William Brooke Thomas Trego (American, 1858–1909) The Battle of Fair Oaks, Sumner's Reinforcem

William Brooke Thomas Trego (American, 1858–1909) The Battle of Fair Oaks, Sumner's Reinforcements (May 31-June 1, 1862)

Faintly signed 'W. T. Trego 1886' bottom right, oil on canvas
20 1/8 x 30 1/8 in. (51.1 x 76.5cm)

Provenance

Doyle, New York, sale of May 23, 2006, lot 1309.
Acquired directly from the above sale.
Collection of Sydney F. and Sharon Martin, Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
The Estate of Sydney F. Martin.

Exhibited

"Sixty-First Annual Exhibition," National Academy of Design, New York, New York, April 5-May 15, 1886.
"So Bravely and So Well: The Life and Art of William T. Trego," James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, June 3-October 2, 2011.
"The Painterly Voice: Bucks County's Fertile Ground," James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, October 22-April 1, 2012.

Literature

"The Autumn Academy," in The New York Times, November 21, 1886 (referenced).
William T. Trego Catalogue Raisonné, James A. Michener Art Museum (accessed online at https://www.michenerartmuseum.org/catalogue/trego/, illustrated).

Note

The Battle of Fair Oaks, also known as the Battle of Seven Pines, took place on May 31 and June 1, 1862 in Henrico County, Virginia and although deemed inconclusive on either side of the Union and the Confederates, it shaped the rest of the American Civil War in that it prompted General Lee's arrival. Here, Trego focuses on the intensity of the battle, which appears chaotic and confusing. The artist depicts General Edwin Vose Sumner’s five regiment reinfoircements at Fair Oaks, which they reached after crossing the almost-flooding Chickahominy River, and started to attack the Confederate lines with bayonets. The event had some importance to Trego, a proud Pennsylvanian, as the units are Philadelphia Zouaves. However, the Zouaves' trademark baggy trousers were red, and not blue as displayed here, a historic fact which Trego may have chosen to disregard in order to add more color to the scene while keeping it neutral.

Although the soldiers are represented as a compact force moving abruptly towards the right hand-side of the canvas, almost every figure is individualized, which speaks to the artist's sympathy towards these military men and their efforts. On the left, we see a soldier falling to the ground, visibly shot, which calls the attention of the man in front of him, in the center of the composition, who dramatically turns to look behind. "Showing a soldier’s awareness that another has been shot was a device that Trego employed with regularity in his Civil War battle scenes," Joseph Eckhardt points out. He continues: "Not only does it call attention to the brutal facts of combat, but it also serves to suggest that the soldiers were constantly aware of the imminent peril they faced and potentially traumatized by the loss of their comrades in arms."