XANTHUS RUSSELL SMITH | STUDY FOR "ENCAMPMENT OF COLONEL RUSH'S CAVALRY LANCERS"

The artist

Private collection (by descent from the above) 

Acquired by the present owner from the above

The present work depicts "Rush's Lancers", the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry regiment of the Union Army. At the suggestion of Major General George B. McClellan, the men were initially outfitted with Austrian lances. The regiment was led by Colonel Richard H. Rush and fought valiantly in the Gettysburg Campaign and notably in the Battle of Brandy Station, the largest cavalry engagement ever to take place on American soil.