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Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object name |
Painting |
Title |
Washington and Staff at Fort Lee, Watching the Battle of Fort Washington, 1776 |
Artist or maker |
John Ward Dunsmore (1856-1945) |
Date |
1929 |
Place of origin |
USA |
Physical description |
Equestrian Washington in center canvas with hand-held telescope watching battle across river. A note is being exchanged between Washington and a messenger. Two men survey a map they are holding on the right side of canvas. |
Past exhibit |
Dunsmore: Illustrating the American Revolutionary War |
Current exhibit |
Path to Liberty: The Emergence of a Nation |
Gallery label |
Path to Liberty: The Emergence of a Nation (2025): In July of 1776, Fort Washington was constructed in northern Manhattan while Fort Lee was constructed directly across the Hudson River in New Jersey. Together the forts would create a crossfire that allowed the Continental Army to maintain river control. Only after their completion did the army realize that Fort Washington’s weak location lacked ditches, barracks, and a water supply. After the Battle of Long Island on August 26, 1776, British forces pushed the Continental Army into Manhattan and by September, British forces had advanced northward from Lower Manhattan, again, forcing Washington to retreat from Fort Washington. On November 16, 1776, Washington watched in dismay from Fort Lee as British forces converged on Fort Washington, completing the British siege of New York City. |
Catalogue number |
1936.02.034 |
Collection name |
Paintings and Sculpture |
Credit line |
Gift of George A. Zabriskie Memorial, 1936 |
People |
Washington, George Dunsmore, John Ward |