August 2019 – Words of War

Yes, the days are growing shorter, but there is still plenty of light each day to take advantage of one of the most pleasant sailing outings on the lower Connecticut River. Whether it’s a daytime trip or the popular Sunset Cruise, the Onrust is likely to please anyone with a desire to be on the water.

The ship – a replica of an early 1600s Dutch coastal exploration ship – is based for the season at the Connecticut River Museum in Essex. Because of the simplicity and traditional design of the ship, the modern sailing trips harken a bit back to the 1600s.

Onrust-3 — The Onrust carries a large gaff-rigged (and loose-footed) mainsail. By design, it should also carry a long spit – a spar that reached from the tack (the lowest spot where the main attaches to the mast) up to near the end of the gaff, but it broke before the ship arrived in Connecticut.

Continue reading “Rediscovering The Connecticut”

Connecticut’s John Trumbull may be best known for his painting The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. Despite its precise title, what Trumbull created by 1819 (and repeated twice again by 1832) was a carefully crafted record of an event that did not take place exactly as or when he portrayed it. In this painting there are meticulous portraits of 42 of the 56 delegates who would eventually sign a revised version of the declaration, but the initial presentation to Congress of a draft of the Declaration of Independence took place on June 28 (not July 4) and was far more sparsely attended. Trumbull worked hard to represent the spirit and personnel of the event, if not all the other specifics.

Trumbull_1844-3 — John Trumbull, *The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776*, 1832. Oil on canvas. Purchased by Daniel Wadsworth and members of the Atheneum Committee, 1844.3. Reprinted with the generous permission of The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art.

Even forgiving Trumbull’s casual regard for some of the details of the event, there was more amiss than just that.

Continue reading ““Portraying Independence” – Then and Now”