Washington and Lee at Monmouth

Artist Unknown Artist

Periodca. 1858

MediumWoodcut engraving on paper with watercolor enhancements

Dimensions6.5 × 4.25 in. (16.5 × 10.8 cm)

InscribedInscribed bottom margin center, "Washington and Lee at Monmouth."

ClassificationsPrints

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, 1988

Object number1988.4.4

DescriptionHistorical depiction of General George Washington on horseback, left, confronting General Charles Lee, center wtih back to the viewer. In the foreground, a soldier lies dead partly submerged in a pool of water that is surrounded by vegetation. A drum sits by his side. Another soldier in the foreground is beside Lee with his arm upraised and a musket over his shoulder. Other troops appear in the right distance.
Curatorial RemarksReports of Washington’s response upon encountering General Charles Lee withdrawing from Monmouth Courthouse vary; some were given by elderly officers and soldiers who recalled the events years later or who were not even present when it happened. The Virginian general, Charles Scott, for example, claimed that Washington swore at Lee “till the leaves shook the trees” (a tale that is considered to have been fabricated). Although he was too far away to hear the words spoken between the two men, Private Joseph Plumb Martin was a witness to the event and wrote in his diary that Washington “seemed at the instant to be in a great passion; his looks if not his words seemed to indicate as much.”NotesThis engraving, published in J. T. Headley’s The Illustrated Life of Washington (1859), shows Washington conferring with Lee on the Rhea plantations, to the west of Division Brook. The event took place during the Battle of Monmouth on 28 June 1778. After ordering Lee and General Wayne to fight a delaying action, Washington then rode to the Perrine Farm to establish a defensive line against the enemy.

Collections