The Union Cavalry and Artillery Starting in Pursuit of the Rebels up the Yorktown Turnpike

The Union Cavalry and Artillery Starting in Pursuit of the Rebels up the Yorktown Turnpike, created by Winslow Homer in 1862, is a historically significant early work published as a wood engraving in Harper’s Weekly. This print serves as a powerful piece of visual reportage documenting the rapidly evolving military action during the American Civil War. As a correspondent and illustrator for the widely distributed publication, Homer captured the movement and energy of Union forces near Yorktown, providing citizens across the United States with visual news of the conflict.

The composition focuses on the energetic start of a military advance, showing mounted cavalry and towed artillery units initiating their pursuit up the strategic turnpike. Homer effectively uses the high contrast and detailed line work characteristic of the wood engraving technique to convey the collective effort and inherent tension of the mobilization. The density of soldiers, horses, and wagons crowding the road emphasizes the scale and preparedness of the Federal troops preparing to engage retreating Confederate units.

This piece is a crucial document of Homer’s foundational period, where he honed his skills observing soldiers and military life before transitioning primarily to painting. As a widely circulated medium, prints like this were essential for shaping the public perception of the war in 1862. Today, this impression resides in the esteemed collection of American prints at the Art Institute of Chicago, serving as a key example of nineteenth-century journalistic illustration and early printmaking practices. Due to its vintage and original publication history, the image is often considered part of the public domain, furthering its availability for historical study.