The Earliest Views Of The Shot Heard Round The World
Amos Doolitle was a young silversmith's apprentice. He was a Connecticut native and had dreams of being a printmaker. In his spare time, he taught himself the art of copperplate engraving. He was twenty when the tide of the American Revolution began to swell.
Doolittle enlisted on the American side, under Capt. Benedict Arnold. His dearest friend, Ralph Earl, was an itinerant artist who made the rounds painting portraits of the upper crust of Connecticut society. While his hands were employed in the colonies, his heart remained loyal to England.
When word of the battle at Lexington and Concord reached Benedict Arnold, he marched his men from New Haven to Cambridge. Doolittle's Loyalist friend tagged along.
When they arrived ten days after the skirmishes, Doolittle saw an opportunity to present the battles to the public via engravings. He'd never published any of his work before but that didn't stop him. He asked for leave to survey the battlefields at Lexington and Concord. Leave was granted.
The Patriot engraver and his Loyalist artist friend walked the battle scenes. They spoke with eyewitnesses and participants in the battles. Doolittle told Earl what to draw and even posed with a musket to help his buddy render the most iconic persons in the scenes: Pitcairn, Percy, Buttrick, Smith - all modeled by Doolittle.
From Earl's drawings of Lexington and Concord, the Patriot engraver created four copperplate engravings which became the earliest views of the American Revolution. He offered them for sale in Connecticut in December 1775. They were widely circulated as pro-war propaganda, enlisting patriots to the American cause.
Doolittle's work presented four key moments.
- “The Battle of Lexington” - The British regulars stand in formation on Lexington Green and fire on fleeing colonists.
- “A View of the Town of Concord” - The Brits march along the road to Concord.
- “The Engagement at the North Bridge” - The British and Americans now exchange fire.
- “A View of the Town of Lexington” - The Redcoats burn buildings as they retreat to Boston, while the colonial militia fire at them from behind stone walls.
For his work in spreading the news about Lexington and Concord in such a visual and visceral way, Doolittle earned the nickname "The Revere of Connecticut." He had a long career, engraving early maps, currency, portraits, and book illustrations.
Ralph Earl, the Loyalist artist, on the other hand, abandoned his wife and child to steal away to London. He studied art there, earning a commission to paint a portrait of King George III.
Earl returned to America after the war's close where he was received warmly by his Patriot friend, who even hosted an art exhibition for the Loyalist in his fine New Haven home. We're a forgiving people.
Doolittle's views are the earliest and still considered the most accurate depiction of the Shot Heard Round The World - the opening salvo of a people who wanted to be a separate people.
Complete sets are impossible to find, so I'm bringing them back for America's 250th at a special price to mark the occasion.
Physical Details
- Each measures 9 by 12 inches
- On heavyweight fine-art paper printed with archival inks
- The earliest and still the best depictions
- Happy Birthday, America!
These are high quality fine-art prints.
The paper is acid free, watercolor with an elegant lightly textured finish. This surface allows the inks to 'bite', reproducing the shading and tonality of the original map vividly, beautifully, and exactly.
The inks are guaranteed color-fast for 80 years, which means you won't need to lay out the extra money for UV glass. You can hang your print in direct sun and it will be just as bright when passed on to the next generation it is the day it ships.
