life and career of him. this is about 45 minutes. >> good afternoon, welcome to november of the american revolution institute of the society of cincinnati at anderson house. the institute promotes knowledge and appreciation of the achievement of american independence by supporting advanced adding, exhibitions, a public programs, and providing resources to classrooms. i am -- program manager and today it is my privilege to introduce our speaker. emily persons is a deputy director and curator of the society of the cincinnati anderson house. a position she has held since 20 -- excuse me, 2003. she has our museum program including collections, exhibitions, interpretations. she research 18th century american history and american culture for more than 15 years. has curated numerous exhibitions for the society in addition to contributing to exhibitions mounted by mount vernon, the daughter of the american revolution museum, and the washington antique show. she holds a b.a. in history from washington university, and a masters of history and a certificate museum studies from the museum -- university of delaware. here is emily. >> thank you kelsey. and all of you for coming. this is one of the most fun part of my job. it is to drive into aren't explore objects and collections, portrait of particular like this one. it is a favorite of mine. this one is, as you are seeing, sort of in its an varnished seat. this painting that you will have an opportunity to look at closely when we are done, and oil portrait of colonel james delancey, anita new yorker. he committed troops during the war against the cause for america independence. not the side we are you talking about here. but a very interesting story, to illuminate the character of the war in particular of new york. this painting is attributed to john durant, who we will talk about. and during the war, during 1778 and 1782 -- . we acquire this portrait within the last year, it is the first painting of a loyalist in our collections, it is a landmark for us. we acquire it just as you see it, without a frame. we acquired it from a dealer, we acquired at an auction where it was unidentified. so, he did a bit of work, but i have been able to rely on to be able to identify the city and place it in context. so, we haven't yet have it conserved either. we have a little bit more work to do, and will reveal some more details as we go forward. so, i will talk to you today about james delancey, and his activities drew the war. if portrait of course, and you put it into context, some other portraits of american loyal force of the period. so who was james de land sea? he was from an important family in colonial new york, one of the wealthiest in the american colonies that had been established in new york in the 16 eighties. his grandfather's dup then delancey. -- incredibly important names in new york. in 1700, he began construction of a house in new york city at 54 pearl street. i don't know if that address means anything to anyone. after his death, it was bought by samuel francis who opened francis tavern there, which later george washington wrote his farewell to his officers at. his father peter was a merchant, owner of a flour mill outside new york, and member of the colonial assembly for new york as his father and numerous other family members where. james's uncle oliver commanded the militia during the french and indian war, it was a member of the french executive council between the french and indian war and the revolution and was a brigadier general in command of what was known as delinquencies brigade of almost 2000 men. as you might gather, this is an incredibly powerful political family in colonial new york that led what was then referred to as the dylan see party, which dominated politics, especially around the period of the french and indian war up to the revolution. they were supporters of mercantile interest, especially given their own backgrounds, and their opponents who are the livingston family, which was comprised of landed aristocrats. and the zelensky livingston fights in politics were really more based on social and personal factors, rather than disagreements on ideology. the two sides really schiff did as they felt on the various issues. the dylan see family seemed to become loyalists once the revolution approached more because of their close ties to royal governors and other officials in the colony, rather than because of a particular ideology. so james, back to our sitter, at the beginning of the war held the position of high sheriff of west chester county, new york, which he had been appointed to in 1770 as a lucrative position. in 1777, he became a pearl of the west chester county militia. west chester county, if you can see here on this map, is here in red, just north of manhattan and the bronx on the east side of the hudson river, including the towns as you go north from manhattan and west chester, new richelle, phillips pepper, white plains, dos very, terry town. it was heavily anglican and had a very significant although still not the majority of loyalist population. one of these anglican loyalists was samuel c berry, and he hamilton fans? he rode loyalist pamphlets under the pseudonym of west chester farmer who hamilton famously responded to in these pamphlets wars leading up to the revolution. this county in particular, in the first several years of the war, started becoming known as the neutral ground after the battle of white plains in 1776, as the americans were being run out of new york city by the british. following this battle in west chester county, the americans suffered a strategic defeat, retreated north, set up their lines around the river, just the northern border, just above the northern border of the county. the british set up their lines just north of manhattan, and neither really had the inclination or the military power to establish consistent control over this land. so it did become a sort of no man's land in between the two large armies. in november 1776, george washington described the area as those here have treated all without discrimination. it has all been one