The Retreat

Description:

This print by John Henry Bufford shows the Army of the Potomac at the conclusion of the 1862 Peninsula Campaign. General McClellan had intended to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond in the summer of 1862, but after a series of engagements with Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia in the Seven Days Battle, he withdrew to the James River, 20 miles from Richmond. Lincoln then called for the Army of the Potomac to return to Washington, D.C. The failure of the Peninsula Campaign crushed the morale of Union forces, who believed the capture of the Confederate capital would bring about an end to the fighting.

In the background of this print, long trains of covered wagons and troops of the Army of the Potomac retreat from Chickahominy to the James River. In the foreground, some soldiers cross Bear Creek while others rest on its banks. General George McClellan is visible at the bottom of the print on a white horse, looking out upon the withdrawal of his forces. This print is identical to another by Bufford, which has the less cynical title – “The Army of the Potomac.”

This print was published by the lithographer John Henry Bufford. The son of a sign painter and gilder, Bufford trained with Pendleton's Lithography in Boston, 1829-1831. He worked in New York with George Endicott and Nathaniel Currier (1835-1839) before returning to Boston where he had a good reputation for printing and publishing popular framing prints, commercial work, labels, and trade cards. The company went through several iterations and name changes until about 1865. He became the chief artist for Benjamin Thayer until buying out the firm to found J. H. Bufford & Co. (1844-1851). He continued to work in the lithography and publishing business for the remainder of his life. In 1865, his sons Frank and Henry John became partners in Bufford & Sons or J.H. Bufford’s Sons Litho. Co. After his death they continued the family business as Bufford Brothers and as Bufford Sons Engraving & Lithographing Company until 1911.

John Badger Bachelder (1825-1894) was born in New Hampshire and began his career as a portrait and landscape painter. During the Civil War, he accompanied the Union Army and made sketches from 1861 to 1863, and worked as a print publisher in Boston from 1863 to 1865. Union officers often commented on the accuracy of his artwork. He documented scenes of the War, particularly at Gettysburg and created a guidebook to the battle in 1873. From 1883 to 1887 he served as Superintendent of Tablets and Legends for the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association, during which time he wrote a detailed history of Gettysburg from the Union perspective.

Date Made: 1863

Maker: Bachelder, John BadgerLithographer: Bufford, John Henry

Location: Currently not on view

Place Made: United States: Massachusetts, Boston

Subject: HorsesCivil WarUniforms, MilitaryRelated Event: Civil War

Subject:

See more items in: Home and Community Life: Domestic Life, American Civil War Prints, Art, Domestic Furnishings

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Credit Line: Harry T. Peters "America on Stone" Lithography Collection

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: DL.60.2605Catalog Number: 60.2605Accession Number: 228146

Object Name: lithographObject Type: Chromolithograph

Measurements: image: 17 1/8 in x 27 1/4 in; 43.4975 cm x 69.215 cmoverall: 21 in x 30 in; 53.34 cm x 76.2 cm

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b4-e93a-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_324913

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.