Major-General Sir William Howe

Title: William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe
Artist: Richard Purcell aka Charles Corbutt (ca 1736-ca 1766)
Date: November 1777

Major-General Sir William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe (1729–1814), is depicted in this color mezzotint painting by Richard Purcell, published in 1777. Before returning to North America in March 1775, Howe had seen long service. After fighting in Europe during the Seven Years’ War, Howe played a key role in the capture of Quebec in 1759 and the subsequent campaign against the French. After criticizing Lieutenant-General Thomas Gage over tactics at Bunker Hill in June 1775, Howe was eventually given overall command that September. Under Howe’s leadership the British landed on Staten Island in July 1776 and during the fall of 1776 outmaneuvered General George Washington at Long Island and New York, forcing the Americans to retreat in disorder across New Jersey. During the Fall campaign Howe clashed with both Major-General Charles Cornwallis and Major-General Henry Clinton over strategy. Washington’s victory at Trenton revived American spirits and during 1777 Howe endeavored to regain the initiative by capturing the American capital at Philadelphia. Although this was successful, Howe’s failure to coordinate his movements with Major General John Burgoyne’s invasion from Canada resulted in Burgoyne’s surrender.

Source :
Book "Continental versus Redcoat: American Revolutionary War" by David Bonk
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:WilliamHowe1777ColorMezzotint.jpeg

Friedrich the Great after the Battle of Kolin

Title: Friedrich der Große nach der Schlacht bei Kolin (Frederick the Great after the battle of Kolin)
Artist: Julius Schrader (1815-1900)
Date: 1849

The Battle of Kolín on 18 June 1757 saw 44,000 Austrians under Count von Daun defeat 32,000 Prussians under Friedrich the Great during the Third Silesian War (Seven Years' War). The Prussians lost the battle and nearly 14,000 men, the Austrians lost 8,000 men. The battle was Friedrich's first defeat in this war, and forced him to abandon his intended march on Vienna, raise his siege of Prague, and fall back on Litoměřice. The Austrians, reinforced by the 48,000 troops in Prague, followed them, 100,000 strong, and, falling on Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia, who was retreating eccentrically (for commissariat reasons) at Zittau, inflicted a severe check upon him. The king was compelled to abandon Bohemia. This painting by Julius Schrader showed the exhausted monarch resting on a bench after the battle.

Sources :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kol%C3%ADn

British Grenadiers at the Battle of Bunker Hill

Title: Battle of Bunker Hill
Artist: Edward Percy Moran
Date: 1909

A depiction of the battle of Bunker Hill by Edward Percy Moran (1862-1935), known for his scenes of American history. This significant battle took place on 17 June 1775, mostly on and around Breed's Hill, during the Siege of Boston early in the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after the adjacent Bunker Hill. Although the uniform details are inaccurate, the formation of the British grenadiers advancing uphill toward the Americans behind prepared positions is largely representative of the closeorder formation used by the British during their assault. After the experience of the retreat from Lexington, British commander Lieutenant-General Thomas Gage ordered his men to form in two rather than three ranks but retained the close-order formation. Although Gage attempted to outflank the American position, a quick reaction by American commanders frustrated British efforts and resulted in a sustained firefight on unequal terms. The British grenadiers were ordered to assault the American lines with the bayonet but their close-order formations made it difficult for them to cross several fences and as the formations lost cohesion the grenadiers lost momentum. As a result many grenadiers began to fire at the enemy rather than carry home their charge. In the aftermath of Bunker Hill British commanders understood that the bayonet was the most effective weapon against the untrained Americans. Conversely, American commanders realized that effective use of terrain and cover, including walls, fences, and woods, could negate some of the lethal nature of the British bayonet charge.

Source :

Book "Continental versus Redcoat: American Revolutionary War" by David Bonk
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/371124825518568626/

Gideon von Laudon at the Battlefield of Kunersdorf

Title: Gideon von Laudon nach seinem Sieg über das Schlachtfeld bei Kunersdorf reitend (Gideon von Laudon riding after the victory over the battlefield of Kunersdorf)
Artist: Siegmund L'Allemand
Date: 1878

Baron Ernst Gideon von Laudon (German: Ernst Gideon Freiherr von Laudon (originally Laudohn or Loudon) (February 2, 1717 – July 14, 1790) was an Austrian generalisimo, one of the most successful opponents of the Prussian king Frederick the Great, allegedly lauded by Alexander Suvorov as his teacher. He served the position of military governorship of Habsburg Serbia from his capture of Belgrade in 1789 until his death, cooperating with the resistance fighters of Koča Anđelković.