scene of ravaging and desolation. similar accounts exist on all sides. there were loyalist and patriot populations trying to protect their property. at various points, there were british, american, and french military troops passing through, and various local militia forces including, among others, the land sees men, and a local group nicknamed the scanners as well as bands of thieves and other criminals taking advantage of sort of the lack of law or control in the area. there were accounts that were common by may of 1777 that the southern half of the county was unsafe for any travelers regardless of whether they had escort. in this situation, the governor of new york in october 1777 requested that a troop of forces be raised from the county militia. -- trying to write this troop is truly elite, of the militia of west chester county and the captain james delancey, also colonel of the militia of west chester county, i have much confidence in them for their spirited behavior. that's the way he put it. by light horse, they were mounted troops who were valued for being able to move quickly, had fairly loose formations, were able to stroke their target quickly and keep moving, hopefully too if not evade detection, at least evade capture. they were supplied with arms and equipment by the british army which was not always the case for loyalist military units. they only operated for about five -- particularly tough origin find supplies for the city. they were disbanded by the governor in november 1777. the unit that james delancey is more known for was officially called the west chester refugees, also maybe more commonly known as delancey's cowboys, which by some is considered one of the most effective loyalist units in the northern theater. it was also authorized by the governor, actually, in late 1776, a bit prior to this. it was a mix of the loyalist core having two companies of infantrymen. it was part of the loyalist core organize under command of the british army in north america, so a bit more of a regular unit treated somewhat comparably to the regular units in the british army. that's opposed to more regular units, local militias, or independent companies that would be operating a little more independently than the larger british army. the loyalist provincial court had another 6000 men and 30 units and 1778. by the end of the, were 10,000 men and over 50 units. so i'm not an insignificant number. the west chester refugees at most numbered about 500 men, usually at any one time, more like 200 men, which was about average for a loyalist core in the colonies. the men were primarily drawn from the west chester county militia and were commanded by colonel james delancey. they were called the refugees because many of these men had either had their property confiscated or otherwise had to flee their homes and take refuge with the british army. they were also supplied by the british with their uniforms and arms, although the rank and file in particular were not always properly outfitted, which you will find through the american ranks as well. so they operated chiefly in and around their native west chester county. here, this contemporary map from february 1777, you see the aftermath of the battle of white plains and the no man's land, west chester county on the right side of the map, all the way from the northern tip of manhattan, with new jersey on the left, part of connecticut on the right extending up to the river. the units aims were to keep communications open through the county, protect the critical post at the bridge, which was in the very southern tip of the county, so zooming in here, the very bottom, you can see the tip of manhattan coming up and kings bridge arching over next to the hudson's river. this was the main passage north out of manhattan that the british army used. this was a critical point to keep protected, as well as in british hands. the unit also took prisoners for exchange to the patriot lines, captured british deserters, and tried as much as we could to protect loyalist residents and their property. they were incredibly active in not just new york and west chester county but also connecticut and sometimes new jersey from late 1777 all the way to the fall of 1782, and probably at least 50 if not 100 different engagements over that time, and actions that probably didn't even warrant the term engagement, smaller actions. these may seem insignificant because we are used to hearing about a large pitched battles involving thousands and thousands of men, the formal british and american units, regular generals commanding and those more significant engagements. what was happening here in the county and surrounding areas were typically much smaller engagements, 150 man on both sides combined, not always strategic battles, sometimes just popping into a farm and trying to seize cattle and so, through their actions, you see this micro level of the war on a local level that residents this close to the american armies had happening in their backyard, and how this still played a significant role in the way the american armies acted in new york, especially in the early period of the war. delancey himself was captured by continental troops in november 1777. he was delivered to a general who sent him to hartford, connecticut. he was paroled and sent back to new york city in 1777. according to a petition of the county committee of safety, a group of patriot americans sent to governor george clinton in december 1777, delancey was supposed to remain at his house while on parole, not engaging in military activity. instead, he reportedly quickly returned to the head of the unit and, according to the petition, was acting with the greatest venom a magic double against the good people of this county. and to land sea, the name dylan see, particularly coming from the activities of glances cowboys, this particular unit was quickly branded outlaws and savage, notorious men acting in this county, pillaging, plundering, stealing, miss treating residents of any sort, not asking first if they were loyalist or patriot. and so the name dylan see was incredibly, i think it evoked a lot of anger and emotional reactions in the county and beyond. one of the more noteworthy events that delancey's cowboys were involved in was a fight in the northern end of the county. it's what is now yorktown, new york, where colonel christopher greens headquarters was at richard davenport's house. this was along the crossings near the american lines. green was killed in this action. green was commander of the noted first rhode island regiment, famous for recruiting african american soldiers, and has some notoriety from, that's what was actually at the hands of delancey's men that christopher greene met his end during the war. george washington reports of his engagement to congress three days later. summarizing, -- under colonel james delancey. 