Item 137: An Engraving of The French Officers at Yorktown, by John Rogers (Removed to Black Case #8) , [1870]

Item — Box: 21, Folder: 137

Staff Only

Engraving of The French Officers at Yorktown, by John Rogers, [1870] (Removed to Black Case #8)

Dates

[1870]

Access:

All series and subseries within this collection are open for research, with the exception of a few files within the Academia series that are restricted. The Academia series contains financial and sensitive institutional records from Wilkes College, and financial report records from Princeton University that will remain restricted for 80 years upon creation.

Extent

From the Collection: 17 Cubic Feet

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Additional Description

Condition Note:

Good, slight discoloration is present.

Measurements:

14 in. x 11 in.

Type of Material:

Engraving

Title:

Etchings of French Officers

Description:

An engraving by John Rogers depicting five french officers, Luzerne, Du Portail, Rochambeau, Viomenil and De Grasse. This print was engraved by John Rogers. John Rogers was born in Massachusetts in 1829, and eventually lived in Chicago and New York city as a sculptor. He mass-produced plaster that is found in many American homes and even in some museums. He died in 1904. The plate depcits a number of French military officers and offices that had a pivotal role in aiding the revolutionary army in defeating the British during the American Revolution. Antoine-Jean-Louis Le Bègue de Presle Duportail was a French military leader who served as the Chief Engineer of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He also held the last office as the Secretary of State for War during theFrench Revolution, witnessing the shift to become the first Minister of War. Jean-Baptiste-Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau was a French nobleman and general whose command aided the defeat the British Army at Yorktown in 1781 during the American Revolutionary War. He held commander-in-chief of the French expeditionary force sent to aid the Continental Army against the British army. François Joseph Paul de Grasse, comte de Grasse was a French admiral who is most recognized for his command of the French fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake in 1781 in the last year of the American Revolutionary War. Their efforts played a direct role in the British’s surrender at Yorktown. Antoine Charles du Houx, baron de Vioménil was a a Marshal of France and decorated army figure, figting in the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seve Years War, who served under Rochambeau in America during the Yorktown campaign. He fled at the early violence of the French Revolution, joining the army of Condé and rose to the rank of lietenant general in the Russian army where he was stationed in Lithuania. Houx was restored in France after the Burbon Revolution, being named a Peer of France and Louis XVIII of France to Ghent and after the the Second Restoration and Waterloo, received a military command at Bordeaux. Anne-Cesar La Luzerne was an eighteenth century French solider who played a pivotal role int he development of the Continental Congress as a diplomat between the two countries. He became an ambassador to the Court of St. James. The date for the manuscript has been ascertained by a comparison with a similar manuscript digitized on the New York Public Library’s website.