Description

A cast and painted plaster sculptural group depicting an escaped enslaved man helping a wounded Union soldier. This genre scene depicts an injured soldier leaning against the formerly enslaved man, his head resting on the other man's shoulder. The soldier's right arm is wrapped in a tourniquet and hangs limply at his side. The formerly enslaved man stands tall, looking off into the distance, while he holds the scout's left arm and guides him forward with his right arm supporting the soldier's waist. The scout has a mustache and is in uniform, wearing a jacket and boots with a bag, cartridge box and a canteen, while the formerly enslaved man is bearded and barefoot, and is wearing a shirt tucked into pants, both of which are torn and tattered. The men are walking through long grasses and swamp plants. Next to the formerly enslaved man's left foot is a copperhead snake coiled to strike. At the front of the sculpture base is etched: [JOHN ROGERS / NEW YORK / THE WOUNDED SCOUT. / A FRIEND IN THE SWAMP.]. Inscribed on the verso of the base is: [PATENTED JUNE 28 1864]. On the bottom of the base is an incomplete inscription [REK].

Record Contributed By

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Record Harvested From

Smithsonian Institution