"Washington at the Battle of Trenton" Engine Panel Painting

In the nineteenth century, volunteer fire companies often commissioned paintings to decorate their hand-pumped fire engines for parades, competitions, and community events. Sometimes framed with elaborate carvings, they adorned the tall air chamber located at the middle or rear of a pumper. The paintings would often feature patriotic, heroic, or allegorical images to associate the volunteer companies with these lofty ideals.

This engine panel painting is attributed to the Washington Fire Company No.14 of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was founded in 1796. Originally organized as a hand engine company, it acquired a steam fire engine in 1858 and operated as a steam fire engine company until 1871 when Philadelphia’s paid firefighting department was established. John A. Woodside completed this oil painting in 1853, copying it from “George Washington Before the Battle of Trenton,” painted by John Trumbull in 1792. The painting depicts Washington surveying the battleground, with Continental troops in the background. The volunteer fire company named itself after Washington and commissioned the painting to link itself with Washington’s prestige America’s foremost Founding Father.

Currently not on view