George Washington & Christopher Gist Crossing the Allegheny River, 1841

History in the Painting – “Crossing the Allegheny” by Daniel Huntington, 1842

Prepared by Greg Balan

George Washington is aptly called the “Father of His Country,” and it is his service as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution, or as the first President of the United States, that we tend to think of. However, in his youth, Washington played a critical role in essentially igniting the French and Indian War, a war that became a pyrrhic victory for the British Empire, and which agitated the divisions that led to the American Revolution. Washington’s exploits in the opening salvoes of the French and Indian War also established a continent-wide reputation for Washington, making him one of the few men known and respected across the colonies. The experiences and reputation earned in these overlooked early years were vital factors in Washington’s later rise to “Father of His Country.”

The fortunes of a semi-obscure, middling colonist changed when Virginia’s royal governor, Robert Dinwiddie, tasked young Major George Washington of the Virginia militia with delivery of a royal order demanding France vacate the Ohio River Valley. Hoping to build a military reputation that could catapult him from the backwater colony of Virginia to a commissioned officer position in the British Army, Washington readily undertook the mission. Having cut his teeth as a woodsman through years as a surveyor, Washington sought out the assistance of equally skilled men who could navigate the dangers of the frontier. One such man was Christopher Gist, himself an accomplished surveyor and a colonist with considerable experience interacting with the various tribes that lived within and between Virginia and the Ohio River Valley.

Washington set out with his small team and gathered a council of leading tribal chiefs at the well-established trading post called Logstown northwest of present-day Pittsburgh. Despite lacking any formal training in diplomacy, Washington gained the confidence and support of several tribes, including the important support of Seneca chief Tanacharison (Half-King). Washington, his team, and his allies made their way north to the French outpost of Fort Le Boeuf, near present-day Erie, Pennsylvania, to make the demands of the British king, George II, known to the French. The French commander at Fort Le Boeuf, Jacques Le Gardeur, refused to acknowledge the British claims to the Ohio River Valley and attempted to peel away Washington’s tribal allies with promises of French trade and support.

Having completely failed in his mission, Washington turned back for Virginia. With conditions rapidly deteriorating as harsh winter weather rolled into the hill country of present-day western Pennsylvania, and as members of his team and tribal allies fell ill, Washington decided to forge ahead without them to give notice to Governor Dinwiddie. After providing money and instructions to his men for a slower return when weather permitted, Washington set out on foot accompanied only by Christopher Gist. During this return journey, Washington and Gist were attacked by a French-allied Indian warrior, but spared his life. Fearing another attack, the two men traveled as hard as they could through the wooded hills before reaching the semi-frozen Allegheny River.

With only a single hatchet between them, the hunted men labored furiously to cut enough trees down to make a simple log raft to cross the ice-filled river. Daniel Huntington’s famous 1841 painting, George Washington and Christopher Gist Crossing the Allegheny River, captures this perilous moment in Washington’s life. The crossing itself was fraught with danger as Washington took a spill from the raft into the icy water and both men were forced to abandon it after it became entangled in ice. Wading to a small island in the midst of the river, Washington and Gist spent a harrowing night in the winter storm. To their relief, the river had frozen completely overnight and the men were able to walk to the eastern side of the Allegheny River and continue without incident.

Washington’s return with the French refusal to vacate northwestern Pennsylvania or the Ohio River Valley prompted Governor Dinwiddie to organize a small military expedition against the French. Washington, having been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the Virginia militia, undertook this expedition as commander and enlisted the aid of Christopher Gist again. Tales of Washington’s original journey with Gist through hostile territory began to spread, and though Washington’s military expedition ended in defeat for the Virginia militia, Washington’s profile as a leader willing to engage the French and their Indian allies continued to grow.

However, his failure did prompt the British authorities to recognize the considerable threat the French posed at the gateway to the Ohio River Valley and this prompted the dispatch of Major General Edward Braddock and his two regiments of British troops to the American colonies. Braddock’s annihilation at the Battle of the Monongahela near present-day Pittsburgh and Washington’s valiant effort to save as many survivors as possible in a retreat to Virginia solidified Washington’s reputation in the colonies and touched off the French and Indian War.

The French and Indian War was a brutal affair unlike anything experienced in the colonies before. It resulted in the defeat of France in North America, near bankruptcy for the British Empire, and growing animosity between American colonists and the British government that would culminate in the American Revolution with Washington playing a leading role.

