The Spirit of ’76 was featured on the three U.S. Postal Service stamps issued on January 1, 1976, for the Bicentennial.
The painting was created by Ohio artist Archibald Willard around 1875. It shows three Revolutionary War figures marching together: a fife player and two drummers. Willard originally called the work Yankee Doodle, but it became widely known as The Spirit of ’76.
The painting was exhibited at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876, the same year the United States marked its first centennial. Its popularity grew as reproductions toured across the country. The original painting is displayed at Abbot Hall in Marblehead, Massachusetts.
The 1976 postal issue used the painting across a three-stamp se-tenant design, meaning the stamps were intended to be viewed together as one connected image. They were issued in sheets of 50, and each stamp carried a 13-cent denomination, matching the domestic letter rate at the time. The issue is distinct from later Bicentennial stamps depicting Revolutionary War scenes by other artists.