Art and the Historical Imagination

Keith Rocco / NPS

The Ford Mansion served as George Washington’s headquarters from December 1, 1779 to June 23, 1780. The National Park Service commissioned artist Keith Rocco in 2014 to paint an imagined scene of Mrs. Martha Washington’s arrival at the mansion on December 31, 1779 to use in the park’s updated brochure. Since there are no eyewitness accounts of Mrs. Washington’s arrival, this painting may tell us more about the vision of her arrival than it tells us about the historical event. As we view this picture, we do not see what happened on December 31, 1779. Rather, this contemporary painting of an event that occurred hundreds of years earlier, serves as a visual tool for examining whether our own historical imagination matches the historical evidence.

 

As we look at the picture closely and carefully, we must ask ourselves:

1. Does anything or anyone in this picture conflict with the historical record?

2. Are the people portrayed realistically in authentic settings? What are they wearing? What are they doing? What is their relationship to other people in the painting?

3. What assumptions does the NPS/Rocco make and are they supported by the historical record?

4. How well does NPS/Rocco integrate historical facts into his artistic imagination?

At the foot of the stairs on the far left, General Washington, greets Mrs. Washington who wears a hooded cape. Two of Washington’s aides and Mrs. Ford stand behind the general on the stairs. A soldier of Washington’s headquarters “Life Guards” stands at his post on the extreme left.

Major Caleb Gibbs, the commander of the General’s Life Guards stands between the stairs and the sleigh. Mrs. Washington’s coach could not get out of Philadelphia due to deep snow; Gibbs was sent with a sleigh to bring her to Morristown. It took them two days to reach Morristown.

General Washington struggled to maintain troop morale and discipline under harsh conditions in Morristown in 1779: bitter cold, disease, and lack of provisions. Washington believed that uniforms represented the army’s professionalism and discipline. The Rocco painting accurately depicts Washington’s wool uniform worn from 1789-1799 and Mrs. Washington’s wool cloak worn over what was probably a wool dress for warmth.

Neither Mrs. Washington nor Mrs. Ford are wearing the fashionable hoop skirts worn with more formal clothing. Mrs. Ford greets Mrs. Washington wearing an informal dress, called “undress,” and shawl, both probably made of wool and a bonnet cap, made of cotton or linen trimmed with frilly edges and sometimes made of lace. Mrs. Ford’s informal attire reveals that she has work o do in her household which had been transformed from a family home for four people and a few enslaved servants to a military headquarters for Washington’s entourage of approximately 30 people (five aide-de-camp and more than eighteen servants and enslaved people, including William Lee, his enslaved valet). 

The house became two separate households – Washington’s and Mrs. Ford. Mrs. Ford was responsible for the food and shelter for everyone in her own household – herself, Timothy [age 17], Gabriel [age 15], Elizabeth [age 12] and Jacob III [age 8] and as many as three enslaved people, Pompey [age unknown], Jack [age 51] and Phillis [age 55]. Washington’s 18 enslaved and free Servants handled all the cooking and household needs of the military family and his guests.

At the glowing window in the center, Mrs. Ford’s twelve-year-old daughter, Elizabeth looks out the window. She and her mother shared the first-floor parlor [3 windows to right of main front door] while her three brothers shared the sitting room. Washington and his military family occupied the remainder of the house. Enslaved and free Servants slept in the rooms above the kitchen, in the attic, in hallways and in outbuildings on the property.

Two enslaved men carry food out of the front door of the kitchen. They had to carry the food outside to reach Washington’s dining room on the far side of the house. Otherwise, they would constantly be passing through the Ford’s rooms. Both men are dressed in attire that is meant to reflect the wealth and status of the people they were serving: the Washingtons and the general’s officers. Allowing Rocco’s art to influence our imagination, the enslaved man in the elegant blue suit could be Washington’s enslaved personal valet, William Lee, who accompanied him throughout the war. The enslaved man in the brown suit wears the more typical attire of someone serving in the dining room.

The woman watching the two servants is Mrs. Thompson, the 76-year- old Irish housekeeper who supervised Washington’s kitchen. Note that while Washington and his enslaved servants are dressed for a formal dinner, Mrs. Ford’s clothing is an ordinary, informal, day dress, inappropriate for a formal dinner.

A group of three officers on horseback and two soldiers gather on the far right. The headquarters was protected both by the headquarters guard who lived in huts near the Ford Mansion and other soldiers were sent from the camp in Jockey Hollow.

Because it is late afternoon, the bedrooms upstairs used by Washington, his aides, and servants are empty, cold, and dark. Everyone is downstairs working. Only the first-floor rooms; the general’s dining room [far left], Mrs. Ford’s room [three windows to right of front door] and kitchen wing are in use and show the glow of fireplaces and candle.


After taking a closer look at the painting, what have you learned about the arrival of Mrs. Washington at the Ford Mansion? Have any of your ideas about Washington’s time at the Ford Mansion changed? What else would you like to learn or ask a question about?

Bibliography

https://research.colonialwilliamsburg.org/Foundation/journal/Winter03-04/clothing.cfm

https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/morristown-nj/

Morristown, NJ · George Washington's Mount Vernon

Eric Olsen, “Ford Family Slaves”, NPS

This post by Dr. Lillie Edwards, Professor Emeritus, Drew University