In 1782, five years after Paoli, this picture was painted in London for a British officer who participated in the battle. Although the artist, Xavier della Gatta, never saw the Paoli Battlefield, this rare contemporary image of Revolutionary War combat is remarkable for its accuracy of landscape detail and key elements in the battle. The image was not intended to be a "still shot" of a specific moment, but rather a composite of different aspects of the battle.
Lieutenant Martin Hunter of the 52nd Regiment, the only British officer wounded in the action, may have commissioned this painting and a companion painting of the Battle of Germantown. Hunter kept a journal, and details in both paintings match Hunter's descriptions of the battles.
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