Battle scene re-created in painting

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CORRECTION

A story on Page 16A Sunday gave the incorrect location for the original painting, "Old Hickory at Baqubah," about a N.C. National Guard battle in Iraq. The original painting now hangs in an exhibit about North Carolinians at war in the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh.

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A renowned military artist immortalized the battle that killed two N.C. Army National Guard soldiers and made Sgt. 1st Class Chad Stephens a hero.

The painting, oil on masonite, is titled "Old Hickory at Baqubah," a reference to the nickname for the National Guard's 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team.

Military artist Don Stivers rendered the defining moment at the Mufrek traffic circle in Baqubah on June 24, 2004. In it, Stephens lies across the top of a Bradley fighting vehicle, peering inside the turret with another soldier. A critically wounded man, unseen, is inside. That man is Spc. Daniel A. Desens Jr., who died from his injuries.

Maj. Gen. William E. Ingram Jr., adjutant general of the state National Guard, had the painting commissioned in 2005. He wanted to commemorate the 30th brigade.

Stephens' company was part of that brigade.

The Guard ordered 500 limited-edition prints along with the original painting.

BAE Systems, the England-based company that manufactures Bradleys, paid for much of the commission, said Steve Blackwood, secretary to Ingram's staff, and Stivers donated the rest.

Stivers, of Waterford, Va., focuses primarily on Civil War art. But he has painted about a dozen works from the war in Iraq, all on commission.

His usual rate, Stivers said, is $15,000 for 200 prints, or $25,000 for the prints plus the original painting. Stivers said he could not recall how much he charged for the painting.

For "Old Hickory at Baqubah," Blackwood and Stephens visited Stivers in Virginia. Stephens described the battle scene, then returned again to check on the initial sketches.

Still, the painting isn't entirely accurate. It shows Stephens clad in flak vest and helmet. In the battle, he left both behind before dashing 50 yards to help a fallen soldier.

The original oil painting was unveiled during a coming-home ceremony for the brigade at the RBC Center in fall 2005, Blackwood said. It now sits in storage. It will hang in a new N.C. National Guard headquarters building to be erected in Raleigh next year.