Surprise Attack Near Harper’s Ferry: An Art Critique

Surprise Attack Near Harper’s Ferry: An Art Critique

Marie L. Jolly

Lakeside High School and the Morris Museum of Art

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Impression

Astonishment. My entire initial reaction to the Surprise Attack Near Harper’s Ferry

can be summed up into this one word. The men appear as though they’re racing for their

clothes and rifles amid chaos. They look terrified. The astonished tone just expands from the

canvas for the viewer to observe. The image is at an extreme, one of total surprise. The image

is much thought provoking at first glance. One begins to wonder, why is this portion of

soldiers being attacked? Were they specially skilled in some manner? Were their clothes and

rifles easily accessible? Where was this picture painted? Was it as the scene unveiled? The

questions are endless, and only history can fill in the gaps.

Description

The focus of this painting is evident. The multitude of men running from the water

pulls the reader’s attention to the painting’s focus. The lines throughout this painting are soft.

The only clear distinction is between the blue water and green forest. The other colors are

separated by long, flowing lines with no sharp, jagged changes in direction. The lines in this

painting are not evidently visible, yet more implied around where the colors change or one

item overlays another. The majority of shapes in this painting are very organic, as the main

depiction is a human, and the background contains greenery and a cloud. There are only a

few main shapes in the painting, such as the men. These are made prevalent through changes

in color. The rest of the painting is rather blended together with no very obvious and

separated shapes. Surprise Attack Near Harper’s Ferry contains multiple, rich colors, used to

distinguish between different items in the painting. The light, clear blue of the Potomac

contrasts firmly with the forest green of the trees and smoky gray of clouds of cannon fire.
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The cloud is evident in the sky as its smoky gray is subtly different from the surrounding

natural green. The white of the men’s body stands out in among the water, and their white

splashed evidence their hurry. All of the colors are cool and calm greens, blues, and whites;

the most obtrusive being the light tan of the man. The values of the colors in this painting are

remarkable. The glassy blue of the water gives off a feeling the water is crystal clear. The

forest greens cast a heavily natural presence through the painting. The shade of tan changes

with every curve of the man’s bodies. The majority of the other colors are medium in value

with nothing outstanding about them. This painting has a smooth texture. Nothing on the

painting has an especially slick, fuzzy, cottony, rough, stiff, or any other protruding feel. The

picture as a whole seems smooth and blended with a boring texture. The space of this

depiction of soldiers in the Civil War is displayed mainly by color. The shift in color shows

the change from one object to another and bestows the reader with a feeling of the space in

the painting. The physical relationship between the men and the water seems deep, as if the

serene blue of the water is calmly bearing the panic of the tan blobs. The painting plays host

to no lack of space, as the forest and water stretches on into the distance. The sky seems open

in its space, yet tight. Open, as the clouds are placed wistfully in the sky as if they have all

the room in the world, and tight in that it is filling with smoke.

Surprise Attack Near Harper’s Ferry has a sense of unity and wholeness as a painting

at first glance. After further contemplation the background of greenery and sky seems distant

from the painting’s central focus of the men scrambling out of the water, yet the sky is still

not just a random object plopped down in the painting with no relation whatsoever. Although

the different parts of the painting are not completely entangled with one another, the painting

still presents an overall picture of unity. The repetition of calming colors, such as blue, white,

and green contribute to a serene feel. The largest contrast in this painting is evident when
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looking at the hectic activities of the men in relation to the painting’s serene feel. The glassy,

vibrant blue of the river, which seems to extend forever, as an endless pit, is very different

visually than the deep, mysterious green forest. When juxtaposed the painter makes the rich

hues of blue and green even more vibrant. The two colors would not have nearly as large of a

visual impact if they were not placed directly next to one another on the canvas. The center of

interest is clearly the scrambling Confederate soldiers, without a doubt. The balance of this

painting is not even. The majority of focus from the viewer’s eye is directed towards the men

in the bottom of the painting. This balance, or lack thereof, is contributed to by three corners

of the picture being dark, therefore drawing your interest towards the middle on the bottom,

and the men. The sky in the background is not overly visible at first glance either. The visual

elements of this work of art are clearly not equally distributed, nor symmetrical. Movement in

this work is fairly limited. Although all lines flow together and are not harsh this

characteristic lends itself more to a smooth visual texture than to a suggested movement of

objects in the painting. The small amount of suggested movement that is present, such as the

clouds in the sky, is not erratic or dynamic, but more of a flowing, predictably tame gesture

of suggestion. However, the addition of canon fire adds a hint of erratic movement.

Surprise Attack Near Harper’s Ferry is an oil painting on a canvas with rather large

dimensions of fifty four and one eighth by ninety six and one fourth inches. The painting is

mounted on a wall with decorations of wood painted to resemble marble and it presented on a

concave wall, giving the painting the feel of a panorama. This example of Mooney’s work is

both a portrait and water-side scenery.

Interpretation

As s railroad junction on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, on the Chesapeake and

Ohio Canal and at the meeting of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers, Harper's Ferry was a
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key location for both the North and South. Ten thousand Union soldiers under the command

of Col. Dixon M. Miles, an aging West Point graduate and a veteran of the Mexican War,

defended the city.

On September 9, 1862 General Robert E. Lee issued orders giving detailed

instructions to Stonewall Jackson on taking Harper's Ferry. The Confederate attack at

Harper's Ferry proceeded pretty much as planned. On the morning of the fourteenth, fire

reigned on Harper's Ferry and the Union recruits scrambled for cover. As the sun set on the

fourteenth, Rebel weaponry grew quiet.