The Battle of Kunersdorf, fought in the Seven Years' War, was Frederick the Great's most devastating defeat. On August 12, 1759, near Kunersdorf (Kunowice), east of Frankfurt (Oder), 50,900 Prussians were defeated by a combined allied army 65,000 strong consisting of 41,000 Russians and 24,000 Austrians under Pyotr Saltykov. Only 3,000 soldiers from the original 50,900 comprising the Prussian army returned to Berlin after the battle, though many more had only scattered and were ultimately able to join the army afterward.

Source :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kunersdorf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Gideon_von_Laudon

Friedrich The Great after the Seven years' War

Title: Friedrich der Große nach dem Siebenjährigen Krieg in der Eosander-Kapelle von Schloss Charlottenburg (Frederick The Great after the Seven years' War in the Eosander Chapel of Schloss Charlottenburg)
Artist: Arthur Kampf
Date: 1889

King Friedrich II of Prussia sitting in a chair while listening to the sounds of a choir. Kampf characterize the powerful ruler in a highly expressive and gloom mood. Large Format main work of the artist from his early Berlin period of creativity.

Arthur Kampf studied at the art academy in Düsseldorf under Peter Janssen the Elder.  Afterwards he took a position as an assistant teacher initially and then as a professor at the academy.  In 1898 he moved to Berlin.  Here he became a member and later President of the Royal Academy of Arts.  From 1915 to 1925 he was director of the Academy of Fine Arts in Berlin. As a history painter Kampf created numerous monumental commissions and paintings with allegorical and historical or war themes. The majority of Kampf's oeuvre is now lost or was destroyed in the war

Source :

http://www.askart.com/artist/Arthur_Kampf/11043732/Arthur_Kampf.aspx#

https://schloss-ahlden.de/catidx.php?mode=obj&id=15413676

The Delaware Regiment at the Battle of Long Island (1776)

Title: The Delaware Regiment at the Battle of Long Island
Artist: Domenick D'Andrea
Date: 2004

The battle of Long Island, a British victory, began just after the Siege of Boston. As the British fled after their defeat in that siege, General George Washington guessed that they would head south and try to take New York. Therefore, he and his army went there and prepared for the British to attack. As it turns out, the British had in fact gone North to Halifax, Nova Scotia. They reached the Hudson River on June 29, 1776, and on July 3, British General William Howe arrived on Stanton Island. The next day (July 4, 1776) was the day that the America's Continental Congress announced the independence of America.

While all of this was happening, George Washington had been preparing for battle in New York. He had created a wall of men with guns to defend the city from any attacks from the sea and placed 10,000 men on Brooklyn Heights to defend Manhattan. He was ready for anyone who would attack New York. There was just one problem: the British would be attacking Long Island, not New York.

On August 27, 1776 the British landed on Long Island, which is south of New York. Two days later, General Howe learned that the Americans had no one guarding the road leading North from Long Island into New York, but had defenses set up on all the other roads. Using this information, Howe led his men up the North road. He then proceeded around to attack the Americans Guarding the left road, who were led by General John Sullivan. While Howe's army attacked Sullivan's from the back, a German troop, which was allied with the British, attacked from the front. Sullivan fought as well as he could, but he was soon overpowered and forced to retreat behind the Brooklyn walls. Howe, feeling proud of his victory, led his men and attacked the men guarding the right road, using the same technique. They, like Sullivan's men, fought hard but were forced to retreat to Brooklyn.