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Teaching American History through American Art – February 2023

We are developing materials to assist K–12 American History and Social Studies teachers to utilize great works of art from the former Warner Collection (available on this website) to better teach U.S. History in the classroom. Each month we will feature a new painting and provide historical information that will help teachers use the image to teach visual literacy skills while engaging students in conversation and critical thinking about important themes in American History. These lesson plans will help teachers integrate the study of History with the study of art. We will also be inviting a current teacher to contribute additional historical information that can be used to enrich the lesson plan.

Rather than using written text as the entry point, this resource encourages using art as the entry point for learning American History. It is based upon a modified QUEST methodology (Questions for Understanding, Exploring, Seeing, and Thinking) developed through Project MUSE at Harvard University. It encourages meta-cognition and the development of “visual literacy” skills through close observation, deep thinking, and respectful discussion. (Project MUSE)

The exercise will be performed with a group of students who view the artwork together on a projected screen. The lesson is inquiry-based, involving a layered structure of questions designed to promote slow-looking, deep thinking, and respectful conversation, during which the students learn to construct meaning based upon their observations and those of their classmates while reflecting on historical information provided by the teacher.

The discussion is guided by the teacher, who encourages responses and facilitates a respectful conversation that values differences in interpretation. Although the QUEST methodology requires no prior knowledge of History—and there are no right or wrong answers regarding one’s personal response to visual stimuli—the questions themselves present an excellent opportunity for teachers to introduce additional historical information and context (facts) that may appropriately influence or alter student responses. Students may then understand and appreciate how knowledge of historical context affects interpretation and judgments about History.

The ten questions presented below represent a lesson plan and the generic format of questions teachers should use to engage the class in slow-looking, respectful conversation, and historical thinking.

• COLOR – What colors do you see?
• OBJECTS – What objects do you see?
• ACTION – What is happening?
• PERSONAL CONNECTION – Does this remind you of anything?
• REALISM – Is this realistic?
• EMOTIONAL IMPACT – How does this painting make you feel?
• ARTISTIC INTENT – Why do you think the artist painted this?
• COMPARISON – Compare what is happening then and now.
• TITLE – What title would you give this painting?
• IMPACT – Did you learn anything from this painting?

Today, we present the painting Washington and Gist Crossing the Allegheny River by Daniel Huntington. This painting relates to the Colonial Period, specifically to the years leading up to the French and Indian War. It relates to U.S. History Standards, including the Colonial Period, the French and Indian War, Western Expansion, and the early life of George Washington. We have also invited Gregory Balan, a history teacher at Riverdale High School in Fort Meyers, Florida, to contribute a lesson plan and additional historical research specifically designed to utilize this painting in an inquiry-based approach to teaching.

George Washington and Christopher Gist Crossing the Allegheny River, 1841, attributed to Daniel Huntington (1816–1906).

To read more about what was occurring in American History, please visit Mount Vernon’s library for historical background on Washington’s work in 1753 and his travels with surveyor Christopher Gist:
https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/allegheny-expedition
(Biography of Washington: Allegheny Expedition)

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About the Artist

Daniel Huntington was born in 1816 in New York City. A prolific artist with over 1,200 known works, he is known mainly for his portraits, although he also painted Hudson River-inspired landscapes and illustrations. Huntington’s paternal grandfather was Benjamin Huntington, a delegate at the Second Continental Congress and the first U.S. Representative from Connecticut. His mother was Faith Trumbull, a relative of accomplished artist John Trumbull, and it was in Trumbull’s studio that young Daniel was first exposed to the genre of history painting.

Daniel studied at Yale in 1832 and Hamilton College in 1833, where he met portrait artist C.L. Elliott. In 1835, he studied at New York University with Samuel F.B. Morse (1791–1872) and later with portraitist Henry Inman (1801–1846). Huntington first exhibited his work at the National Academy of Design in 1836 and was then elected a member.

From 1839–1840 Huntington went on a grand tour of Europe, visiting England, Rome, Florence, and Paris, and became greatly influenced by the work of Renaissance painter Titian. After returning to New York, he devoted his time chiefly to portrait painting, although he painted many genre, religious, and historical subjects, as well as landscapes in the tradition of the Hudson River School.

In 1850, Huntington exhibited 130 of his completed works at New York’s Art Union buildings. He personally wrote and published the accompanying catalogue. The work listed as No. 91 was entered into the catalog as a “sketch for illustration” — the original completed painting of Washington and Gist crossing the Allegheny River which was intended to be the basis for a later engraving. This painting was also exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 1843 and again in 1860, where it was titled Washington Crossing the Monongahela.

Daniel Huntington became one of the leading portrait artists of New York society in the post-Civil War period and a leading figure in the city’s art circle. He served as president of the National Academy of Design from 1862–1870, and again from 1877–1890. He was also vice president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He died in 1906.

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