A Bit of War History: The Veteran (Painting)

At the close of the Civil War, Vermont-born artist Thomas Waterman Wood painted a narrative triptych of Black American's 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.

In The Veteran, the soldier is depicted as a wounded warrior amputee, possibly seeking his pension in the same U.S. Army Provost Marshall General office where he first enlisted.

According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art catalog: "By the war’s end, Black American men made up more than 10% of the United States Army and Navy, fighting bravely in so-called U.S. Colored Troops."

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