 In 1857, he began several large compositions depicting scenes from early American history, including "Washington and Lafayette at Mount Vernon", "Washington and His First Cabinet", and "George Washington and Family".As part of his research for the works, Rossiter visited Mount Vernon in June 1858, and soon afterward published an article on Washington's life and the state of his Mount Vernon estate.He wrote of his sadness to see the deteriorated state of the buildings and grounds, and urged the restoration of the mansion and furniture to the condition that Washington left them.