Second Battle of Trenton

Charles Ward was among the first artists commissioned by the Public Works of Art Project under the New Deal to create a set of three murals for the Clarkson S. Fisher U.S. Courthouse in Trenton, New Jersey. In his first mural from 1935, Progress of Industry, Ward presented a heroic scene of the people and machines who made Trenton’s history. For his second mural, The Second Battle of Trenton, 1937, he chose a subject that had local and national historical importance: the Battle of the Assunpink Creek, which is commonly referred to as the Second Battle of Trenton. The mural depicts the climax of the nighttime battle between George Washington's troops and British Forces on January 2, 1777, as British General Cornwallis attacked Trenton days after George Washington famously crossed the Delaware and ran the British from the city. The heroism of the Revolutionary War was an ideal subject for public murals, as it could be seen as a metaphor for the battle America was fighting against the Great Depression, as well as a reminder of national strength.

Ward spent months researching the battle, the uniforms, and the artillery of both armies. He wanted to show "our men in action," and so created an action-packed, frenetic composition that showcases the American soldiers’ efforts as they repelled the advancing British troops. Ward included a sliver of the Pennsylvania landscape at the top-center of the composition to remind viewers of the rural nature of the area, and perhaps alluding to his studio in Carversville, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where he worked for the remaining thirty years of his life.