the following text and watercolors are from the oct 1971 hardcover edition of american heritage magazine which i picked up recently. the watercolors are all by peter copeland, the text excerpt was written by harold l. peterson. they made up a feature called dress parade, a portfolio of american fighting men which i particularly like. copeland’s caricatures are fantastic and it seemed a fitting post for independence day, or as fitting as i can manage.
the american provincials looked ridiculous. they had no military bearing. their formations were ragged, and they argued with their officers. in about 1755, if tradition is to be believed, dr. richard shuckburgh has expressed the redcoats’ derision of american soldiers by writing “yankee doodle” and setting it to an old british tune. when lord percy marched out of boston to rescue the british force that had struck a hornet’s nest at concord on april 19, 1775, his musicians played the song in derision, but fell silent on their nightmare retreat. and the tune took on entirely new meaning when victorious americans played it as they marched into boston, and later as one british army surrendered at saratoga and another at yorktown. the country bumpkins had triumphed over the best of professionals, and had accompanied victory with a self-deriding song.
in a real sense “yankee doodle” set a style for the way america’s non-professional warriors have regarded themselves ever since. far from resenting the jibes of their amateur status, they have gloried in them. unlike most other world powers, the united states has never had an elite military caste. in times of emergency all able bodied m ales have been expected to serve their country. for that reason the outlook of the average fighting man has remained essentially that of a civilian, and he has been quick to note the anomalies of his position and the idiosyncrasies of his fellows.
the article goes much further but that will do by way of intro to copeland’s watercolors. click all (including the thumbnail above) for large versions. enjoy.
a private in the continental army, 1779.
a new york state rifleman, 1809.
a light or “horse” artillery man come infantry man for lack of horses, 1809.
a captain of the american navy, 1812
member of the washington grays militia of Philadelphia, between 1815-1846
an enterprising seaman battling the grog-ration cuts of 1842
one of the “always ready” dragoons with his handy “old wrist-breaker” saber, 1848
federal army sergeant cavalryman, 1863
volunteer cavalryman of the virginia sussex light dragoons, 1861
private in the rough and ready guards of north carolina, 1861
a note on the watercolors: they were selected by the american heritage editors from a collection of 24 prints called american fighting men which was published later in 1971 by the new york graphic society in a limited edition. love to track one of those down. hope you all enjoyed them!