Shiloh
Fought on April 6 and 7, 1862, in Hardin County, Tennessee, Shiloh was the first of the particularly bloody battles of the Civil War. During the two-day battle, 23,000 Americans were killed, wounded, captured, or missing. Many were burned when the woods caught fire from small arms fire (shown in the center of the painting). On the extreme right side is Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston—one of the greatest Confederate generals—who was shot and mortally wounded during this battle. Shown at the left is a young emerging Union general, William Tecumseh Sherman.
Richard J. LeFevre (1931 - 2000)
Bequest of the Artist
1991
watercolor and mixed media on paper
Seven Pines
The Battle of Seven Pines, or the Battle of Fair Oaks as it was called by the North, was fought on May 31, and June 1, 1862. General George B. McClellan had brought his Army of the Potomac up the Virginia Peninsula engaging in battles at Yorktown and Williamsburg and was within sight of the church steeples of the Confederacy’s capital of Richmond. This painting depicts a sergeant from Pennsylvania who picked up his regiment’s colors and led them to glory. For his bravery, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. It was at the Battle of Seven Pines that General Joseph E. Johnston, Commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, was seriously wounded and General Robert E. Lee was appointed by Confederate President Jefferson Davis to assume command. General Lee never released that command until the end of the war.
Richard J. LeFevre (1931 - 2000)
Bequest of the Artist
1991
watercolor and mixed media on paper
Petersburg
The Third Battle of Petersburg, fought at the end of the Siege of Petersburg, Virginia, was essentially the culmination of ten months of trench warfare from June 9, 1864, to April 1, 1865, as General Ulysses S. Grant tried to take Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy. Grant eventually built 30 miles of trenches around the eastern portion of Richmond to the eastern and southern portions of its sister city—and supplier of goods by rail—Petersburg. Throughout this period, General Grant continuously extended his lines in an effort to cut off supplies to the city and to General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Grant finally succeeded in this effort, and Lee was forced to abandon both cities in April 1865. Shown in the center of the painting is the skyline of Petersburg as it looked at the time. The lower portion of the painting shows the Confederate dead lying in trenches. The lines in the middle that resemble a fence are a defensive mechanism used to repel attackers. Shown at the extreme right is an example of a mortar called “the dictator” which was used at Petersburg by the Union Army.
Richard J. LeFevre (1931 - 2000)
Bequest of the Artist
1991
watercolor and mixed media on paper
Pea Ridge
On March 6, 7, and 8, 1862, the Battle of Pea Ridge was fought in the Trans-Mississippi district just south of Wilson’s Creek in Northern Arkansas. The Union Army was led by Brig. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis, shown on the left, while Confederate forces were under the command of Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn, shown on the right. Quite the ladies’ man, General Van Dorn, was shot during the Civil War not from a bullet during battle, but by a gun wielded by an angry husband.
Richard J. LeFevre (1931 - 2000)
Bequest of the Artist
1995
watercolor and mixed media on paper
Mobile Bay
At this point in the war, the Battle of Mobile Bay fought principally on August 5, 1864, was not of vital significance. The Union Army had already captured and controlled the Mississippi River all the way to New Orleans. The Army of the West was driving across Georgia toward Savannah. I have included this painting because of Knoxville’s [Tennessee] colorful Admiral David Glasgow Farragut, who earned his fame at the Battle of Mobile Bay. Rear Admiral Farragut is shown as the central figure hanging onto the riggings of his frigate. His ship is on the lower right of the painting and, just beneath it, is a Union ironclad ship that has capsized. Behind that ship is another ironclad that signaled Farragut and asked, “What are your orders?” To which he replied, “Full speed ahead!” The captain replied back to Farragut, ”What about the torpedoes?” Torpedoes were what we would call mines today. Then Adm. Farragut spoke his famous line, ”Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” Shown on the lower left is Fort Morgan, the site at which the battle took place. Coming up from the fort is the lead ship, the CSS Tennessee under the command of Capt. Franklin Buchanan, who is shown in the photograph on the right side of the painting. This is the same Capt. Buchanan who commanded the CSS Virginia during the battle between the Monitor and the Virginia.
Richard J. LeFevre (1931 - 2000)
Bequest of the Artist
1994
watercolor and mixed media on paper
Manassas 2
After the battles for Richmond, General George B. McClellan retreated with his Army of the Potomac from the Virginia Peninsula heading north, and General Robert E. Lee decided to engage him. On August 28, 29, and 30, the two armies fought at the Battle of Second Manassas, near Washington, D.C., where just over a year before Confederate and Union forces fought the Battle of Bull Run or First Manassas. Shown in the central portion of the painting is Maj. Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson mounted on his horse, Sorrel, looking over the plain as the 6th Wisconsin regiment called the Iron Brigade arrived on the scene. Shown at the extreme right is Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter who led the attack against Jackson’s Army of Northern Virginia on the second day of the battle. General Porter was later court-martialed for insubordination, a charge that he denied and fought for over twenty-five years before clearing his name. Shown in his center is Maj. Gen. John Pope. When I painted this piece, I smeared a little red paint across his face, because that is what I think of General Pope. To the left is shown Maj. Gen. James Longstreet who, on the second day of Porter’s charge, arrived on his flank, and the battle ended as a great Southern victory.
Richard J. LeFevre (1931 - 2000)
Bequest of the Artist
1994
watercolor and mixed media on papepr