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Primary sourcePainting

Portrait of Nathanael Greene

Charles Willson Peale

A painted portrait of Nathanael Greene by Charles Willson Peale, made from life and widely copied in later engravings of the general.

This Peale portrait, painted from life, became the standard image of Greene copied in later engravings.

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Oval painted portrait of a man with powdered gray hair wearing a tan coat with dark blue lapels, gold epaulettes with star insignia, and a white cravat, set against a dark background within a gold frame.
Charles Willson Peale, Portrait of Nathanael Greene. Wikimedia Commons.

About this source

What it is

This oval portrait of Nathanael Greene was painted by Charles Willson Peale. It served as the main reference image used by later artists making engravings of Greene.

Why it matters

Because Peale painted Greene from life, this image became the standard likeness of the general, copied repeatedly in prints and books for generations after his death. It shows how a single painted portrait can shape how a historical figure is remembered visually.

Look closer

  • What details of Greene's uniform and insignia can you identify in this portrait?
  • Why do you think this particular image became the most copied likeness of Greene?
  • How might repeated copying of one portrait affect how later generations imagine a historical figure?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Nathanael Greene on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Handwritten manuscript letter on yellowed, creased paper, folded into sections, written in cursive ink in multiple columns. Visible text includes 'Dorchester near Boston 15 Feby 1784' and a passage about the writer's Continental Army affairs; a note on the right reads 'Inscription for the cannon... Taken from the British and presented to Major General Greene by order of Congress.'Letter

Primary source

Nathanael Greene Papers

Nathanael Greene · 1775–1786

Oval portrait of a man with powdered gray hair, wearing a tan coat with a dark blue collar and gold epaulettes bearing silver stars, and a white cravat. Dark background, gilded oval frame.Painting

Primary source

Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene

Charles Willson Peale · 1783

Black-and-white photograph of an oval miniature portrait of a man with powdered hair, wearing a dark coat and white cravat, against a dark background, set on a blue backdrop.Painting

Primary source

Nathanael Greene

Charles Willson Peale · 1778

Oval miniature portrait painting of a man in a blue military coat with gold-yellow facing, white cravat, and powdered white hair, turned to his left. Gold border with an inscription reading Nathanael Greene, Brigadier-General in the Continental Army, painted from memory 1792.Painting

Secondary source

Nathanael Greene (1742-1786)

John Trumbull · 1792

Painting of a winter battle scene with stormy grey sky. Mounted George Washington in a tricorn hat sits centrally on a brown horse, facing left toward wounded and fallen soldiers. Officers in blue and buff uniforms surround him; a white horse and fallen figures lie in the foreground, with a drum and a dropped flag on the ground.Painting

Secondary source

The Capture of the Hessians at Trenton, December 26, 1776

John Trumbull · 1786 (begun), completed 1828

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