"The Columbiad" -- Cornwallis Resigning his Sword to Washington
Medium
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Mr. and Mrs. Joel Barlow
Accession Number
AD/NPG.79.19.i
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the dramatic moment captured in James Heath's 1807 *The Columbiad -- Cornwallis Resigning his to Washington*, a stirring engraving from the Smithsonian American Art Museum. British engraver James Heath (1757–1834), renowned for his meticulous historical illustrations, depicts the climactic surrender at Yorktown in 1781. General Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquis and 2nd Earl, symbolically hands his sword to George Washington, the victorious American commander, amid a military camp with fortress walls, horses, and—hallmarks of Revolutionary War imagery. This scene commemorates the pivotal ...