|
New Jersey Quarters -- Historically Inaccurate?The New Jersey quarters were designed with the state’s significant Revolutionary War heritage in mind.The coin displays the principal design elements of the 1851 painting by Emmanuel Leutze titled “Washington Crossing the Delaware”. Along with this are the words “Crossroads of the Revolution” which, along with the image of George Washington, the Flag, and the boats of Continental troops on their way to battle celebrate the stunning, tide-turning victory of the colonials at Trenton in 1776. While few would quarrel with the sentiment portrayed on the New Jersey quarters, or the fact that the Battle of Trenton was a pivotal event, the coins have inherited some of the factual flaws of Leutze’s painting. The inaccuracies of fact in the painting that irk the critics are: The FlagThe flag with thirteen stars arranged in a circle, the Betsy Ross flag, appeared for the first time six months after Trenton.People in the BoatTwo future presidents, James Monroe and James Madison, were serving in the colonial forces at the time, and were in fact present for the Battle of Trenton. Monroe is shown holding the flag in the painting, though there is no evidence that he was in the same boat as Washington.Time of DayThe painting shows the colonials paddling into a glorious dawn. In fact, the transit of the Delaware River was completed by 3:00 am. (Note: The luminous sky of the painting did not pass through to the coins.)Is the Message Obscured, or Clarified?To the literally minded, these details are no doubt significant. But perhaps this misses the point. To the artist it was apparently more important to use a bit of artistic license to clarify the significance of Washington’s Crossing of the Delaware.That the imagery in the painting transmitted to the New Jersey quarters amounts to a highly romantic view of the event is true enough. But when the artist implies through his work that this was an event of some moment – a turning point for the nation and even the world, there is no exaggeration – it was.
|
