The Death of General Mercer at the Battle of Princeton, January 3, 1777

Artist John Trumbull depicts the Battle of Princeton (January 3, 1777) in this ambitious oil painting, decades in the making. On the far left, a sword-wielding Lieutenant Charles Turnbull of the Pennsylvania artillery attempts to deflect a bayonet with his bare hands. In the center, Brigadier General Hugh Mercer meets his death at the hands of a bayonet-wielding Red Coat. George Washington and army surgeon Benjamin Rush appear in the middle distance, rallying the troops. On the right, a line of British infantry in their red coats balances the composition of the piece. Trumbull based his portrait of Mercer on studies he drew of the deceased general’s adult sons. Trumbull worked on this portrait with his mentor, history painter Benjamin West, perhaps hoping to recreate the success of West's The Death of General Wolfe at Quebec.