An Officer of Crane's Corps of Artillery, Boston,
 by Joseph Dunkerley, circa 1777.

It is interesting to note that Joseph Dunkerley, a deserter from the British Army, served as a lieutenant in the Boston regiment, Craft's Artillery. 
 
Colonel John Crane's Regiment of Artillery was raised in 1775, forming part of the Rhode Island quota under General Nathaniel Greene. The regiment was ordered to join the New England Army in Boston.  Crane's company of 95 men was a separate command from the Boston Artillery Regiment lead by Colonel Grindley.  In 1776, Crane became a Colonel in the 3rd Continental Artillery, taking his regiment with him.   The dress uniforms, officially blue with red facings, were often black because of the difficulty in obtaining the dark blue fabric from France.
 
Set in the original gold pendant frame.
 
1 3/8 inches high.
 
Described by Robin Jaffee Frank as "one of the first important miniaturists of the New Republic," Joseph Dunkerley (active 1778-1788) arrived in America with the British Army. Deserting soon after to serve as a lieutenant in Craft's Massachusetts artillery regiment, by 1778, Dunkerley was a civilian, a resident of Boston and the city's leading miniaturist. Advertising  "Miniature Pictures executed in the neatest manner," he rented a house from Paul Revere. Dunkerley's portait of Mrs. Revere is now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.  By the end of 1788, Dunkerley had moved on again, this time to Jamaica.
 

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