44 killed, wounded, and missing. attempted to cut him off, but he did not. many other groups actions did not involve this level of violence or excitement even. a typical reed was recounted in the new yorkers it. on october 16th, 1777. reported last sunday, colonel james delancey with 60 of the west chester light horse went from kings bridge to the white plains. they took for the rebels, 44 barrels a flower, and nearly 100 head of lac cattle, 300 sheep in hogs. really that was what they were most prized for by the regular british army. bringing in these sorts of supplies. delancey and solve described himself as, in his memorial to a royal commission that was set up at the end of the war to evaluate loyalist claims for compensation of the loss and service during the war. this is april of 1783. by the means of the service, the enemies have been constantly kept by a distance in kings bridge, as the writing that post perfectly secure. keep up communication with the country of people, to the supplies of magazines and markets in new york. they have been repelled in every attempt to destroy the people under the more realistic command. and then many engagements in that he has had with, them the memorial list has been so -- capture some of the prisoners, sufficient not only to the extreme of his own man, but also the release of 500 british prisoners. it seems in modern literature that delancey is poor. that, there is sort of an equal amount of evidence on either side that the court was fairly aggressive in the county. involved in dozens of actions which resulted in plundering of local farms and communities. attacks on patriots in the county. but there are also accounts and evidence of delancey trying to impose discipline order on the men. treating the unit much more comparably to the expectations of british regulars. and he continued in a memorial to the royal commission, that he had at all times are to the most anxious and an wearied attention, to preserve the property of the it happens in the country. he is bull convinced that he has acquired and maintained the firm and general attachment, at least of some of them, as well we -- were really disposed. he now finds the greek -- there is a number of people irritated at the services and cause the government. they secretly endeavor to prejudice him in the excellencies opinion, by collecting and underhand manner depositions respecting every illegal rarity committed in the county of west gesture and the vicinity. the indiscriminately charged under the refugees of his command, most of them have originated by people with no connection of that core. as i mentioned, the court acted, it really actively in the county until almost the end of 1782. at which time after the siege of yorktown and the evacuation of the british troops from remaining cities, that they were talking was on the wall for the loyalists. had a decision to make. would they day? and suffer through violence that had already started, particularly in new york against those who remain there to the ground? or would they flee to london, or other parts of england, or to canada? nova scotia in particular. in april of 1783, delancey resigned of his commission, as it neared. as family decided to leave new york or nova scotia. as did most other members of delancey's cowboys. the large family that left, including his health, wife, baby, but his brother and sister, and their families. as well as a number of slaves that the family held and took with them to nova scotia, lead to about 20 people. they had other lands in america. but they had considerable wealth and personal proper to establish their lives in canada. i think that when delancey what has property in nova scotia, upon which to build his new residence, he spent something like 850 pounds to acquire the land. that is a significant amount of land, though the house. and so in some way, it is kind of continued their, their status and their level of comfort in canada. so, to get to our portrait, james delancey here is wearing the uniform of the militia colony of new york in west chester county. that was modified in some ways -- and the troop of late horse cavalry troops. so, he is wearing a scarlet coat, clean dark blue facings, and a coat lined in a buff. he has silver buttons that are in pairs on their lapels. to silver upper -- and the two of them do not the rank of colonel. he is wearing a shoulder belt across his coat with silver oval plates, bearing g.a.r. for george rex, king george. a white t-shirt. a red fabric sash right around the waist. in the corner, and allure right, a rate cavalry saber helped. a reference to his service with the cavalry unit. we think it was painted between 1778 and 70 82. that matches the years where he would have worn this uniform. having taken command of the unit in 1777, and captured. so perhaps not have the opportunity to have this painted until the next year. and then by the end of 1782, as the war near the end, probably nearing the end when he would be interested in having a portrait painted. at least in america. it is possible that we may be able to narrow the window, during which this could have been painted. the late horse were supposed to be wearing green coats from the beginning of the war, as most of the loyalists provincial corps in america would. but, at various points written in the