Show I His Painting of a Battle in the American I t Revolution Became the Passport That Took oak T It Him Out of Danger in the French Revolution I l f SCOTT WATSON ELMO B By t fitas teased sed d by Western Newspaper Union r N THE afternoon of O June 17 1775 a young school teacher who had listed sted in the Patriot army at af 1 the the outbreak of the Revolution Revo Revo- lution tion and become ad adjutant Jf of f a ai Connecticut regiment i- i Stationed Soh Sohan at Roxbury stood there and gazed an a hill up- up on l a battle scene which he heas ma make immortal fas dS as to help He 1 He 1 e S saw aw British redcoats s march m earch arch up Breeds Breed's sHIll Hill mat at in an extended font 0 nt of men three deep with V volley vo firing by platoons in in- Regular gular fe sequence He s saw v tl tb fee the e 1200 New England's militia mili mili- ti tl tia a crouching behind t their ba hastily erected erected fortifications on ban O on n the hill holding their fire until you can see the whites t of t their h eyes He lie saw the long lines of scarlet- scarlet Sad clad men crumble under the murderous hail of lead reel back down the hill then reform and with bulldog courage advance See o cemore more emore He saw them beaten b tack back again but once more they carne came me on this on-this this time with bayo- bayo its ets ts And because the supply of ammunition of the defenders of the bill hill was was exhausted this time the attackers were successful But their victory was dearly won they had lost 1054 men killed and d wounded grounded among them 89 commissioned m officers as comPared comm compared compared com com- pared to the Patriots Patriot's loss of killed lulled and wounded and 30 pris pris- Jf r Praised by Copley Years later this young schoolteacher schoolteacher schoolteacher school school- teacher was to paint that memorable memo memo- r table rable ble scene and by a strange Q quirk irk of fate this very painting Vias Ras was to save his life during a revolutionary revolutionary revo revo- l struggle in another land lind For this young Connecticut rot cut Yankee was John Trumbull who ito as a student at Harvard had hadon hadi i fon on n the praise of the distinguished distin distin- artist John Singleton Copley CApley for his skill at painting That skill was soon put to good lie use When George Washington arrived arrived ived at Cambridge to take command of the newly formed Continental army Trumbull l l learned that he wished an accurate accurate rate e drawing of the enemy's tion So at the risk of his life b he crept close to British lines and m made de sketches which pleased Washington hington so much that he appointed appointed ap ap- pointed Trumbull his second aide- aide de p. p The young artist next attracted ft the e attention of General Gates and aid d W when n Gates went to Ticonderoga ceroga to assume command of the l foe e Northern department Trumbull Trum- Trum bull l went along as his adjutant adjutant- general g eral with the rank of colonel to 1778 1776 he accompanied General Ivan as a volunteer on his ex- ex against the British in bode Pode ode Island When it proved Successful Trumbull returned JJ Boston resolved to give up t career as a soldier perma- perma Uy and devote his life to P painting l ting g In May 1780 he sailed for far Pais ans where he called on Benda Ben- Ben toto da Franklin and told him of S desire to stud study y under the theat eat at Benjamin West in London ed with a letter of n he went to London and West I. I W t him to work t When f when en Major Andre the British general in in America was light g W t and hanged the young oung ter r who S-who who had been an Amera Amer- Amer can a general adjutant seemed to toe e British to be the logical man be USed for reprisal Trumbull g ht t Well hav e p leaded p th that flint t t ere e Was as little similarity Y been be- be en his hiss s case and Andres Andre's that S was Ras in Lond London n only as a paint- paint and and that he was there b by y P per per- er- er sion of Lord ord Germain the foreign minister Ine Inthe In In- ad the e truculent young Yankee red d that he had been aide to at arch arch rebel George Wash Wash- on n and that he he was proud of I In 1 an English Prison Confined in Tuthill Bridewell bull ma may Y have ve had some un- un foments mOments as to what his fate d be g But if H he did have rn he g gave ave no sign and calmly t on n with his Painting Means MeanIe Mean- Mean Ie ley his s Tory friends West Vest and rests ey we Were We e re working in his in- in and after alter seven months f in m gaining his release ull returned ed t to o America e Bill y but when hostilities ted ed d he Went back to London iff th Ith to work under West the Spell of his country's ry rr still ed fresh upon Pon him he hei hethe i the idea dea of hag g the t e principal events of the thea on in a series of large J gs His is first e of f was the P pice pic- pic ic- ic of one he had Bh h seen even Bat Battle It i iWas Was from rom a distance distance- attic attle e eat a Sir of Bunker Hill The West west's Joshua Shua Reynolds visit- visit e and ests est's studio saw this pic- pic I N kand nia believing it to be beVe Ve West's ts t's l praISed him for j or it-a it high u II rr r k s. s z r v i a IL e 4 e N 4 r THE TIlE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL From tb the painting by John Trumbull in tb the Y Yale Jl Art Gallery I compliment nt to the young Ameri Ameri- can Thomas r omas J Jefferson efferson American minister ter to France also saw the painting when he visited London and and imme immediately recognized the g genius of his compatriot He invIted invited invited in in- Trumbull to come to Paris as his guest and introduced him to some of the leading French painters and sculptors For some time Trumbull had hadeen been een planning to to paint the most important scene in the history of the Revolution the Revolution the Signing of the Declaration of Ind Independence There in hi the home of its author and aided by that authors author's suggestions suggestions suggestions sug sug- he made the first sketches of the picture Returning Returning Returning Return Return- ing to London Trumbull arranged the