The city became visible as the sun rose on the morning of the fifteenth as fog drifted

away. Almost in unison, a total of almost fifty Confederate artillery pieces launched an attack

against Union positions in the town. Union positions returned fire at first, but by 8:00 that

morning they had stopped. Miles was preparing to surrender.

The surrender was seen in different lights by different Union officers. McClellan was

nearby, and perhaps could have aided Miles and ended the battle victoriously. Miles felt the

Rebels could defeat the Union spots in half an hour and the Union commander rode out under

a white flag of truce to get terms of surrender.

As the Confederates had control over Harper’s Ferry their starved soldiers pillaged the

town. Most got hardtack and meat, but the most sought items were blankets and coffee.

Although the numbers of Union dead, 44, and wounded, 173, were low for the battle, more

than 12,500 prisoners were taken.

John A. Mooney, the creator of Surprise Attack Near Harper’s Ferry, was born in the

year of 1843, however the exact date is unknown. There is a discrepancy as to where

Mooney was born, as some accounts delegate his place of birth to be Ireland, followed by

immigration to the United States. He was of Irish descent and raised in New York without a
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doubt however. , and others say he was born in Upper New York State. Mooney joined the

Confederate army when the Civil War began, as despite being from the North, he

sympathized with many southern ideals. Little is known about the artist prior to the War

Between the States. Mooney served with the 10th Regiment of the Georgia Infantry through

the war and was at Appomattox courthouse when Lee surrendered to Grant.

A lot was happening in the United States during the time frame in which this painting

was created. In 1868 President Andrew Jackson had an impeachment trial held in the Senate.

This was the first impeachment in the history of United States presidents and a very dramatic

occurrence in the already fragile state of the country during Reconstruction. On February 24,

1868 Andrew Jackson was impeached by the House on accounts of “high crime and

misdemeanors, specifically his violation of the tenure and office act. When the trial went to

the Senate Jackson was one vote shy of the number necessary for conviction. It would take an

astounding one hundred thirty one years until another presidential impeachment hearing was

undergone.

As reconstruction of the dismantled South and Union as a whole was under way new

amendments were added to the Constitution. One such added on July 9, 1868 was the

Fourteenth Amendment. The amendment contains five major clauses. One is what we now

refer to as due process of law and provides that the government may not revoke and basic

human rights without taking the proper steps. Another overruled Dred Scott v. Stanford,

which provided a definition of American citizenship that excluded blacks. Other clauses

provided equal protection to all citizens of a state and later assisted in destroying segregation.

And finally the fourteenth amendment stated that the Confederate officials, or in the future

other officials who assisted enemies, could not hold office again.
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Another step in Reconstruction was the election of officials to assist the

recombobulation of the nation. In 1868 Ulysses S. Grant, former military leader of the Union,

as chosen by Lincoln, is elected President of the newly reunited United States of America. In

his presidency Grant weathered Reconstruction, several questions of civil and humans rights

as black were being integrated into free society, the Panic of 1873, vetoing the inflation bill,

Santo Domingo, the Treaty of Washington, the Virginius incident, and several scandals, such

as Black Friday(and not the Christmas shopping madness of today) and the New York custom

house ring.

Surprise Attack Near Harper’s Ferry is a prime example of a depiction of a

momentous battle in the Civil War. It is fairly large. This painting was painted during the

Reconstruction period after the war. The painting depicts a harsh reality of war as it is in

current generations, “total war”, as coined by Baron Von Clausewitz, as men are being

ambushed in a very rare time of rest and rejuvenation.

At the time in which this image was created its purpose was to serve as a

remembrance of a war which greatly influenced American life and the future of the nation.

It’s evident this painting is one of great historical significance as it can speak across

generations. The image serves a bit of a different purpose today as it did in the time of

creation, and then it will in the future. When the average American thinks about a Civil War

painting they picture a battlefield with soldiers, guns, artillery, and blood. Surprise Attack

Near Harper’s Ferry is a great reminder that the Civil War never ceased during the years of

its occurrence, whether men were sleeping, bathing, or eating. It proves that not every battle

the troops entered was one they’d had time to ponder mentally beforehand. This image will

serve the purpose of displaying the boundless of battlefiels of the current style of warfare for

ages to come. The historical impact of this depiction of the battle at Harper’s Ferry served as
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a record of a battle when originally created, but today and in the future provides a looking

glass into the style of warfare our country experienced during the Civil War and its boundless

effects for the American public.

Judgment

As a waterside portrait created in the Reconstruction I believe this painting ranks

quite highly when compared to others on many different levels. First of all, the subject of this

painting is different from the subject of most portraiture. Surprise Attack Near Harper’s

Ferry is different, even to be noticed just by one glance, in that its subjects are naked male

soldiers scrambling for their possessions as they are ambushed. Most portraiture was used

only to remember the likeness of a loved one and the meaning of many has faded today,

holding little importance. In contrast, the Surprise Attack Near Harper’s Ferry holds more

significance now than it ever did when originally created, by being useful in showing modern

day citizens what life was like for soldiers during the Civil War. In summary, one a scale of

one to ten, I believe this oil painting is deserving of an eight and three quarters.
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Bibliography

American Civil War History Timelines. (n.d.). American Civil War. Retrieved December 5,

2010, from http://americancivilwar.com/

Andrew Jackson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Retrieved December 6, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Jackson

Morris Museum of Art. (n.d.). Morris Museum of Art. Retrieved December 5, 2010, from

http://www.themorris.org/ourcollection/mooney-attack.html

Ulysses S. Grant - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Retrieved December 6, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses_S._Grant

Wright, R. L. (1981). John Mooney, Artist. Richmond, VA: Virginia Cavalcade.