british army as it was transitioning the loyalist corps to read coach, matching the british regulars. so, and sometime around 1781, the delancey's whitehorse troops were supposed to be switching to scarlet coats, which is what he is wearing here. it could be an even tighter window of 1781 and 1782 when it was painted. regardless, it was painted during the war which is a particularly rare thing to find for loyalists. it is attributed to john durant, who is it i tenor in artists working in america during the revolutionary era. there is unfortunately a lot of gaps uncertainties and what we know about john durant. but, the best available information at this point it was he was probably born in london about 1746, two parents with french uproots. as a father jonas was a tutor artisan, who died in 1775. john was probably an apprentice from 1760 to 1767 as the apprenticeship of that point was about seven years. and cotton was best known for lab landscapes -- not so much on easel paintings or portraits. so this is how durant was trained. he arrived in america by 1767 after the apprenticeship ended. he settled in new york, and began painting their immediately with trips to connecticut and soon to virginia. that is the area where he would travel throughout over the next about 20 years. he placed newspaper ads when he arrives -- arrived in a new town to advertize the services, and attract clientele. that was one of the ways, one of the best ways we can track his movements. although, that leaves a lot of gaps as well with the advertisements since they do not remain. the last known reference to him that we have a 1782. he was referred to on a personal property trackless for dinner with the county virginia taken that year. we don't know anything about his life or work after 1782. he died in that year, or shortly after, if he left the country. what's happened to him after that, we do not know. that also gives an end point for when this portrait could have been painted. there is a close-up of some of the uniform details here. so durant's style was flat, linear, with fairly expressionless centers. especially in the early years. this was typically of people he -- or coach painters. that employed more of a simplified approach using outlining and large blocks of saturated colors. so, here we see two of the earlier works. on the left, william beak man who was painted in new york city in november of 1767, probably the first portrait, one of the first portraits that durant picture -- printed in america. he was one of six children of the wealthy influential new yorker jim speak men. printed all six of the children. so, you see, really bright saturated colors. it is a linear. the shadow wing is pretty rudimentary. the three dimensional qualities are not really wet there, you can see that in the mask and other details on the table under where his elbow is resting. it looks pretty flat. on the right, we have this is elaborate -- sarah white head of connecticut, in 1768. in particular here, she does look very flat. there is a rudimentary approach two fabrics in particular, it is pretty simple. but, we see him advance his style a bit. in the 17 seventies. these are two of the later works. on the left, daniel broad base painted in virginia and 1774. he was a merchant. this falls pretty evenly in the middle of the art of durant's career. his face is a little bit more unique, a little bit of modeled. there is more convincing shadows. and this is also incorporating knowledge of popular british elements of portraiture and composition. the oval surround that is painted around the half open letter that he is holding, that is dated 1774. giving context to the painting. things presumably that he had acquired since he continued his career in america. on the right, we have mrs. robert gilliam, painted in petersburg virginia. in 1780. she was the weight of a planter in prince george county. here, we really see the improved rendering of fabrics. her face also has more detail to it. also some more convincing shadows here. so delancey, he falls somewhere between these two early and late styles. his clothing is rather flat, many are, almost seems to be outlined with single plane colors. but his face is better modeled. there is something pleasing about it, he has a slight green, slip smile to him. there is a more clean muddy background to the painting than we saw in the other works. we have not had it conserved yet, i do wonder if that will reveal some more detail. particularly in the lower right around the sword, this seems to be a black area, almost a half or other detail we might see more of. the size of this kind of this at 30 by 25 is also more typical of a slightly smaller sizes that duran was using in the second half of his career. it might seem like a small utah deal -- detail. but artists in america or typically using fairly standard sizes. for west length, waist length, filling paintings as they were importing canvases from britain. so this is a fairly standard size. it is not the only known painting of james delancey. this is a slightly later portrait, oil on a wooden panel. did it about 80 -- 1784. painted by an unidentified artist in london. when the land cnn family left new york, he actually sail directly to london while the rest of this family went to nova scotia. he arrived there in the summer of 1783 in order to present his claim in front of the loyal commission to secure compensation from the crown for the losses in america. he was there for a year, actually did not steal from canada until the fall of 1784. i will say, he was successful. in his claim, he ended up securing

Related Keywords

New York , United States , Westchester , United Kingdom , Washington , Hudson River , Delaware , Virginia , West Chester County , Canada , Cincinnati , Ohio , London , City Of , Connecticut , West Chester , Greene , Prince George County , Davenport House , Shropshire , Westchester County , France , Greece , Americans , America , French , British , Greek , American , Robert Gilliam , King George , James Delancey , Emily Parsons , George Clinton , Samuel Francis , George Washington ,