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The Rescue depicts a confrontation between a bellicose American Indian warrior and a pioneer family. At the left rear of the group, a crouching pioneer woman desperately clasps a small child. To the front, an outsized frontiersman forcibly prevents a tomahawk-wielding Indian from brutally murdering his family. The heroic rescuer, however, refrains from injuring his adversary and displays a total mastery of the situation as well as a certain compassion for his enemy. The vengeful Indian warrior is rendered impotent and childlike. (His posture is loosely based on the central figure of the ancient Laocoön sculpture group.) The frontiersman's helmet-like headgear is fashioned like a Renaissance cap. To the right, the family dog looks on.
The Rescue was displayed to the right of the large staircase of the east façade of the U.S. Capitol.  To the left of the staircase was another sculpture, Luigi Persico's Discovery of America (1837–1850) that depicts a triumphant Christopher Columbus and a cowering Indian maiden. The final composition for Discovery resembled James Buchanan’s description: “Whilst he is thus standing upon the shore, a female savage, with awe and wonder depicted in her countenance, is gazing upon him."
U.S. Capitol right Discovery of America tomahawk Renaissance Laocoön James Buchanan left Christopher Columbus frontiersman American Indian Luigi Persico