BATTLE OF PRINCETON: John Trumbull (1756-1843) experienced the American Revolution firsthand and painted numerous heroic depictions of the war, including “The Death of General Mercer at the Battle of Princeton.” Historian Richard Brookhiser will discuss his newly released book, “Glorious Lessons: John Trumbull, Painter of the American Revolution,” at the Nassau Club on November 6 at Princeton Battlefield Society’s first Cadwalader Lecture.

By Donald Gilpin

Glorious Lessons: John Trumbull, Painter of the American Revolution will be the topic of the evening as award-winning historian Richard Brookhiser talks about his new book in the first Cadwalader Series Lecture, sponsored by the Princeton Battlefield Society (PBS) at the Nassau Club on November 6 at 6 p.m.

Brookhiser, a senior editor at National Review and widely known for biographies of many of America’s founders, will discuss the significance and meaning of Trumbull’s works, most of which depicted events of the American Revolution and the early days of the new nation.

“The Cadwalader Series will help mark the nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026 and anniversary of the Battle of Princeton on January 7, 2027,” said PBS President Ben Strong, as quoted in a PBS press release. “We are honored to have Richard Brookhiser as our inaugural speaker, and you don’t want to miss this evening. Brookhiser’s book shows how the artist’s 50-year project embodied the meaning of American exceptionalism and played a key role in defining the values of the new country.”

A review in The Wall Street Journal noted, “In Glorious Lessons, Richard Brookhiser offers a nuanced, engaging and incisive assessment of a painter whose life’s work vindicated his self-confidence and continues to influence perceptions of America’s struggle for independence.”

The review goes on to note that reproductions of Trumbull’s works can be seen on numerous book covers, in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C., and in his depiction of the Declaration of Independence on the back of the $2 bill.

Trumbull served as aide to George Washington and Horatio Gates during the American Revolution, was shot at, and was jailed as a spy. He thought of himself as a historian and wrote that his purpose was “to preserve and diffuse the memory of the noblest series of actions which have ever presented themselves in the history of man.”

An Amazon review of Glorious Lessons describes “Trumbull’s story of acclaim and recognition, a story complicated by provincialism, war, a messy personal life, and, ultimately, changing fashion.”

Brookhiser is the author of 15 books and numerous newspaper and magazine articles. In 2008 he received the National Humanities Medal. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan, The Atlantic Monthly, Time, Vanity Fair, and The New York Observer.

The PBS, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection, preservation, and promotion of the Princeton Battlefield as a national treasure, created the Cadwalader Series to provide education about the Battle of Princeton and the American Revolution as part of its two-year program to honor the 250th anniversary of the nation’s birth and the Battle of Princeton. The Series is named after Gen. John Cadwalader, one of the American generals at the battle.

Brookhiser will sign copies of Glorious Lessons before his talk on November 6. Visit pbs1777.org to purchase tickets for the lecture and copies of Glorious Lessons: John Trumbull, Painter of the American Revolution.