The Confederacy in Petticoats.
date: label: date published
content: ca 1865
name: label: depicted
content: Davis, Jefferson
label: depicted
content: Davis, Varina Anne Howell
label: maker
content: unknown
notes: label: Description
content: In the spring of 1865, the Union Army increased its efforts to capture the Confederate President Jefferson Davis after the surrender of Lee and assassination of Lincoln. Suspecting him to be complicit in Lincoln’s murder, the U.S. War Department issued a $100,000 reward for the capture of Davis and his aides. Without his capture or surrender, many in the Union War Department would not recognize the war as officially ended. After fleeing Richmond, Davis was caught by members of Michigan and Wisconsin cavalry units at his camp outside Irwinville, Georgia, on May 10, 1865. As Davis tried to flee from the Union soldiers, he had grabbed his wife Varina’s overcoat instead of his own, resulting in a widespread Northern rumor that Davis had attempted to escape disguised as a woman. Shortly after the incident images of Davis appeared in Northern publications, picturing him dressed in petticoats, a hoop skirt, and a bonnet. This cowardly depiction of Davis’ flight further demoralized the Southern cause and shattered its president’s aristocratic reputation.
label: Description
content: In this print, a disguised Jefferson Davis attempts to leap over a fence, but a Union soldiers grabs ahold of his petticoats and aims a pistol at him. Another soldier arrives on the scene carrying his sword and a torch. Davis has dropped a piece of luggage, labeled “Davis / Mexico,” in reference to his presumed destination. The Confederate president looks back wielding a knife, exclaiming that he thought the Union was “too Magnanimous to hunt down “Women and Children.” To the right of Davis, his wife Varina remarks, “Don’t irritate the ‘President’ he might hurt somebody.” The soldier gripping Davis mocks, “Hold on old Jeff! The ‘last Ditch’ is not on that side of the Fence.” Dialogue bubble such as these are typical of political satirical cartoons. The lithographer and publisher of this satirical print are unknown.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: World
topic: label: Subject
content: Political Caricatures
label: Subject
content: Marriage
label: Subject
content: Costume
label: Subject
content: Lighting, outdoor
label: Subject
content: Uniforms, Military
label: referenced
content: Civil War
label: related event
content: Civil War
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Domestic Life
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content: Clothing & Accessories
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content: American Civil War Prints
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content: Art
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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.60.3487
label: catalog number
content: 60.3487
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: 10 in x 13 7/8 in; 25.4 cm x 35.2425 cm