One of the most prolific and versatile of early American artists, Charles Willson Peale began his career in Maryland as a saddler and self-taught artist. After studying in London with Benjamin West, he returned to the United States, settling in Philadelphia to paint portraits. Recognizing the demand for small portraits that could be hidden from the enemy, Peale found ample employment in revolutionary Philadelphia, the center of the struggle for independence. Peale took likenesses of military officers and statesmen who commissioned miniatures for their far-away loved ones. The uniform of the unidentified American officer indicates that the sitter, like Peale, was a captain in the Continental army. The epaulette on his right shoulder and the scarlet facings and silver trim of his coat further suggest that he served in an infantry regiment organized by one of the mid-Atlantic states. The head of a large family of artists, Peale nurtured American artists at large, and, after the revolution, he focused his efforts on establishing a museum in Philadelphia that would encompass art, history, and the natural world.