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Volck, Adalbert John (1828-1912) Albert S. Johnston crossing the desert to join the Southern army

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00493.20 Author/Creator: Volck, Adalbert John (1828-1912) Place Written: s.l. Type: Print Date: circa 1880-1890 Pagination: 1 etching : b&w ; 26.1 x 34.6 cm. Order a Copy

Depicts Albert Sidney Johnston in the right foreground, dressed in deerskin garb with a Native American guide and a ragtag group of men following behind. Like many other Confederate leaders, Johnston was serving in the United States army when war broke out in 1861. Johnston resigned his commission in April 1861 and hastened east from California, crossing the deserts of Arizona and Texas, to offer his services to the Confederacy. The allusion to crossing the desert may be Biblical in nature. Johnston was killed at the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862. Size in extent is for the mount. The actual size of the etching is 20.4 x 26.7 cm. Title 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.

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