Surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown Va. Oct. 19th 1781. [and] Surrender of General Burgoyne at Saratoga N.Y. Oct. 17th 1777.

By, John Trumbull

Published by N. Currier, 152 Nassau St., N. Y.

Referenced in Conningham - Currier & Ives an Illustrated Checklist #5906 & 5907.  [and] Gale - Currier & Ives: A Catalogue Raisonne. #6378 & 6371.

Lithograph handcolored, 1852.

Large folio - image sizes 15 1/2 x 24 5/8" (39.4 x 62.5 cm).

Original Best Fifty #39 & 40.

Good condition save for faint mat line well outside of image.  Beautiful original hand coloring.

Cornwallis - Painted by John Trumbull.  On stone by Franz Venino.

Burgoyne - Painted by John Trumbull.  On stone by Otto Knirsch.

Cornwallis

The defeated British army marches between the Americans on the right, led by General George Washington, and the French on the left, led by General Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau. At the center, on horseback, Major General Benjamin Lincoln, Washington’s second-in-command, accepts the official surrender from General Lord Cornwallis’s deputy, General Charles O’Hara. According to historical accounts, Cornwallis had feigned illness on the occasion and passed the responsibility of surrender to O’Hara. Washington, recognizing the snub, directed O’Hara to Major General Lincoln, who accepted O’Hara’s sword and handed it back to him. Trumbull painted the portraits of the French officers directly onto the canvas in Thomas Jefferson’s house in Paris and regarded them as the “best of my small portraits.”

Burgoyne

Burgoyne's surrender followed battles with American General Horatio Gates near Saratoga in September and October 1777. With the British losing men and defenses during both engagements, Burgoyne retreated with a weakened army to Saratoga, where he surrendered to General Gates. This turning point in the American Revolution prevented the British from dividing New England from the rest of the colonies, and it was the deciding factor in bringing active French support to the American cause.

This painting depicts General Burgoyne prepared to surrender his sword to General Gates. Gates, showing respect for Burgoyne, refuses to take the sword and instead offers hospitality by directing Burgoyne to the tent to take refreshment; the American flag flies in the wind at the top of the tent. American officers gather at the sides to witness the event; their varied dress reflects their different units.