The Eagle's nest The Union! it must and shall be preserved by E.B. and E.C. Kellogg, 1861
date: label: copyright date
content: 1861
name: label: publisher
content: Whiting, George
label: referenced
content: Houston, Samuel
label: referenced
content: Beauregard, Pierre Gustave Toutant
label: maker
content: E.B. and E.C. Kellogg
notes: label: Description
content: This 1861 hand-colored political print by E.B. and E.C. Kellogg is one of a series of nine Civil War cartoons published by the Kellogg family that feature animals. It is filled with recognizable anti-secession symbolism and would have been posted at places of work or distributed in taverns. The print‘s subtitle, “The Union, it must and shall be preserved,” comes from an April 13, 1830 dinner toast by Andrew Jackson, in which he responded to tensions within his administration concerning states’ rights and the nullification movement.
label: Description
content: In the illustration, an eagle sits on a nest made from a twisted American flag and holds a banner in its beak calling for “Annihilation to Traitors.” Each egg in the nest symbolizes one of the 34 states. While the Northern eggs are unblemished and clean, various predatory animals emerge from the cracked, rotten eggs representing the Southern states. Each is labeled with the names of outspoken state representatives. These include:
label: Description
content: •An alligator from the Alabama egg labeled “Yancy” refers to Representative and radical “Fire-Eater” secessionist William Lowndes Yancy (1814-1863).
label: Description
content: •A cow from the Arkansas egg labeled “Sebastian” refers to Senator and Confederate supporter William King Sebastian (1812-1865).
label: Description
content: •A dog from the Florida egg is labeled “Mallory” and refers to Senator and Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen Russell Mallory (1812-1873).
label: Description
content: •A donkey or ass from the Georgia egg, labeled “Toombs,” refers to Senator and early Confederate Treasurer Robert Augustus Toombs (1810-1885).
label: Description
content: •The Louisiana egg, labeled “Beauregard,” refers to General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard (1818-1893).
label: Description
content: •A donkey or ass for North Carolina labeled “Branch” refers to Representative and later Confederate Lawrence O’Bryan Branch (1820-1862).
label: Description
content: •A rattlesnake, labeled “Pickens,” is held in the left talon of the eagle after slithering from the South Carolina egg. This refers to secessionist Governor Francis William Pickens (1805-1869).
label: Description
content: •The Mississippi egg features a bear labeled “Jeff Davis.” He is grasped in the right talon of the eagle and is waving a flag containing three stripes and a circle of stars on a blue field. Beside him are papers labeled "Reputed/Bonds."
label: Description
content: •A rat represents Texas and is labeled “Houston” for Sam Houston.
label: Description
content: •A bear in the Virginia egg guards a group of African Americans. The animal is labeled “Lecher,” referring to Governor John Letcher (1813-1884).
label: Description
content: Ironically, both John Letcher (Virginia) and Sam Houston (Texas) did not support their states’ secessions, although Letcher eventually cooperated with Confederates after the state's General Assembly voted to secede. Sam Houston, however, refused to take the oath of loyalty to the Confederacy and chose instead to resign from office. There are also three eggs representing the Border States – slave states that chose not to secede from the Union during the Civil War. Although these eggs have not yet hatched, they are beginning to crack. These are Kentucky, which is labeled "Addled,” Tennessee which is labeled "Rotten," and Maryland which is labeled "Bad Egg."
label: Description
content: This piece was designed by the Hartford, Connecticut lithographic firm of E.B. & E.C. Kellogg. Edmund Burke Kellogg and Elijah Chapman Kellogg were younger brothers of the founder of the Kellogg lithography firm, Daniel Wright Kellogg. After Daniel Wright Kellogg moved west, his two brothers took over the family lithography firm in 1840 and changed the name to E.B. & E.C. Kellogg. They were responsible for the continued success of the family firm and involved in partnerships with Horace Thayer in 1845/1846, John Chenevard Comstock in 1848 and William Henry Bulkeley in 1867.
label: Description
content: The print was published by George Whiting, who worked as the agent and distributor of the Kellogg brothers’ prints in New York from 1848 to 1860. In 1860, the Kelloggs closed their New York office and Whiting took over the firm, selling prints until his death two years later.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Connecticut, Hartford
topic: label: Subject
content: Chronology: 1860-1869
label: Subject
content: Patriotism and Patriotic Symbols
label: Subject
content: U.S. National Government, judiciary
label: Subject
content: Political Caricatures
label: Subject
content: Birds
label: Subject
content: Civil War
label: Subject
content: State Government
label: depicted
content: Eagles
label: depicted
content: Flags
label: Subject
content: Confederacy
label: related event
content: Civil War
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Domestic Life
label: See more items in
content: American Civil War Prints
label: See more items in
content: Art
label: See more items in
content: Domestic Furnishings
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Harry T. Peters "America on Stone" Lithography Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: DL.60.2550
label: catalog number
content: 60.2550
label: accession number
content: 228146
label: accession number
content: 228146
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Lithograph
label: Object Type
content: Lithograph
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: ink (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: image: 11 in x 14 in; 27.94 cm x 35.56 cm