Here Trumbull memorializes the death of a hero of the American campaign against the British in Canada. The diagonal composition, contrasts of light and dark, use of blazing colors, and depiction of action close to the picture surface all heighten the drama. Major General Richard Montgomery had tried to enter Quebec during a blizzard, but after part of his army deserted, British and Canadian troops ambushed the Americans. Wounded by a cannon blast, Montgomery dies in the arms of Matthias Ogden. The snow-covered earth, trees stripped bare of their foliage, and gloom of night underscore the American soldiers’ grief and shock.
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