Oil on canvas; 61.5 x 89.5 cm. (24 3/16 x 35 1/4 in.) Princeton University Museum of Art, Princeton, NJ.
James Peale was mostly a miniaturist and the brother of the more famous artist, Charles Willson Peale.
Assisting James was an apprentice in the brothers’ Philadelphia studio, William Mercer, the deaf-mute son of General Hugh Mercer, who was slain during the battle. Later, Mercer painted a copy of this painting.would executed his own copy of The Battle of Princeton.
Washington’s refusal to accept a salary for his services was emblematic of his somewhat ostentatious public virtue. He did open a public expense account, however, and some have claimed that he made money from it by overcharging Congress. In fact, the £150 per month that he requested for expenses was not just for him, but also for his entourage, which sometimes swelled to a crowd. His account books, which still exist, list charges for things like ferry fares, innkeepers’ fees, candlesticks, saddle repair, meat, fruit, mounds of cabbages and beets, and (admittedly) oceans of grog, liquor, and wine. Washington even charged Congress for fifteen shillings Cash paid a beggar by the General’s order.
But although he was not averse to placing his headquarters in the occasional mansion, he otherwise made do with precious few luxuries.