British Surrender at Yorktown, 1781

Answers will vary but may include:

• I see soldiers marching.
• There are some soldiers in red, some in gray, and some in blue.
• There are men, women, and children (both Black and white) watching on the sides.
• Some people look like leaders on horses.
• There are ships and small boats in the background that look like they’re anchored in the water.

Answers will vary but may include:

• The soldiers look like they’re from a big war. The red, gray, and blue uniforms may show the different sides that fought or may show different jobs or types of soldiers.
• The men on horseback might be important leaders, maybe George Washington and the British commander, Lord Cornwallis.
• Some people are just watching, maybe they live nearby.

Answers will vary but may include:

• They’re not dressed like the soldiers.
• Some look like they’re just standing around, while others are paying close attention.
• Some of the bystanders look like kids, some look like grown ups. 
• Some of the grown ups are chasing or watching children.
• Some look like they may be cheering or waving. 
• The Black people have bare arms, while the other people don’t.

Answers will vary but may include:

• There are two really big sailing ships.
• There are four smaller open boats that look like rowboats.
• There are people on the boats who seem to be watching the marching happening on the land. 
• The big ships each have two rows of big cannons pointing out of them. 
• The sailing ships have rope ladders that appear to go up the masts of the ship.
• Each of the rowboats has four or five people in it. They are all pointing in the same direction. The people are all wearing hats.

Answers will vary but may include:

• The soldiers are wearing uniforms but not all the same uniform. The soldiers in red march in the middle. The soldiers in blue and gray line the sides except for 2 rows of soldiers in blue who march in between some of the lines of the soldiers wearing red. 
• Almost all of the soldiers have black hats on except for two rows of soldiers in blue who are wearing gold pointed hats.
• The Black people watching the march wear clothes that don’t have sleeves, but the other people watching all wear long sleeves. 
• The Black people watching don’t wear hats but almost everyone else in the painting is wearing a hat.
• The people watching aren’t dressed like soldiers or like each other. They are wearing clothes that look old fashioned like long gowns, big hats, and short pants with socks pulled up to them. 
• The children are dressed in clothes that look like their parents’ clothes.

Responses may include:

• This looks like it was a major event or an important part of history, so he wanted people to remember it.
• The old fashioned clothes look like it happened before there were cameras so maybe painting a picture was the only way to show what had happened.

Answers will vary but may include:

• It makes me feel proud of the American soldiers for winning. Their clean, bright uniforms and all the people watching them make me feel that way. 
• It’s a bit sad because some of the people would have just lost the battle. They might have been scared or worried about what was going to happen next. 
• It makes me feel happy and joyful because of the bright colors that jump off of the page.

Responses may include:

• He was an immigrant and maybe felt differently about freedom in the United States and the meaning of the Revolutionary War.
• He might have been proud of America since he moved here.
• He might see freedom as really important.
• He might have used a painting style he learned in Italy or another European country to show a historical event.

Answers will vary but may include:

• To show lots of people who witnessed that moment, meaning it was important and serious 
• To show the many different people that were impacted by this event
• To show America as a place with different kinds of people

Responses may include:

• The Fourth of July, when we celebrate freedom
• Veterans Day when we honor people who fought in wars
• Memorial Day, when we remember people who died in wars

Responses may include:

• The use of bright colors.
• The picture is arranged in four big horizontal stripes that cut across it. The tan road in the center of the image pulls your eye immediately.
• The painting almost looks like it is an illustration in a children’s book.
• There are many red coated soldiers marching in lines that seem to blend together.
• There are many different types of people featured including soldiers in uniform, women, white people, Black people, and children.
• Spectators seem to be watching the soldiers march.
• The ships in the background have cannons out and pointing towards the land.

Responses may include:

• Why did the artist use such bright colors?
• Why did the artist want to paint this moment?
• Who are the civilians that are watching this event?
• Who are the people on horseback?
• When was this painted?

Responses may include:

• There are two large ships that appear to be at anchor. You can’t see the sails.
• Both ships have lots of cannons pointing out of windows from the sides of the ships. The cannons are pointed at the land.
• There are four smaller row boats floating on the water each with 4-5 people in them. The people appear to be watching the action on the land.

