Kershaw's Brigade at Fredericksburg December 13, 1862 The Second in a Panoramic Set of Two Limited Edition Fine Art Prints Valor in Gray is a companion print to Courage in Blue - Chamberlain at Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862. Together, they portray the remarkable American heroism which became the lasting legacy of the Civil War. Together the two prints will present a panoramic vista of the conflict at Marye's Heights. " - Mort Künstler.
They faced the most powerful army in America. For half a year, General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia had been persistently hammered by this great army, led by one Northern commander after another. Now they faced them again on the field of battle at Fredericksburg.
This time, however, they had a formidable advantage. They held an almost impregnable line of defense, which was anchored in a sunken road behind a stone wall on Marye’s Heights. The Northern troops advancing on them now in a mighty mass had to assault uphill over a long and open plain. Defending the Sunken Road were troops from Georgia, North Carolina, and Kershaw’s Brigade of South Carolinians, commanded by Brigadier General Joseph B. Kershaw. Descended from a prominent Southern family, Kershaw had been orphaned as a boy and had worked his way through life with remarkable success as a self-educated lawyer, a local militia officer, a Mexican War veteran, and a Confederate officer distinguished by a rapid rise in rank to brigadier general. Despite the numerical superiority of the men in blue at Fredericksburg, Kershaw held his brigade steady and poured forth a terrible fire from behind the stone wall.
Kershaw demonstrated “great coolness and skill,” observed a fellow officer, and helped transform the gigantic Federal assault into one of the North’s worst defeats. Finally, after making one courageous charge after another, the men in blue would give up. The Battle of Fredericksburg would be heralded as one of Robert E. Lee’s greatest victories - due in great measure to the valiant defense made by these sons of the South. It would long be celebrated in the Southern homeland as a triumph of valor in gray. Mort Künstler's Comments: The more I study the American Civil War, the more I am impressed by the courage demonstrated by Americans on both sides.
General Joseph B. Kershaw is seen in the painting, mounted on horseback, between two of his aides. He was a dignified lawyer with military experience in the Mexican War, and during the Civil War he was described as gallant and devout by his division commander.
The various interesting types of figures in the extreme left foreground and the ability to see down the Confederate line behind the stone wall to the right background gave me an opportunity to show all of the actions from loading to firing. I was also able to show that the two sides were so close to each other that the officers were firing with pistols. I think the panoramic concept works very well with both pictures, and together the images movingly express the extraordinary bravery that seemed to be evident on both sides during the war. And why not? They were all Americans.
950 Limited Edition Signed and Numbered
Image Size: 14 3/4” x 23”