1783, John Singleton Copley, The Death of Major Peirson, 6 January 1781 -- Tate Britain (London)
From the museum label: France invaded Jersey on 5 January 1781. The British commander, Major Peirson, organised the counter-attack. He was killed shortly before the battle, but John Singleton Copley shows him at the centre of the scene, dying at the moment of British victory. Little is known about the Black man to his left, firing back at the French forces. He wears the same purple uniform as one other person in the painting. Copley may have included him as propaganda, romanticising the loyalty the people in the British colonies had to Britain.
1783, John Singleton Copley, The Death of Major Peirson, 6 January 1781 -- Tate Britain (London)
From the museum label: France invaded Jersey on 5 January 1781. The British commander, Major Peirson, organised the counter-attack. He was killed shortly before the battle, but John Singleton Copley shows him at the centre of the scene, dying at the moment of British victory. Little is known about the Black man to his left, firing back at the French forces. He wears the same purple uniform as one other person in the painting. Copley may have included him as propaganda, romanticising the loyalty the people in the British colonies had to Britain.