Responses may include:

• Two large areas of green space include trees and plants that indicate it is land.
• There is a tan stripe of road sandwiched between the two green areas.
• The grassy land on both sides of the road appear to have spectators who are watching the military ceremony in the road.
• There are different people in non-military dress including women in gowns and hats, Black people in dresses and clothes without sleeves, and children wearing clothes similar to what the adults are wearing.
• Children walking with adults.
• Some of the people appear to be waving.

Responses include:

• There is a huge military parade of some kind.
• Lines of soldiers in red are walking behind someone in blue on horseback and someone in red on horseback.
• Perpendicular lines of soldiers in gray and blue are watching from the sides of the road.
• One individual on horseback appears to be closely watching the soldiers as they march past him.

Responses may include:

• Soldiers in red
• Soldiers in blue
• Soldiers in gray
• People on boats
• People on horseback
• People who are not soldiers
• White people
• Black people
• Adults
• Children

Responses may include:

• The artist uses contrasting color and sandwiches the light tan colored road between the bright green of the grassy area.
• The red lines of soldiers are perpendicular to the road, this creates a strong contrast in shape and color that grabs your eye.
• Almost every person in the painting is looking at the road.
• The cannons on the ships are pointing at the road.

Answers will vary, but may include:

• The painting appears to show when the British surrendered to George Washington.
• During the American Revolution, the British were called “red coats,” you can see their red uniforms here.
• Yorktown was near the water and navy ships played an important part in cutting off supplies or escaping, the water and ships are a major feature of this painting.
• The surrender of the British at Yorktown was a big deal and people knew that it meant the war was ending, the painting shows that everyone is looking at the surrendering troops. They recognize it is a major moment.

The painting conveys a sense of triumph and victory. The bright colors, the postures of the figures, and the celebratory mood all suggest that this is a joyful moment. The exaggerated style may also suggest a sense of national pride.

Answers will vary but may include:

• There are two groups of Black people who appear to be watching the surrender.
• Like some of the white people, some of the people of color appear to be waving. One even holds a white flag or piece of cloth that is blowing in the wind.
• The clothing that the people of color are wearing is different because all of them have exposed arms/no sleeves. The artist may be trying to emphasize their bodies to highlight the fact that even after the American Revolution, African Americans were forced to work and provide unpaid labor to build the new nation.
• The choice to paint the Black people in simple, less colorful clothing without sleeves may be intended to show that enslaved individuals at the time often lived in poor conditions and had to work in the elements–they did not have fancy clothing and such clothing was not practical given the work they had to perform.
• The artist may be trying to show the contradiction in American independence by including individuals who presumably would remain enslaved as witnesses to the joyful moment when the nation achieved its freedom.
• No Black people are shown in the military, when in reality, we know that thousands of African Americans, free and enslaved, served in the Continental Army. This might be because the artist did not know about the contributions of Black people because there are fewer records of their service.

Responses may include:

• The painting is a secondary source depicting the general event—Yorktown’s surrender—but its exaggerated style and symbolic representation may not provide an accurate, detailed depiction of the historical scene. It is based on secondary sources.
• The artist did not witness the event shown, nor could they even have known someone who had first hand knowledge of the surrender at Yorktown, so the painting is not a primary source, it’s more an artistic interpretation than a factual document.
• The painting is a good source to understand how a European immigrant to the U.S. may have viewed American independence 200 years later or for students seeking primary sources to help them understand the 1976 commemoration.

As an immigrant, De Mejo may have viewed the American Revolution as the quintessential story of a people fighting for freedom, much like the ideals the U.S. represented in the 20th century. His romanticization of the surrender could stem from a desire to celebrate his adopted country’s origins and highlight the positive, inspiring aspects of its history, possibly ignoring the more difficult or contradictory elements.

This painting shows that history is often romanticized or simplified when retold through art, especially when viewed through the lens of national pride or personal admiration. The nuances, contradictions, and struggles of history can be overshadowed by a desire to focus on triumphant moments, leading to an incomplete or idealized version of events.