John Smith Saved By Pocahontas By Alonzo Chappel

"John Smith Saved by Pocahontas" by Alonzo Chappel depicts a dramatic and romanticized moment from early American colonial history. John Smith and Pocahontas, a tale first popularized by Smith himself in his writings, particularly in his Generall Historie of Virginia (1624). According to Smith, in December 1607, while he was exploring the Chickahominy River as a leader of the Jamestown colony—the first permanent English settlement in North America—he was captured by Powhatan’s men. He claimed that he was about to be executed when Pocahontas, then around 11 or 12 years old, intervened, placing her head over his to save him from death. Powhatan subsequently spared Smith, and he was released back to Jamestown.