Source :

http://www.revolutionary-war.net/battle-of-long-island.html

The Battle of Lexington (1775)

Title: The Battle of Lexington (1775)
Artist: William Barnes Wollen
Date: 1910

A painting of the battle of Lexington (April 19, 1775) by William Barnes Wollen (1857–1936). Courtesy of the Council, National Army Museum, London, UK. The disposition of the British troops and American colonists in the painting represents the prevailing image of closely ranked British engaging a loosely formed enemy. The colonists were drawn up in a formal line on the village green at Lexington where, after refusing to disperse, they were fired upon by British regulars deployed in a three-rank, close-order formation. While some of the colonists that engaged in the running battle with the British on April 19, 1775 may have been veterans of the French and Indian War, they had little organization or training. After that initial exchange of musketry the American tactics largely involved hit-and-run attacks on the British column returning to Boston. The Colonists made extensive use of available cover, stone walls, and fences, and repeatedly forced the British to deploy from march column into line, only to find the Americans had dispersed.

Source :

Book "Continental versus Redcoat: American Revolutionary War" by David Bonk

American Continental Army Uniform

Title: Infantry: Continental Army, 1779-1783
Artist: Henry Alexander Ogden
Date: 1897

In January 1779 Washington submitted a proposal to the Continental Congress for the standardization of uniforms, suggesting each state adopt a different color uniform, with facing colors distinguishing different units. He also suggested pants be replaced with woolen overalls for winter and linen for summer wear. Congress passed along the proposal to the Board of War, which responded in May 1779 with a revised plan adopting dark blue as the standard uniform color and dividing the states into four groups, each with a different facing color. The proposed facing colors were white (New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut), buff (New York and New Jersey), red (Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia), and blue with white lace buttonholes (North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia).

Source :

Book "Continental versus Redcoat: American Revolutionary War" by David Bonk

Friedrich the Great Carrying the Flag (1758)

Title: Friedrich der grosse als Fahnentrager auf dem Schlachtfeld’ (Frederick the Great as standard-bearer at the battlefield)
Artist: Arthur Kampf
Date: 1900

On 25 August 1758 Prussian army defeated the numerically stronger forces of Russian Army at Zorndorf (approximately 90 kilometers east of Berlin) with superior organization. During the battle, Prussian king Friedrich II had taken the flag of  Prussian Infantry Regiment Nr.46 that lying on the ground and then led his retreating soldiers to a successful counterattack. Inspired by this event, German painter Arthur Kampf recreated the King Friedrich's Prowess 150 years later. In contrast to the many detailed and colorful battle scenes from that time, King Friedrich and the flag fill the whole height of the painting. Friedrich placed expansively in the foreground., Only dimly behind the dense smoke powder as a recognition to Prussian soldiers who will bring unity and dynamism for the next glorious attack. The painting staged Friedrich as a model for unconditional sacrifice: The Carrying of the Flag resolutely onward, it seem that the King does not fear for death, even though the fallen soldier has been pictured to his right and left. The German painter used the motif of the flag that had been used since the Prussian-Danish war in 1864 as a symbol for victory. However, he had made a significant error in his paintings: The four corner keys of the flag of the infantry regiment No. 46 were not red but black. Arthur Kampf, ‘Friedrich der grosse als Fahnentrager auf dem Schlachtfeld’ (‘Frederick the Great as standard-bearer at the battlefield’) now in the possession of German Historical Museum, Berlin.

Source :
https://www.dhm.de/lemo/bestand/objekt/friedrich-der-grosse-als-fahnentraeger-auf-dem-schlachtfeld-um-1900.html

Friedrich the Great and His Troops Singing at Leuthen (1757)

Title: Der Choral von Leuthen (The Hymn of Leuthen)
Artist: Arthur Kampf
Date: 1887

Arthur Kampf, ‘Der Choral von Leuthen’ (‘The Hymn of Leuthen’), created in 1887. The Battle of Leuthen, 5 December 1757. Friedrich (Frederick) the Great and his troops singing hymns to thank God for their victory over the Austrians during the Seven Years War. The song was composed in the 17th century by Johannes Crüger and inspired Johann Sebastian Bach. In 1939 the Reichsgau Köln-Aachen gave the painting to Hermann Göring for his 46th birthday. Nowadays in the possession of the Neue Pinakothek in Munich.

Source :
http://www.germanartgallery.eu/mobile/Webshop/0/product/info/Arthur_Kampf,_Good_Friday&id=42