



On December 25, 1776 a brave General and future President led his troops across the Delaware River into Trenton, New Jersey to perform a surprise attack on the British troops that ultimately turned the war in favor of the budding new country known as the United States of America. This man was none other than General George Washington along with various soldiers of his Continental army. In the painting “Washington Crossing the Delaware” by Emanuel Leutze, we are given an ageless and heroic scene of this event. The artist uses several lines to split this image up showing us progression, purity and unity. This is important because as a nation we can still learn from this painting and it’s timeless lessons.

The first line in this painting separates the bottom half of the image, essentially highlighting the occupants of only the closest boat. Starting on the left side of the boat we can see several very differently dressed men rowing the boat and pushing the ice from it’s path. These men are wearing clothing unique to their backgrounds. The man pushing the ice away appears to have a fur trappers hat which could indicate he is of a French background because of their reign over the fur trade in the central regions of North America. The two men behind him are just as varied. The man on the left side is wearing a traditional Scottish hat while the man on the right is an African-American in the Continental armies uniform. All three of these men are essential to the progression of this vessel and seem to be working in great harmony. This is not only physical progression, but also progression against racial and cultural divides. None of these men have the same background, yet they are able to overcome that barrier in order to accomplish a common goal. The next figure that appears is a well dressed man in the Continental army, we can tell that he is of some higher ranking because he has gloves on and is not rowing. Moving back along the boat we see a person dressed in red clothing. After further study of this image and of the American Revolution, there is a chance that this person is a woman. Most of the fighting men of that time are depicted in paintings with their hair fashioned in a ponytail with a bow or ribbon of some sort while this is not true for the red shirted person. Should this character be a female, it would also show a huge progression in equal rights as she is sitting directly beside another member of the Continental army and is on General George Washington’s boat. Slightly further back we can see two farmers dressed in colonial style clothing along with another man in the same garment as the first. The trappers are most likely the best suited for this sort of navigation and guidance, which is why they are taking up the two most essential positions for steering the boat.

The next division in this painting makes us focus on the center of the image. While the outskirts of the painting are darker and appropriate for the time of day that this event occurred, the inner portion near General George Washington is very light. The use of this light makes us see General Washington in an almost godly light, he is in the most majestic and manly of poses adorned with his saber and flowing cape. We see General Washington, not as just a man, but as the savior of the Continental army. Standing by his side is James Monroe, a Lieutenant in the Continental army at the time and future President of the United States, holding the American flag. Despite the fact that the flag pictured was not designed and instated until the following year, this image of Lieutenant Monroe carefully holding the flag like he would hold a baby shows the purity of this new nation. He has a stern and powerful look on his face showing just how protective he is of the flag and it’s symbolism of the nation as a whole. He is assisted in keeping this flag safe by what appears to be a regular man in colonial garb. This image displays that it is not only the job of the senior members of the military, but also the common man to protect our nation. Even though the weather conditions were poor and the men during this war would have in reality been filthy, both General Washington and Lieutenant Monroe are shown being clean-shaven and wearing pristine military uniforms. This is most likely representative of their morals and their mission being that of a pure nature.

The last section of this painting cordons off the remaining boats in the background, showing us that this is a team effort. We can see in this portion of the image the colors are darker, but the same color schemes appear. We are barraged with combinations of red, white and blue. These colors are very appropriate for such a painting, seeing as how they are the colors of the United States of America. With nearly all the people in this image, to include a horse, wearing one of the three colors we are presented with a sense of unity and belonging. On the boats in the background you can see the same kind of teamwork presented to us as the first boat. Each person has a job, whether it be to hold the horses steady or row the boat, everyone in the image is unified under a common goal.

Although we know the outcome of this battle, it’s hard to not root for the people in this painting after seeing everything they are pouring into it and having such a heroic leader represent this group as a whole. After reviewing this painting, it is very clear that we both physical and cultural progression, a pure and noble leader that is highly respected and a sense of pride and unity that encapsulates the entire Continental army.


