I composed the picture, for the express purpose of giving a lesson to all living and future soldiers in the service of their country, to show mercy and kindness to a fallen enemy—their enemy no longer when wounded and in their power. —John Trumbull
On the night of December 25, 1776, General George Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River at Trenton, New Jersey, launching a surprise attack against the Hessians, German mercenaries hired to fight on behalf of the British Empire. The Germans, caught off-guard on the morning after Christmas celebrations, were defeated after only forty-five minutes. Hessian Colonel Johann Gottlieb Rall was mortally wounded. On horseback, General Washington directs Major William Stephens Smith to care for the dying Rall. Anxious to secure Washington’s likeness for this scene as well as for his paintings of the battles of Princeton, New Jersey, and Yorktown, Virginia, Trumbull persuaded him to pose for several sittings, with the general even exercising on horseback at the artist’s request.
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