A rare sketch depicting the Continental Army passing through Philadelphia has been added to the Museum of the American Revolution’s collection, writes Rosa Cartagena for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Art collector Judith Hernstadt acquired the image in the mid-1970s in a batch of sketches she purchased from a New York antiques dealer.

The 18th-century sketch has enormous historical significance as it is one of very few still-existing eyewitness depictions of the Continental Army. Even more important and rare is its portrayal of women camp followers, a not-so-well-known group. They joined their enlisted husbands or fathers to help with cooking and cleaning on the road.

The image hung in Hernstadt’s apartment for about four decades, until Matthew Skic, curator of exhibitions at the Museum of the American Revolution, came by last August to look at her collection. Many other curators did not notice the sketch, but his jaw dropped as soon as he laid eyes on it.

“Alarm bells were just going off in my head — this is incredible,” he said.

He brought the drawing to Philadelphia, where, through extensive research, he was able to authenticate it as legitimate. Impressed by his efforts, Hernstadt decided to donate the sketch to the museum.

Read more about the sketch and what makes it special at The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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