Soldier from the First City Troop of Philadelphia – John Rubens Smith

Soldier from the First City Troop of Philadelphia – John Rubens Smith

A soldier in a blue uniform stands on a bluff, wearing a helmet with a tall plume and holding his sword. Behind him, the ground falls towards a river dotted with small boats beneath a pale, clouded sky.

John Rubens Smith made this watercolor drawing in Philadelphia in 1839. The Library of Congress catalogue describes the river as possibly the Schuylkill or the Delaware, so its identification remains uncertain.

Library staff devised the descriptive title from an inventory. The mounted drawing belongs to the Marian S. Carson Collection. The sitter is not named in the catalogue; this reproduction therefore retains the record’s cautious identification.

Artwork details

• Catalogue title : Soldier from the First City Troop, Philadelphia, in uniform and helmet with a plume, standing on a bluff overlooking a river, perhaps the Schuylkill or the Delaware
• Artist : John Rubens Smith (1775–1849)
• Date and place : 1839, Philadelphia
• Medium : Watercolor drawing on mount
• Sheet dimensions : 30.4 × 22.5 cm
• View depicted : A river, perhaps the Schuylkill or the Delaware
• Collection : Library of Congress, Marian S. Carson Collection

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