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1974-1(RG), Print
Battle of Williamsburg
1974-1(RG), Print

Battle of Williamsburg

Date1893
Publisher
OriginAmerica, Illinois, Chicago
MediumChromolithograph
DimensionsOverall: 20 3/8 × 27 7/16 in (51.75 × 69.69cm)
Object number1974-1 (RG)
DescriptionThe lower margin reads, "GEN. HANCOCK'S CHARGE, MAY 5' 1862, UNION (GEN. Mc CLELLAN) LOSS: 456 KO, 1411 WO, 372 MISSO. CONF. (GEN. J.E. JOHNSTON) LOSS: ABT 1000 KO & WO, 800 PRIS./ COPYRIGHTED 1893 BY KURZ & ALLISON, 76 & 78 WABASH AVE., CHICAGO./ BATTLE OF WILLIAMSBURG."Label TextThis print celebrates the efforts of Union soldiers and Major General George B. McClellan at the Battle of Williamsburg on May 5, 1862. Early in the American Civil War, Union and Confederate forces met about a mile east of Williamsburg because Union troops hoped to make their way through the area and seize Richmond, the Confederate Capitol. Both Union and Confederate forces claimed victory, but the battle was indecisive and ultimately a tactical draw. This print was created by Kurz & Allison, a Chicago-based publishing firm that specialized in chromolithographs. In the late nineteenth century, the firm published a series of thirty-six battle scenes from the American Civil War to capitalize on the nostalgia of Civil War veterans. After their Civil War series, they published chromolithograph series illustrating other United States conflicts, such as the Spanish-American and Philippine-American War.ProvenanceBefore 1974, Edward W. Alfriend IV [1917-1994] (Alexandria, VA); 1974-present, given to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA).