The ''Surrender of General Burgoyne'' is an

oil painting Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest ...

John Trumbull John Trumbull (June 6, 1756November 10, 1843) was an American artist of the early independence period, notable for his historical paintings of the American Revolutionary War, of which he was a veteran. He has been called the "Painter of the Re ...

. The painting was completed in 1821 and hangs in the

United States Capitol rotunda The United States Capitol rotunda is the tall central rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. It has been described as the Capitol's "symbolic and physical heart". Built between 1818 and 1824, the rotunda is located below the ...

in Washington, D.C. The painting depicts the surrender of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Lieutenant General

John Burgoyne General John Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British general, dramatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 to 1792. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several bat ...

Saratoga, New York } Saratoga is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 5,141 at the 2000 census. It is also the commonly used, but not official, name for the neighboring and much more populous city, Saratoga Springs. The major vill ...

on October 17, 1777, ten days after the Second Battle of Saratoga. Included in the depiction are many leaders of the American

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

and

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

forces that took part in the battle as well as the Hessian commander

Friedrich Adolf Riedesel Freiherr Friedrich Adolf Riedesel Freiherr zu Eisenbach (3 June 1738 in Lauterbach/Hesse – 6 January 1800 in Braunschweig) was a German officer who served in the Seven Years' War and American War of Independence. He was the commander of t ...

and two

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

officers: Burgoyne and General

William Phillips William Phillips may refer to: Entertainment * William Phillips (editor) (1907–2002), American editor and co-founder of ''Partisan Review'' * William T. Phillips (1863–1937), American author * William Phillips (director), Canadian film-make ...

Commission

Artist

(1756–1843) spent the early part of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

as a soldier, serving as an aide to both

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

and

Horatio Gates Horatio Lloyd Gates (July 26, 1727April 10, 1806) was a British-born American army officer who served as a general in the Continental Army during the early years of the Revolutionary War. He took credit for the American victory in the Battl ...

.Weir, pp. 9-10 After resigning from the army in 1777, he pursued a career as an artist. In 1785 he began sketching out ideas for a series of large-scale paintings to commemorate the major events of the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

, and in 1791 he traveled to

, where he sketched the landscape of the surrender site.Architect of the Capitol Self Portrait by John Trumbull circa 1802

Upon his return from Britain after the end of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

, he promoted this idea to the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

. On the strength of his application and the successful exhibition of '' The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker's Hill, June 17, 1775'' and '' The Death of General Montgomery in the Attack on Quebec, December 31, 1775,'' as well as studies for other proposed paintings, the Congress in 1817 voted to commission four large paintings from him, to be hung in the

.Weir, p. 36 The price was set at $8,000 per painting, with the size and subject matter to be determined by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for h ...

. A size of twelve by eighteen feet (370 cm × 550 cm) was agreed, as was the subject matter for the four paintings: the ''

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

'', the ''Surrender of General Burgoyne'', the ''

Surrender of Lord Cornwallis The ''Surrender of Lord Cornwallis'' is an oil painting by John Trumbull. The painting was completed in 1820, and hangs in the rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. The painting depicts the surrender of British Lieutenant ...

'', and ''

General George Washington Resigning His Commission ''General George Washington Resigning His Commission'' is a large-scale oil painting by American artist John Trumbull of General George Washington resigning his commission as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army on December 23, 1783 to th ...

''. Trumbull spent the next eight years executing the commission, completing this painting in late 1821. It was first displayed in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

from January to March 1822, and Trumbull supervised its hanging in the Capitol rotunda in 1824. It has remained there ever since. Trumbull himself cleaned and varnished the painting in 1828, also effecting repairs to an area near

Daniel Morgan Daniel Morgan (1735–1736July 6, 1802) was an American pioneer, soldier, and politician from Virginia. One of the most respected battlefield tacticians of the American Revolutionary War of 1775–1783, he later commanded troops during the sup ...

's foot.

