Militia Drilling

William P. Chappel

1870s · Oil on slate paper · The American Wing

Though New York City was not attacked during the War of 1812, residents feverishly reinforced fortifications and militia regiments trained in preparation for the worst. Here, militiamen are drilling near one of the city’s four arsenals, which was built in 1808, when the state authorized the construction of "an arsenal, laboratory and workshops and ordnance yard ... between Elm and Collect streets, not to exceed the sum of $13,000," according to an 1889 history of New York during the War of 1812. In the foreground are the remnants of Fresh Water, or Collect, Pond. In 1803, New York began draining the heavily polluted pond, which was then replaced in 1815 by the infamous Five Points neighborhood.

Artist

William P. Chappel

Date

1870s

Medium

Oil on slate paper

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

The Edward W. C. Arnold Collection of New York Prints, Maps, and Pictures, Bequest of Edward W. C. Arnold, 1954