Volck, Adalbert John (1828-1912) Searching for arms
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00493.05 Author/Creator: Volck, Adalbert John (1828-1912) Place Written: s.l. Type: Print Date: circa 1880-1890 Pagination: 1 etching : b&w ; 26 x 34.8 cm. Order a Copy
Depicts arrogant Northern soldiers rummaging for weapons through the house of a Southern sympathizer. A woman is holding her scared daughter in the right foreground. The two women are in nightgowns and have wrapped themselves in a curtain to cover themselves from the view of the soldiers. The left foreground shows two soldiers looking under a mattress for weapons while another soldier shows the women a small Confederate flag he found in the house, as if to say this was all the proof he needed of their disloyalty. Background shows the man of the house fighting with two soldiers. Size in extent is for the mount. The actual size of the etching is 20.4 x 26.6 cm. Title is in pencil on verso.
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. The picture symbolizes Volck's view of the North's lack of civility and honor.
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