"Where Are My 15,000 Sons"
(GLC 00623, p.16)
In this cartoon Columbia, an early symbol of the United States, angrily asks Lincoln
where her 15,000 sons are. Lincoln responds by telling
Columbia that he is reminded of a little joke, a reference
to Lincoln's penchant for telling anecdotes. Angrily,
Columbia instructs Lincoln to "Go tell your joke at Springfield."
This cartoon appeared in the January 3, 1863, issue of
Harper's Weekly, just two days after Lincoln
issued his famous Emancipation Proclamation. However,
joy over his proclamation was overshadowed by Confederate
victories in the battlefield. Military defeats and heavy
Union casualties raised concerns over leadership and which
direction the war was headed.
On the morning of December 12, General Burnside of the Union army instructed his troops to march towards a heavily fortified General Lee's army near Fredericksburg, Virginia. Hesitation and miscommunication led to a quick Union defeat and by early twilight the Union Army suffered one of its worst defeats of the war with nearly 13,000 casualties, roughly the same number as at Antietam. This battle brought home the horrors of war to northerners more vividly, perhaps, than any other battle.
References: McPherson, James, Battle Cry of Freedom; The Civil War; Oxford University Press, New York, NY., 1988.
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