Daniel Morgan (ca. 1736–1802)

Artist: John Trumbull (American, 1756–1843)

1792

American Paintings and Sculpture


Daniel Morgan was born in New Jersey and moved to Virginia around age eighteen in 1754. He served as an officer in the Continental army, and later, as commander of the Virginia militia, aided in suppressing the Whiskey Rebellion, a major challenge to federal authority following the American Revolution. Between 1797 and 1799, he served as a member of the House of Representatives from Virginia. As colonel of the Eleventh Virginia Regiment, Morgan commanded a brigade of frontier riflemen who played an essential role at the Battle of Saratoga in New York. In John Trumbull’s painting The Surrender of General Burgoyne at Saratoga (1832.7), Morgan is the figure in white to the right of center. Although Trumbull's inscription on the back of this miniature says that he painted it in 1792 "from an original by Mr. C. W. Peale," the only known Peale portrait of Morgan dates from about 1794 and does not resemble this miniature. Perhaps Trumbull knew an earlier Peale portrait of Morgan that has yet to be located.

Medium

Oil on wood

Dimensions

3 3/4 × 2 3/4 in. (9.5 × 7 cm)

Credit Line

Trumbull Gallery

Accession Number

1832.62

Culture
Period

18th century

Classification
Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Bibliography
  • Helen A. Cooper et al., Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: American Art from the Yale University Art Gallery, exh. cat. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 2008), 104, no. 46, ill.
  • Helen A. Cooper et al., John Trumbull: The Hand and Spirit of a Painter (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 1982), 136, pl. 71-75
Object copyright
Additional information

Object/Work type

miniatures (paintings), portraits

Signed

Signed verso: "Brigdr. Genl. Morgan./of the American Riflemen/distinguish'd at the CowPens/& present at the capture/of Genl. Burgoyne./Painted at Phila./1792.by J. Trumbull/from an original by Mr. CW. Peale."

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