The Recruit with a View of the Encampment at Monmouth, N. J. 1777

Periodca. 1845

MediumEngraving on paper enhanced with watercolor

Dimensions6.6 × 10 in. (16.8 × 25.4 cm)

InscribedInscribed bottom margin center, "The Recruit / with a View of the Encampment at Monmouth, N. J. 1777 / Engraved by W. H. Ellis from an original picture for Godey's Lady's Book."

ClassificationsPrints

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, 1988

Object number1988.4.5

DescriptionInterior scene of four people gathered around a table. Two Army officers in red jackets and blue trousers sit on the left, one wearing a hat decorated with a feather. On the right is a disheveled young man wearing a hat, accompanied by a female companion who leans on his shoulder. The woman's hat and basket rest on the floor near an open doorway. The contents of the room include a linen press in the left background, rush bottom chairs, a rectangular table with two stretchers and one drawer, a tin candle sconce on the wall, and a "wag on the wall" clock. A poster pinned to the wall above the young man reads in part "Jersey Blues." Through the open doorway can be seen an encampment of tents, town buildings, and a church.
Curatorial RemarksThe print is credited to William H. Ellis, a Philadelphia-born engraver who worked for Godey’s. However, it was not his own conception: Ellis recycled a popular English engraving known as The Recruit (engraved by William Giller [ca. 1805–1868] in 1833 after a painting by Henry Liverseege [1803–1832]), altering certain details to conform to his American theme. For example, while the hat of the soldier in the center was modified to look “pseudo-Colonial,” the engraver did not adjust the color or cut of their uniforms, which are British and date from about the 1820s. This engraving demonstrates the way in which artistic license sometimes overshadowed historical accuracy.NotesThis engraving was used to illustrate “The Recruit,” a romantic tale published in Godey’s Lady’s Book in May 1845. The image shows a young man in a recruiting office of the 1st New Jersey Regiment of the Continental Army, near the encampment at Monmouth. Two officers are soliciting him to “join the standard of liberty.” Consistent with Godey’s focus on women and moral guidance, the man’s sweetheart sits next to him “to encourage, as the heroic women of America were accustomed to do in that eventful age . . . She tells him that honour and safety are only to be found in the American camp . . . [and] . . . he is enrolled in the Jersey Blues.”

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