The famous painting by John Trumbull depicting the death of Joseph Warren in “The Battle of Bunker’s Hill Near Boston” is one of his most famous and there were multiple engravings made of it. Ours is by J.G. Muller and is one of the very high quality engravings. As you can see, ours has sustained some damage over the years, most of which a conservator can address to greatly improve the appearance. It’s partially colored and is in an ornate frame. The price reflects all these factors. It’s very affordable, with a likely investment at some point in conservation.
As you may know, Warren did not die in the manner shown. Instead, he was shot in the head. (Easy to understand why Trumbull chose to depict it as he did instead of what actually happened.) A medical journal conducted extensive analysis and came to this conclusion: "Joseph Warren most likely was killed instantly at the Battle of Bunker Hill while heroically facing his enemy.” For anyone interested in the details, I’ve included more below.
— Lee Wright | Founder
Frame size: 41.5" x 29"
Shipping: $125. Please allow two weeks for shipping.
Historical background from the Met Museum
"The soldier lying wounded at center is Joseph Warren, a Massachusetts physician who had served as second president of Massachusetts's revolutionary Provincial Congress. In 1775 he joined the colonial force that fought the British first at Lexington and Concord, then on Bunker's (or Breed’s) Hill. Even though a commissioned officer, he volunteered to fight as a private soldier. On the heights above Charlestown, across the river from Boston, the American troops repulsed two British attacks before their ammunition ran low and their lines were broken. Warren was struck by a musket or pistol ball during the battle and killed.
"Trumbull also belonged to the colonial army and watched this battle through field glasses from a camp at Roxbury. He immortalized the event in 1786 in a painting, now in the University Art Gallery at Yale, which served as the basis for this engraving. After the war, Trumbull traveled to London and studied painting with Benjamin West, then created a series centered on significant American battles. Following the dictates of "history painting," the most elevated genre of thet time, these compositions often describe noble behavior. Here, the death of a young patriot is honored together with the compassion shown by a British major, John Small–the latter had fought with the colonial general Israel Putnam in the French and Indian War and, standing hre at center, prevents another British soldier from bayoneting the fallen Warren. This print was published in London in 1798."
Later research into the death of Warren
This long article from the
Journal of Neurosurgery includes historical information about the battle and photos of what was recovered.
This is the abstract:
"As his fellow soldiers ran past him, Joseph Warren stood bravely on Bunker Hill. It was June 17, 1775, and British troops were fighting the colonists in one of the early battles of the American Revolution. The British had already attempted two major assaults that day, and the third would end with Warren’s death. He was a medical doctor, public figure, and general who spent his life and last living moments fighting for freedom for the American colonists.
"After the battle, there was much confusion about what had happened to Joseph Warren. Some thought he had survived the battle; other accounts differed on how exactly he had died. The details of the events on Bunker Hill remained a mystery until the following year, when Paul Revere helped identify Warren’s body by the false teeth that had been implanted years earlier. Warren’s remains showed that his head had been struck by a bullet.
"Analysis of the skull helped to sift through the differing tales of Warren’s death and thus unveil the truth about what occurred that day. The smaller bullet wound in the left maxilla suggests that he was not shot while retreating with the rest of the soldiers. The larger exit wound in the right occiput illustrates that the bullet’s trajectory crossed the midline of the brain and most likely injured the brainstem. Therefore, contrary to rumors that circulated at the time, Joseph Warren most likely was killed instantly at the Battle of Bunker Hill while heroically facing his enemy."
