Spirit of ’76 is a famous patriotic scene painted about 1875 by the American artist Archibald M. Willard. The scene shows a fife player and two drummers leading American troops in a battle of the Revolutionary War in America (1775-1783). Willard painted several versions of The Spirit of ’76.
Willard first drew The Spirit of ’76 as a humorous sketch called “Yankee Doodle.” The sketch showed three army recruits who were parading through their training camp playing drums and a fife. Later, Willard painted a serious version of the sketch that was displayed at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition of 1876. Willard used friends and relatives as models in the various versions of the painting.
