John Trumbull, artist

John Trumbull (1756-1843) was the son of Connecticut governor Jonathan Trumbull and first cousin of M’Fingall poet John Trumbull. John the artist graduated from Harvard in 1773 and served as an aide to General Washington during the Revolution. In 1784 he went to London to study with the painter Benjamin West.

Pesky research questions

Example of Revolutionary War uniforms, from the Library of Congress.

Don’t get me wrong, I love trying to help researchers find the “right” answer. But why do I always find the answer days or even weeks after the question was asked? Several weeks ago now, I had a woman here doing background research for a novel she is writing. Among other things, she asked me what men would have worn in the army during the Revolution. Fortunately I was able to find breeches of the period in our collection using E-Museum to provide part of the answer (without just blurting out what I surmised based on years of soaking up history and costumes. I am an archivist, remember, not a curator?).

What is this?

Our exhibit, Making Connecticut, showcases over 500 objects, images, and documents from the CHS collection. “What is this?” posts will highlight an object from the exhibit and explore its importance in Connecticut history every other week. What is this object? What is the story behind it? To find out more,