composition so that he could add the portraits of the signers as the opportunity offered John Adams was just leaving his post postas as ambassador to the Court of St. St I r i JOHN TRUMBULL J James ames and his was the first portrait portrait portrait por por- trait painted in A few months later the painter went back to Paris and added Jeffersons Then the French Revolution put an end to Trumbulls Trumbull's work in Paris In October 1789 both he and Jefferson returned to Amer Amer- ica Arriving in New York Trumbull Trumbull Trum- Trum bull found that the Constitution had been adopted and Washington Washing Washing- ton elected President Here the portraits of Richard Henry Lee Francis Lewis George Clinton Lewis Morris and Roger Sherman Sherman Sherman Sher Sher- man were soon added to his can can- vas More lore Portraits Added The next spring the artist went to Philadelphia where he spent three months adding more por por- traits During the fall of ot 1790 Trumbull was in Boston and New Hampshire painting the portraits of John Hancock Samuel Adams Robert Treat Paine Josiah Bartlett Bartlett Bartlett Bart- Bart lett and on sub subsequent 1 visits to o Charleston S. S C. C Philadelphia New York and Boston added others The end of Trumbulls Trumbull's s 's great when project was almost in sight political troubles at home and war abroad turned his interest friends and the interest of his from the arts to these more pressing pressing press press- ing problems In 1794 Trumbull was appointed secretary to JohnJay John JohnJay accompanied him toY to Ja Jay Y and England to aid in the negotiations which resulted fa in the famous Jays Jay's Treaty For the next butan but butan butan decade he was not a painter American agent in Europe an of the time as a commissioner commissioner commis commissioner commis- commis part carrying out the stipulations stipulations of that treaty of the his painting At this point back Hill comes Battle of Bunker the story in one of the most into dramatic incidents in the life of 1797 Trumbull was artist rUst In any his way back from in Paris on where a certain certain certain Stuttgart Germany had made an Herr Muller graving tain of his Bunker Hill pic- pic Lure ture and was in L power over Reign of Terror had started the the American pain painter ter Suddenly Su found himself on the suspect because of his possibly list the Jay treaty negotiating part in unpopular in which was very allowed to leave France and not Sic Trumbull appealed the c country the French foreign Talleyrand to who was affable enough minister master but said saw he could do nothing for him adding that the Americans must pay money for any f favors vors as a nation that they got from the French Appeals to Pin Pinckney kney Nor could Charles C. C Pinckney of South Carolina American minister to France who was later to be credited with the immortal immortal immortal im im- im- im mortal Millions for defense but not one cent for tribute in reply reply reply re re- re- re ply to another French blackmailing blackmail blackmail- ing demand do anything for him In fact he told Trumbull that both of them were as likely as not to find themselves in the Temple Temple Temple Tem Tem- prison prison and and on the way to the guillotine Then Trumbull decided to go to see Louis David his old friend and fellow David was now a subordinate of Robes Robes- pierre and although Trumbull regarded regarded regarded re re- re- re him as much a murderer as he regarded Davids David's s intercession as his only hope He found the French painter paint paint- er at the Louvre and was greeted warmly When David learned that Trumbull had his Bunker Hill painting with him he exclaimed exclaimed exclaimed ex ex- claimed That picture is worth many passports So he urged Trumbull to hurry t h 1 h tl 1 d w 1 o U IU is o LC A LUlU get the painting J which was small smaIl enough for him to carry under his arm and then come with him to the police pre pre- As they entered everyone everyone everyone every every- one stood aside respectfully for forthe forthe forthe the great Republican painter David and gazed curiously at athis athis athis his companion the notorious suspect Showing the picture to the chief of police David stated that the American with him had been in this battle against the hated English and ended his voluble voluble voluble vol vol- vol- vol uble explanation with the declaration declaration declaration declara declara- tion He is as good a Revolutionist Revolutionist Revolutionist as any of us His Blood Run Cold Although Trumbull later said that it made his blood run cold to hear himself described as the same type of Revolutionist as his friend who had told him that it would have been better for the Republic if more aristocrats had been guillotined he was greatly relieved when informed that he would be given a passport out of France He set out immedi immediately immediately imme imme- di t ly for Calais alais s so a as t to b be safely safely- aboard a ship for lor England before the police could change their minds and have him arrest arrest- ed He arrived there safely and never again returned to France Trumbull was in Engl England nd during during during dur dur- ing the War Var of 1812 and then returned returned returned re re- re- re turned to America to finish his of the painting of The Signing Declaration of Independence y 1 f 4 J y t if r and rind three others The others The Surrender Surrender Surrender der of General Burgoyne The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis and md Washington Resigning His Commission His last years were saddened by illness and poverty Finally in 1831 he arranged arranged arranged ar ar- ranged with Yale college to give that institution his unsold paintings paintings paintings paint paint- ings for an annuity of 1000 for forthe forthe forthe the remainder of his life which ended on November 10 1843 That is why the Yale art gallery gallery gallery gal gal- lery is today one of Americas America's greatest patriotic shrines For Foron Foron Foron on its walls hang several of John Trumbulls Trumbull's paintings among them The Battle of Bunker Hill which once served as a passport out of Revolutionary France |