 1788 German military manualclearly illustrates an A-frame structure made with forked uprights and a ridgepole,

covered with planks.

Was ist jedem Officier waehrend eines Feldzugs zu wissen noethig ["What it is

necessary for each officer to know during a campaign"] (Carlsruhe, 1788),

plate 9.

The same type of shelter is pictured in the background of Charles Willson Peale'spainting "The Exhumation of the Mastodon" (1806-1808), an event that took place

in early nineteenth-century New York, along the Hudson River.


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C.W. Peale, "The Exhumation of the Mastodon" (1806-1808) Maryland

Historical Society, Baltimore. Board tent and wall tent detail (above).


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Sources:

Coleman Sellers, Charles Willson Peale(New York: Charles

Scribner's Sons. 1969)

Lillian B. Miller, ed., The Selected Papers of Charles Willson

Peale and his Family, vol 1: Charles Willson Peale: Artist inRevolutionary America, 1735-1791(New Haven: Yale University Press.,

1983)

Steven Rosswurm,Arms, Country and Class: The Philadelphia Militia

and the "Lower Sort" during the American Revolution(New Brunswick:

Rutgers University Press., 1987)

Marko Zlatich, "Newspaper Extracts Describing Military and Naval Dress

of the American Revolutionary War, 1775-1783: Part IV - Pennsylvania

Militia and Associators," Military Collector & Historian, vol. 56, no.

4 (Winter 2004), 234-238.

For more on soldiers board tents and other shelter see:

"`We ... got ourselves cleverly settled for the night': Soldiers' Shelter on Campaign

During the War for Independence"

part III, "`The camps ... are as different in their form as the owners are in their dress

...': Shades, Sheds, and Wooden Tents, 1775-1782"http://revwar75.com/library/rees/bowers.htm

MilitaryCollector & Historian, vol. 53, no. 4 (Winter 2001-2002), 161-169.

part VI, "`We built up housan of branchis & leavs ...: Continental Army Brush

Shelters, 1778-1782

http://revwar75.com/library/rees/pdfs/huts6.pdfMilitaryCollector & Historian, vol. 56, no. 2 (2004), 98-106.

Brother Jonathans Images Consortium

Neal T. Hurst [email protected] U. Rees

R. Scott Stephenson

Matthew C. White

____________________________________

(Series introduction below.)
http://revwar75.com/library/rees/bowers.htmhttp://revwar75.com/library/rees/bowers.htmhttp://revwar75.com/library/rees/pdfs/huts6.pdfhttp://revwar75.com/library/rees/pdfs/huts6.pdfmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://revwar75.com/library/rees/pdfs/huts6.pdfhttp://revwar75.com/library/rees/bowers.htm


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(July 2012)

Welcome to the military artwork series, Brother Jonathans Images. We will befollowing the same premise as Redcoat Images moderated by Dr. Greg Urwin (now

nearing 1,900 installments). Greg began this new series, originally called Continental

Images, in August 2010 with two contributions. His Redcoat Images project continued onand eclipsed the newcomer. Our small consortium thought that artwork showing the

soldiers and uniforms of the fledgling republics military forces is well worth

disseminating and we now continue with Dr. Urwins blessings.

The series will cover the period 1753 to the end of 1799, the first date denoting GeorgeWashingtons rise in military serviceand the latter coinciding with his death after serving

as commander-in-chief and first president of the United States. Images will include

militia, officers (including foreign volunteers), and soldiers of the Confederation andearly Republic. The narratives will focus on clothing and officers careers, but other

pertinent information will be presented as well.

Guest contributors will be considered, and anyone with information, images, or

artwork sources they wish to share please email Neal Hurst at [email protected] that in mind, we hope to make this an informative and entertaining, as well as a

collaborative effort.

Our first installments will begin with Greg Urwins Continental Images Nos. 1 and 2,renamed Brother Jonathans Imagesto reflect the wider umbrella. Our initial

contribution, No. 3, will immediately follow.

(Brother Jonathan No. 3) Charles Willson Peale (7.22.2012)

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