These paintings are part of the permanent collection of the Delaware Public Archives and are on display in the Mabel Lloyd Ridgely Research Room. Originally installed in various public buildings across the state, they have been relocated over time to ensure their preservation and continued public access. Together, they reflect key moments in Delaware’s history and the ways those stories have been interpreted through large-scale historical painting.

Delaware Troops Leaving The Green

A historical painting depicting soldiers in red uniforms marching along a tree-lined street, accompanied by drummers. Onlookers include women and children.

Stanley Arthurs
1915
Oil on canvas

The painting was first installed in the Senate Chambers of the Old State House before being moved to the Supreme Court Building. In the 1970s, it was relocated to its current home at the Delaware Public Archives. Due to the painting’s large size, a window in the upstairs lobby had to be removed to bring it into the building.

The scene depicts the Delaware Militia departing Dover Green in 1776, bound for service in the Continental Army. Although the painting portrays events from the Revolutionary era, the Old State House visible in the background was not constructed until 1792.

Delaware Troops Leaving the Green was the second in a trio of paintings commissioned by the Delaware General Assembly. Many of the figures depicted in the painting were modeled after people Stanley Arthurs personally knew. The drummer boy portrayed in the scene was still living at the time of the 1976 Bicentennial celebrations.

Workers on scaffolding at the Delaware Public Archives are holding a large painting, with a crane hook above and a tree to the right, under an overcast sky.
Workers installing Troops Leaving the Green on the wall while standing on covered bookshelves in the Mabel Lloyd Ridgely Research Room.

The First Day Of Peace

A historical painting depicting a Civil War scene with soldiers on horseback in a field.

Stanley Arthurs
1922
Oil on canvas

Completed in 1922, The First Day of Peace measures 18 feet 3 inches by 8 feet 10 inches. The painting was on loan to Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania for 25 years; however, when the battlefield’s new visitor center was constructed, there was no longer space to display it. In April 2008, the painting was relocated to the Mabel Lloyd Ridgely Research Room at the Delaware Public Archives.

The scene depicts Civil War generals Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee on horseback in a peaceful pastoral setting. The First Day of Peace was the final painting in a trio commissioned by the Delaware General Assembly.

Three men carefully move The First Day of Peace in the Archives building lobby, through the double doors into the Research Room.
Several men on ladders install the large painting, The First Day of Peace.

The Crusaders

A historical painting depicting a World War I scene with American soldiers.

Stanley Arthurs
1921
Oil on canvas

Completed in 1921, The Crusaders was the first in a trio of paintings commissioned by the Delaware General Assembly. Stanley Arthurs was commissioned by the State of Delaware to create a mural depicting American forces fighting in France during World War I. To prepare for the work, the artist spent months visiting French battlefields and consulted with the U.S. Army for accurate details of the landscape and military uniforms.

The scene depicts American soldiers advancing on the Hindenburg Line during World War I. The ghost-like figures hovering above the battlefield on the right represent Joan of Arc, George Washington leading the Revolutionary Army, and the Marquis de Lafayette.

The painting was previously displayed at the Blue Hen Corporate Center before being moved to the Delaware Veterans Home. In March 2021, it was relocated to its current home at the Delaware Public Archives.

Two people carry The Crusaders through the glass doors in the Archives lobby.
People in masks move The Crusaders through the Self-Service Microfilm Reading Room for placement on a vivid blue wall as others observe.

About Stanley Arthurs

Stanley Arthurs (1877–1950) was a Delaware artist and illustrator born in Kenton and later based in Wilmington. He studied art at Goldey’s Business College under Clawson S. Hammitt before continuing his training in 1897 under renowned illustrator Howard Pyle.

Among Arthurs’ classmates were notable artists and illustrators, including Frank Schoonover and N. C. Wyeth. Like many of his contemporaries, Arthurs created illustrations for popular magazines of the era, including Harper’s Weekly, where his first published work appeared.

Arthurs became known for his large-scale historical paintings depicting scenes from American and Delaware history, including the trio of murals commissioned by the Delaware General Assembly: The Crusaders, Delaware Troops Leaving the Green, and The First Day of Peace.

Portrait of Mabel Lloyd Ridgely

A formal portrait of Mabel Lloyd Ridgely in an elegant blue 18th-century dress, standing with a letter in hand.

Orville H. Peets
Undated
Oil on canvas

Mabel Lloyd Ridgely (1872–1962) was a Delaware suffragist, preservationist, and civic leader whose work helped shape the preservation of Delaware’s history. She served as president of the Delaware Equal Suffrage Association and worked to persuade the Delaware General Assembly to ratify the 19th Amendment in 1920. Following the success of the national suffrage movement, she became the first president of Delaware’s League of Women Voters.

Ridgely was also deeply committed to historic preservation and public history in Delaware. She served as president of the Delaware Public Archives Commission, helped restore and preserve the Old State House and the John Dickinson House, and was a founder and organizer of Old Dover Days, the annual celebration of Delaware history and heritage. She also played an important role in establishing the Delaware State Archives.

During World War I, Ridgely chaired Delaware’s Women’s Liberty Loan Committee. The Mabel Lloyd Ridgely Research Room at the Delaware Public Archives is named in her honor.

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