A Bit of War History: The Contraband (Painting)

At the close of the Civil War, Vermont-born artist Thomas Waterman Wood painted a narrative triptych of Black Americans' military service during the conflict. The three works of art - The Contraband, The Recruit, and The Veteran - create a storyline encapsulated in the title A Bit of War History.

From the Metropolitan Museum of Art "In The Contraband (a term that referred to enslaved people who fled to Union lines at the beginning of the conflict) the self-emancipated man appears in a U.S. Army Provost Marshall General office, eager to enlist."

Artist: Thomas Waterman Wood
Date: 1865
Original medium: Oil on Canvas