Volck, Adalbert John (1828-1912) Marylanders crossing the Potomac to join the Southern Army
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00493.08 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 four Marylanders rowing south across the Potomac River into Virginia to join the army of Robert E. Lee. One man is standing in the boat in an echo of George Washington in Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze's famous painting "George Washington Crossing the Delaware." The Potomac is also associated with Washington, which gives these men further patriotic virtue. The men have supplies on the boat and are staring off in the distance at what appears to be a camp. Size in extent is for the mount. The actual size of the etching is 20.4 x 26.6 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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