© 2011 Brett H Runion. All rights reserved.

The “Coat” with 4 Bullet Holes

The “Coat” – George Washington’s coat as portrayed in the painting is a combination of research and artistic license. The actual officers’ uniforms of the Virgina Regiment during the French and Indian War can be pieced together from different sources, so to date I have not found a painting or an actual coat that might have survived the last 250 plus years. However the coat is based on the painting below (believed to be the only painting of Washington painted prior to the Revolutionary War).  The coat in the painting is probably very close to the uniform worn by Washington 1755 during the battle of the Monongahela. I can only imagine how hot it would be to wear a wool coat in July! There are four holes according to Washington’s account, but their location in the painting is for effect. The moment portrayed in the painting never happened because the coat with the four holes probably did not survive and from my reading of Washington, it is unlikely that he would be prone to such drama. Yet there is no doubt his adopted children did know the story because George Washington Parke Curtis tells us in “Recollections of Washington”.

Colonel Washington's Officer Coat

Charles Willson Peale, Washington as Colonel of the Virginia Regiment, 1772

Read more about the work of Providence in George Washington’s life (select the next post below):

2 Comments

  1. Posted 24 Nov ’11 at 3:41 pm | Permalink

    You could definitely see your expertise in the work you write. The world hopes for even more passionate writers like you who are not afraid to mention how they believe. Always go after your heart. “If the grass is greener in the other fellow’s yard – let him worry about cutting it.” by Fred Allen.

  2. Posted 18 Jun ’12 at 12:37 pm | Permalink

    Very interesting information!Perfect just what I was looking for! “To see what is right, and not to do it, is want of courage or of principle.” by Lisa Alther.

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