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William Henry Harrison

William Henry Harrison
Artist
Rembrandt Peale, 22 Feb 1778 - 3 Oct 1860
Sitter
William Henry Harrison, 9 Feb 1773 - 4 Apr 1841
Date
c. 1813
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Stretcher: 72.4 x 60.3 x 2.5cm (28 1/2 x 23 3/4 x 1")
Frame: 97.8 x 83.8 x 10.2cm (38 1/2 x 33 x 4")
Topic
Exterior
Weapon\Sword
Costume\Dress Accessory\Epaulet
William Henry Harrison: Male
William Henry Harrison: Politics and Government\Diplomat
William Henry Harrison: Military and Intelligence\Army\Officer\General
William Henry Harrison: Politics and Government\President of US
William Henry Harrison: Politics and Government\US Congressman\Ohio
William Henry Harrison: Politics and Government\US Senator\Ohio
William Henry Harrison: Politics and Government\Governor\Indiana
William Henry Harrison: Congressional Gold Medal
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Mrs. Herbert Lee Pratt, Jr.
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.75.27
Exhibition Label
Born Berkeley, Charles City County, Virginia
The ninth president of the United States, William Henry Harrison, was elected as a war hero. He began his army career at the Battle of Fallen Timbers (1794), which opened most of the Ohio territory to white settlement by driving back the Western Confederacy of the allied Miami nations. Harrison spent the next two decades fighting Native peoples who were trying to retain their ancestral homelands.
Shown here in military dress uniform, Harrison made his national reputation in the lead-up to the War of 1812 (1812–15). At the Battle of Tippecanoe (1811), his troops disrupted the raiding capacity of the Ohio Valley Confederacy of Shawnee, Potawatomi, Kickapoo, Ho-Chunk (Winnebago), Mamaceqtaw (Menominee), Odawa (Ottawa), and Wendot (Wyandot) nations. In 1813, after two years of bloody fighting, Harrison and his troops defeated the confederacy at the Battle of the Thames, north of Lake Erie. Shawnee leader Tecumseh was among those killed.
Nacido en Berkeley, Charles City County, Virginia
William Henry Harrison, noveno presidente de Estados Unidos, fue elegido cuando ya era un héroe de guerra. Comenzó su carrera militar en la Batalla de los Árboles Caídos (1794), que abrió la mayoría del territorio de Ohio a los colonos blancos con la derrota de la Confederación del Oeste, alianza de las naciones miamis. Pasó las dos décadas siguientes combatiendo a los pueblos nativos que trataban de retener sus tierras ancestrales.
Retratado aquí con uniforme militar, Harrison alcanzó fama nacional poco antes de la Guerra de 1812 (1812–15). En la Batalla de Tippecanoe (1811), sus tropas socavaron la capacidad de ataque de la Confederación del Valle del Ohio, formada por naciones shawnee, potawatomi, kikapú, ho-chunk (winnebago), mamaceqtaw (menominee), odawa (ottawa) y wendot (wyandot). En 1813, tras dos años de lucha sangrienta, Harrison y sus tropas vencieron a la confederación en la Batalla del Thames, al norte del lago Erie. El líder shawnee Tecumseh fue uno de los caídos.
Provenance
Hope Winchester Pratt [Mrs. Herbert Pratt], Phoenix; gift to NPG 1975
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Exhibition
Out of Many: Portraits from 1600 to 1900
On View
NPG, East Gallery 136