Who Will Be Worthy of Memorialization?

The following cartoon is from the 9 November 1861 issue of Harper’s Weekly.

The caption reads: “BROTHER JONATHAN, who has been getting up a Military Statue, succeeds very well in the Model of the Figure, but wants a Head. Which of our Generals will furnish the Model for that ? He waits for a reply.”

Such a statement reminds us that in 1861, much of Civil War history had yet to be written and many of the biggest heroes had yet to be identified. In November of 1861…who do you think deserved the honor?

Image Credit: Harper’s Weekly.

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WAITE: West of Slavery (2021)

West of Slavery: The Southern Dream of a Transcontinental Empire by Kevin Waite. University of North Carolina Press, 2021. Paper, ISBN: 978-1469663197. $29.95. As an historian of the Civil War’s westernmost…