Month: December 2021

Civil War artilery pieces at the Civil War and Artillery show in Mansfield, Ohio.

My wife and I attended the Civil War and Artillery Show in Mansfield, Ohio today. It was a lot of fun, although we didn’t get to stay as long we would have liked because we had to be home when our new refrigerator is delivered. This was to replace our other new refrigerator that lasted 5 weeks! Still, it was a great place to view and maybe purchase military items, relics, and memorabilia, as well as meeting the experts and learning a thing or two.

Anyway, took some good reference photos of civil war artillery pieces that were part of the firing demonstrations. I always make it a point to always take photos for reference purposes. Now days, you can find many excellent references on the internet. Still, taking the photos yourself when you have the opportunity saves you lots of time looking for the right reference in the future. Another great reference source for taking photos are Civil War reenactments. I try to attend as many as I can and take as many photos as possible. I also make it point to jot down in my notes at what time and direction the photographs are taken, as well as noting the weather conditions. Doesn’t do much good if I am painting a scene that occurred during the early morning on a cloudy day, when the reference photos used were taken at noon on a sunny day! I would like to point out that I never take the photos and copy exactly from them to create a piece of art, unless it is for my own personal enjoyment. Reference photos are used to learn about the characteristics of your subject. A certain way the clothes fold when a subject is in a sitting position, or how the light reflects off an artillery soldier when cannon is fired, for example. And I also never copy a re-enactor’s likeness, unless I have clear permission from the subject to do so.

Custer at Hunterstown

Pictured above is the underpainting stage of an oil painting I am working on depicting George Custer at the battle of Hunterstown in 1863. During this engagement, as he led a charge of Company A, 6th Michigan Cavalry, against the Confederate rear guard, Custer’s horse was shot from underneath him and, though uninjured, found himself dismounted with enemy forces closing in. The painting shows the moment he was rescued by Norvell F. Churchill, Company L of the 1st Michigan Cavalry, who grabbed Custer by the arm and pulled him up onto the saddle behind him.
Even though I feel that I have pretty good knowledge about all things related to the Civil War, I had never heard of this incident until about a few weeks ago. Almost immediately I felt this event would make for a really interesting subject for a painting. I had no problem obtaining research material for this action, even though there is a slight discrepancy about what happened when a Confederate bore down on Custer. One account stated that Churchill took down the assailant with his Sabre. Other accounts reported he used his revolver to shoot the attacker. Whatever the method, if not for Churchill’s actions on this warm summer day, Custer would have surely been captured or even killed.
Another reason I chose this subject matter is that Custer had just been promoted to General a few weeks prior, and he wore a unique uniform to properly display his new rank. It consisted of a black velveteen jacket rimmed with gold piping, a sailor’s shirt trimmed in white with a star sewn on each collar, a bright red scarf or tie, black pants, and a broad-brimmed soft hat, Confederate, that he had picked up the field. This outfit, along with his distinctive long curly blonde hair, certainly made him stand out in the field, and become an easily identifiable centerpiece of the painting.
I hope to have this painting done soon, and will post the final artwork to my portfolio page as soon as I am done.