1956 diorama depicting Shadagee Falls, Maine, immortalized in Kenneth Roberts' 1930 book, Arundel
Gift of Dartmouth College Library, 1988. 88.67.1, 1988.

Diorama of Camp Disaster, Shadagee Falls, Dead River, Maine, 1775

Camp Disaster was immortalized by Kennebunk author Kenneth Roberts in his 1930 historical novel Arundel. The book chronicles an event from the early part of the Revolutionary War. In September 1775, Colonel Benedict Arnold led a volunteer army from Fort Western on the Kennebec River (modern day Augusta) across the uncharted territory of Northern Maine. Their plan was to make a surprise attack on Quebec, held by the British at that time.

The men were ill-prepared for the terrain and the late autumn weather. When at last they made camp near Shadagee Falls on the Dead River, in what is now western Franklin County, they were hit with a terrible storm. The river rose two feet above its banks, carrying away most of their wooden bateaux and supplies. With half of their journey still ahead of them, they faced starvation, illness, and worsening weather. They continued on, only to arrive at the Citadel of Quebec and be defeated by the British, who had been warned by spies of their approach.

This diorama was commissioned by the First National Bank of Boston in 1956. It was made during a six-month period by R.W. Stanley in the Theodore B. Pitman Studio, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Stanley consulted with Kenneth Roberts on the details of the scene. The setting was reproduced after a careful survey to determine the kind of trees and undergrowth that grew on the banks of the Dead River centuries ago.

The ground and rocks are made from a composition of glue and whitening over a screen framework. The color was obtained by dusting on dry color, thus creating the effect of thin sunlight filtering through the trees. More than 70 figures, which vary in height from one to two inches, are made of a wax composition and carefully painted. Some of the implements are cast in solder and others are carved from wood.

The First National Bank of Boston gave this diorama to the Dartmouth College Library, which owns a large collection of Kenneth Roberts’ papers. In 1988 the Library gave the diorama to The Brick Store Museum.