National Museum of American History
The American Revolution: A World War
June 23, 2018 – July 9, 2019
Explore the American Revolution through a global lens in The American Revolution: A World War, which looks at the 1781 culminating victory at Yorktown through the Franco-American partnership that made it possible. This one-year exhibition captivates visitors with compelling objects including two paintings created by Louis Nicolas van Blarenberghe as copies of those presented to King Louis XVI. The Siege of Yorktown and The Surrender of Yorktown, both painted in 1786 and the Washington’s 1782 portrait by Charles Willson Peale are united for the first time in a national museum since they were displayed together in the 1700s in General Rochambeau’s chamber as a reminder of his partnership with the American General. The support of France and Spain during the Revolution not only secured and American victory, but had consequences that echoed far beyond American shores.
The siege of Yorktown (1781), Louis Nicolas van Blarenberghe
