Gen. Brig. John C. Frémont
Oil on canvas by Guiseppe Fagnani
1867
MHS Collections
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This oil on canvas portrait of Gen. Brig. John C. Frémont, represented
in the full military regalia of the Union Army, belies the controversial
reputation of its subject. Frémont, known to many as “the
Pathfinder,” made a name for himself in antebellum times as a determined
western trailblazer. Yet, it was his connection to the abolition
movement and his military service during the U.S. Civil War that thrust
Frémont onto the national stage. During Lincoln’s presidency
Frémont was appointed major-general and assigned to St. Louis
(a key Union stronghold in the slave state of Missouri) in an effort
to secure the city against the Confederate Army. In 1861, Frémont
promptly proclaimed martial law and issued the so-called Frémont
Proclamation—freeing any enslaved person in Missouri who was
owned by a slaveholder in active rebellion against the Union. This extremely
bold move caused Lincoln to remove Frémont from his duties, as
the President feared alienating a slaveholding population loyal to the
Union. 
Detail of Painting
In the upper left hand corner of Frémont’s portrait, the artist has painted an image of a well-known nineteenth-century statue. John Quincy Adams Ward created this 1863 sculpture entitled “The Freedman,” to represent the complicated concept of freedom from bondage. Like Frémont himself, Ward’s statue was highly controversial, as the muscular unshackled man holds an unclear physical position—is he calm and restfully seated or about to rise in aggression? In contrast to other Civil War era representations depicting emancipated persons, like the above Currier and Ives lithograph, which generally featured kneeling and subservient men and women, Ward statue is forceful and bold as he moves toward freedom.
Emancipation of Slaves, Currier and Ives
Library of
Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
[LC-USZ62-1287]
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Organized by the Virginia Historical
Society with additional support from the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter
Foundation and the
Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans Changing Exhibitions Fund, American. Support
in St. Louis is provided by The Stanley and Lucy Lopata Foundation
This exhibition has been made possible in part
by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Great Ideas Brought to Life.
