The myth of the First Thanksgiving is the mythologized retelling of a 1621 harvest feast by the Pilgrims in Plymouth, Massachusetts as the foundation for the modern Thanksgiving holiday as celebrated
The First Thanksgiving 1621, oil on canvas by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1899). A fictionalized depiction of the traditional "First Thanksgiving" in which the Wampanoag anachronistically wear Plains tribes' headdresses, the Pilgrims wear contemporary cowboy hats and at least five Pilgrim women are present (only four had survived the previous winter).
A 1924 magazine depiction of a Pilgrim. The buckle hat atop his head, an iconic symbol of the Pilgrims in the myth, never existed as a serious piece of apparel.
"The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth" (1914) By Jennie A. Brownscombe
Myles Standish
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Myles Standish was an English military officer and colonist. He was hired as military adviser for Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts, United States, by the Pilgrims. Standish accompanied the
This portrait was first published in 1885 and is alleged to be a 1625 likeness of Standish, although its authenticity has never been proven.
Sir Horatio Vere was the commander of English troops in the Netherlands during the siege of Sluis in 1604, under whom Standish likely served.
The Embarkation of the Pilgrims, 1843, US Capitol Rotunda. Myles and Rose Standish are prominently depicted in the foreground on the right.
The Mayflower Compact, a painting by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris