U.S. Calvary at Port Tampa, Florida
Frederic Remington, 1861 - 1909, published June 18, 1898
About this artwork
Step into the charged atmosphere of 1898 with Frederic Remington's *U.S. Cavalry at Port Tampa, Florida*, a dynamic print published on June 18 in a magazine. Remington (1861–1909), the master chronicler of the American West, captured the raw energy of soldiers, horses, and trains in this scene from the Smithsonian American Art Museum's collection. As a leading figure in American realism, he excelled at portraying the rugged life of cowboys, Native Americans, and the military with vivid detail and motion, often using prints to reach wide audiences through popular periodicals. This artwork immortalizes a pivotal moment during the Spanish-American War, when Port Tampa served as a bustling embarkation hub for U.S. troops heading to Cuba. Cavalry units, iconic symbols of American valor, load onto trains amid the frenzy of departure, blending the fading romance of horse-mounted warfare with the modern pulse of rail transport. Remington's keen eye for composition—thronged figures, rearing horses, and billowing steam—conveys the anticipation and grit of a nation mobilizing for conflict. Housed in the National Portrait Gallery's Smithsonian holdings, this print not only showcases Remington's technical prowess in lithography but also reflects the cultural fervor of imperialism and Manifest Destiny at the turn of the century, inviting us to ponder the human stories behind history's grand maneuvers.