Oscar Edward Grosch, (German, 1863–1928), George Washington, etching, 4” x 3” (12” x 9 ½” paper), gift of Jean Williams.

Our Founding Fathers are the epitomizing characters of American integrity. Washington, “the hero of Yorktown,” is popularized by Americans as the soldier for good, the victor against all odds, which has laid the basis for our conception of war, victory, and glory in the present day.

Morton Levi Bridge, (American, 1903–1963), Bomb Attack, watercolor on board, 13 ½” x 11 ½”, gift of Peter H. Bridge and Terry C. Peet.

The destruction of war is evident here. As two men run for cover below, bombs are dropped on a train station and a factory, levelling all in their path. Though a painting, this image serves well to illustrate the harsh realities and atrocities of war that are often overlooked in favor of heroic narratives.

    One of the most pervasive notions about American history concerns our renown and glory in war. While some wars have been fought for righteous causes, the government has glossed over the more devastating aspects of war: loss of innocence, of stability, and of life and limb. Perhaps because no modern war has been fought on American soil, the depredations of war have been popularly spun into celebrated narratives of liberating humanity from evil. War, though, no matter how moral the purpose, wreaks havoc. The glory of our great revolution and subsequent triumphs in the world wars of the twentieth century have often served as a rallying cry for intervention in foreign conflicts, generating a fiction about the honor in destruction. Our former victories enable us to believe that we have the power and obligation to police or “save” the world. The historical erasure of atrocity and the distortion of reality have contributed to our failures in judgement today, culminating in unnecessary involvement and unprompted conflict. War does not equate to glory.