Description

This painting depicts General

prepared to surrender his sword to General

. American officers gather at the sides to witness the event; their varied dress reflects their different units. In the center of the painting, and extending into the background, is Burgoyne's army along with its

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

reinforcements. They were directed to the camp by American Colonel Lewis, Quartermaster-General, who rides on horseback in the far distance. The scene suggests peace rather than combat or hostility: beneath blue sky and white clouds, officers wear their dress uniforms, weapons are sheathed or slung, and cannons stand silent.

Other versions

Trumbull created a smaller, substantially similar version of the painting that now belongs to the

Yale University Art Gallery The Yale University Art Gallery (YUAG) is the oldest university art museum in the Western Hemisphere. It houses a major encyclopedic collection of art in several interconnected buildings on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. ...

. The rotunda version was used as the basis for a commemorative stamp issued in 1994.

People depicted

BEP-GIRSCH-Surrender of General Burgoyne (Trumbull)

Weir provided this list, p. 69. The people depicted are listed approximately from left to right. *Major Lithgow *Colonel Joseph Cilley *Brigadier General John Stark *Captain Seymour *Major

William Hull William Hull (June 24, 1753 – November 29, 1825) was an American soldier and politician. He fought in the American Revolutionary War and was appointed as Governor of Michigan Territory (1805–13), gaining large land cessions from several Am ...

*Colonel Greaton *Major

Henry Dearborn Henry Dearborn (February 23, 1751 – June 6, 1829) was an American military officer and politician. In the Revolutionary War, he served under Benedict Arnold in his expedition to Quebec, of which his journal provides an important record ...

*Colonel Alexander Scammell *Colonel Lewis *Brigadier General

*Lieutenant General

*Lieutenant General Baron Friedrich Adolph Riedesel *Colonel

James Wilkinson James Wilkinson (March 24, 1757 – December 28, 1825) was an American soldier, politician, and double agent who was associated with several scandals and controversies. He served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, bu ...

*Major General

*Colonel

William Prescott William Prescott (February 20, 1726 – October 13, 1795) was an American colonel in the Revolutionary War who commanded the patriot forces in the Battle of Bunker Hill. Prescott is known for his order to his soldiers, "Do not fire until y ...

*Colonel

*Brigadier General

Rufus Putnam Brigadier-General Rufus Putnam (April 9, 1738 – May 4, 1824) was an American military officer who fought during the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War. As an organizer of the Ohio Company of Associates, he was instrumenta ...

*Lieutenant Colonel John Brooks *Reverend Mr. Hitchcock *Major Robert Troup *Major Haskell *Major Armstrong *Major General

Philip Schuyler Philip John Schuyler (; November 18, 1804) was an American general in the Revolutionary War and a United States Senator from New York. He is usually known as Philip Schuyler, while his son is usually known as Philip J. Schuyler. Born in Alb ...

*Brigadier General John Glover *Brigadier General

William Whipple William Whipple Jr. (January 25, 1731 NS Old_Style.html"_;"title="anuary_14,_1730_Old_Style">OS/nowiki>_–_November_28,_1785)_was_an_American_Founding_Fathers_of_the_United_States.html" "title="Old_Style">OS.html" ;"title="Old_Style.ht ...

*Major

Matthew Clarkson Matthew Clarkson (October 17, 1758 – April 25, 1825) was a colonial soldier and politician. Clarkson Street in Greenwich Village and the town of Clarkson in Western New York were both named after him. Early life Clarkson was born on October ...

*Major

Ebenezer Stevens Ebenezer Stevens (August 11, 1751 – September 2, 1823) was a lieutenant colonel in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, a major general in the New York state militia, and a New York City merchant. Early life Stevens was born ...

Notes

References

* *

External links

Architect of the Capitol
Web page on the painting {{United States Capitol Complex, state=expanded Paintings about the American Revolution 1821 paintings New York (state) in the American Revolution Paintings by John Trumbull Paintings in the United States Capitol American Revolutionary War Horses in art Flags in art Cultural depictions of British men Cultural depictions of military officers