Existing comment:
John Bradstreet, 1714-1774:
An ambitious British army officer, John Bradstreet was a conspicuous player in the contest between the English and French for control of the North American continent. Participating in military events ranging from the capture of the French fortress at Louisbourg in 1745 to the campaign against Pontiac in 1764, Bradstreet particularly distinguished himself during the French and Indian wars in the capture of Fort Frontenac, which secured Fort Oswego for the British. Falling out of favor after negotiating a naive and soon-to-be repudiated peace treaty with several Indian tribes, Colonel Bradstreet nonetheless achieved the rank of major general in 1772.
Bradstreet's likeness (in its original carved gilt frame), is one of the forty-six known portraits painted by Thomas McIlworth, a Scottish artist who arrived in America in 1757. He worked in New York until he left for Montreal in 1767 and disappeared from sight.
Thomas McIlworth, c 1764 |