Sacred to the Memory of Poor Trust ...
date: label: Date made
content: ca. 1863
label: date made
content: ca 1863
name: label: maker
content: Kellogg & Bulkeley
notes: label: Description
content: This print depicts a monument “Sacred to the Memory of Poor Trust, Who nobly fought but unfortunately Fell on the Island of Deception under the command of General Bad Pay.” This proverb was frequently hung in taverns that refused customers to pay using “trust,” or credit, since too many had not paid back their debts. On the sides of the stone monument stand a Union soldier and sailor, who comment respectively, “I think I’ll take the Bounty, and “Yes, I’ll go on Board.” During the war, bounties were cash bonuses paid to Union soldiers who voluntarily enlisted in the Union Army. While the Confederacy also established a bounty system, the extremely low value of Confederate currency made it much less of an incentive to Southern volunteers. The federal government paid a bounty of $100 to those who enlisted for three years in July of 1861, and after the Enrollment Act of 1863, this increased to $300 for three-year recruits and $400 for those who enlisted for five years. $100 during the war had the same buying power as about $2,700 today, which provided enough incentive for soldiers to enlist. Even with the bounty, however, pay in the Union Army was still usually less than average yearly incomes. This often placed hardship on families back home, whose primary financial support was off at war. The “Bad Pay” criticized in the print may refer to the lateness with which soldiers received their wages, as paymasters could not keep up with the constantly moving Union regiments.
label: Description
content: This print was produced 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. Throughout the mid-19th century, the Kelloggs produced personalized lithographic memorials that family members could display as tributes to their deceased loved ones. This print is acts as a light-hearted spoof of this solemn subject matter.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Connecticut, Hartford
topic: label: Subject
content: Patriotism and Patriotic Symbols
label: Subject
content: Economy
label: Subject
content: Uniforms, Military
label: Subject
content: Civil War
label: depicted
content: Flags
label: related event
content: Civil War
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Domestic Life
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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.60.2361
label: catalog number
content: 60.2361
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: 15 1/4 in x 10 3/4 in; 38.735 cm x 27.305 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall: 16 in x 11 1/2 in; 40.64 cm x 29.21 cm