FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kathy Davison or Bonnie Johnson
December 22, 2007
(701) 328-4725 

ARTWORK OF GENERAL REGIS DE TROBRIAND
FEATURED IN NEW ISSUE OF NORTH DAKOTA HISTORY

BISMARCK – The North Dakota artwork of General Régis de Trobriand is featured in the new issue of North Dakota History.  Included in this special issue are full-color reproductions of the many paintings and sketches by de Trobriand that are part of the collections of the state’s history agency, the State Historical Society of North Dakota.

North Dakota History is the quarterly journal published since 1926 by the State Historical Society of North Dakota.

The article, “The North Dakota Artwork of General Régis de Trobriand,” is the main feature of the issue and describes the General’s experiences with the military in what was to become North Dakota, using de Trobriand’s diary and artwork.  As commander at Fort Stevenson from 1867 to 1869, de Trobriand wrote in his diary almost every night.  Combined with his pencil sketches and oil paintings of the people, buildings, and landscapes he saw, a priceless and unique view of life on the frontier emerges.

De Trobriand earned fame during the Civil War as the only native of France besides the Marquis de Lafayette to attain the rank of general in the United States Army.  His regiment served in conflicts at Williamsburg, Yorktown, Fredricksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, where his command held the center against Pickett’s Charge.  He also witnessed Lee’s surrender to Grant at Appomattox. 

A writer, artist, baron and later a count, de Trobriand chose to become an American citizen,  drop his titles, and, after the war, was appointed to the 31st U.S. Infantry.  Exchanging a vibrant lifestyle with his family in Paris and New York, de Trobriand accepted a difficult assignment: to build Fort Stevenson.  When he arrived in August 1867, both officers and men were still living in tents, and a few temporary log cabins were scarcely built before winter. Nothing had prepared de Trobriand for the brutal winters on the Northern Plains – his diary describes living in lamplight for six weeks, with his cabin so deeply buried that a tunnel had to be dug to release him.  Several of the paintings reproduced in this issue show winter scenes.

Only 18 miles up the river from Fort Stevenson, and to be protected by it, was Like-a-Fishhook Village and Fort Berthold, which are depicted in several of de Trobriand’s artworks. Several Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara leaders gave him an opportunity to sketch them.  He also painted and sketched other local people and landscapes, and learned the Dakota language, compiling a Sioux-French vocabulary.  Several of these works, plus those from a trip to Fort Totten near Devil’s Lake, are included in this issue of North Dakota History.

The author of this article, well-known Northern Plains archaeologist and author W. Raymond Wood, became interested in de Trobriand more than 50 years ago.  Dr. Wood is professor emeritus of the University of Missouri in Columbia, and has spent his professional life studying the central and Northern Great Plains.  He has written numerous books and articles, including Twilight of the Missouri River Fur Trade: The Journals of Henry A. Boller, soon to be published by the State Historical Society of North Dakota.          

An excellent teaching tool for history and other related classes, North Dakota History is available for $14.95 plus tax at local bookstores and newsstands, the North Dakota Heritage Center Museum Store in Bismarck, or by mail order.  To order, write the State Historical Society of North Dakota, 612 East Boulevard Avenue, Bismarck, ND 58505, call (701) 328-2666, or e-mail histsoc@nd.gov.  Add $2 to cover shipping for the first copy and 50 cents for each additional copy. 

For more information, contact the State Historical Society’s website at www.nd.gov/hist.  Subscriptions to North Dakota History are offered as a benefit of membership in the State Historical Society of North Dakota Foundation, a private, non-profit organization which supports programs and activities of the State Historical Society.  For information or to join, write to the Foundation at P.O. Box 1976, Bismarck, ND 58502, call (701) 222-1966, e-mail hstlfdn@btinet.net, or visit the Foundation’s website at www.statehistoricalfoundation.com.

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