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Volck, Adalbert John (1828-1912) Passage through Baltimore

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00493.02 Author/Creator: Volck, Adalbert John (1828-1912) Place Written: s.l. Type: Print Date: circa 1880-1890 Pagination: 1 etching : b&w ; 34.7 x 26.2 cm. Order a Copy

Comments on Abraham Lincoln's stealthy trip through pro-South Baltimore on his way to Washington to be inaugurated. Lincoln's plans were changed in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on 22 February 1861 to avoid trouble in Baltimore. He boarded a special train on 23 February 1861 and travelled through Baltimore behind the curtains of a berth in a sleeping car. Volck depicts Lincoln being frightened by a hissing cat as he attempts to peek out of a freight car. The letters "P.W. & B.R.R. Co" (Philadelphia Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad) are on the freight car as well as the words "fright Bones." Size in extent is for the mount. The actual size of the etching is 26.2 x 20.2 cm. The title was found in a note in pencil at the bottom of the etching.

Adalbert John Volck was a dentist, political cartoonist, and a caricaturist who sympathized with the Southern cause. During the Civil War, Volck supported the Confederacy through his satirical political cartoons. He also smuggled drugs and medical supplies for the Confederate army, and served as a personal courier to President Jefferson Davis.

Volck, Adalbert J., fl. 1808-1809

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