Visual Sources

Abstract

depicts a scene from the American Revolution. The engraving was published in 1856. It is based on a picture by Alonso Chappel, who was born in 1828. Therefore, it is important not to see this as a primary source from the time of the American Revolution. The engraving is titled Incident in Cherry Valley—fate of Jane Wells. In the scene, Jane Wells is pleading for her life as a man attempts to protect her from an American Indian who is about to kill her. The house behind them is being burned by Loyalists and American Indians led by Major Walter Butler and Mohawk Chief Joseph Brant, in Cherry Valley, New York. Visual Primary Source document 1