The Civil War… 150 years ago today… August 24, 1861

August 24, 2011 by  
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We continue our weekly feature of reflecting upon the appropriate 150 year old issue of “Harper’s Weekly” from the perspective of a subscriber in 1861:

I am intrigued by the front page print of my August 24, 1861 issue: “Presentation of Prince Napoleon by Sec. Seward to the President” as it portrays Abraham Lincoln as a very tall, lean man. I know he is tall, but I think this print is not to proportion based on other prints of him I have seen.  Elsewhere in the issue is a nice full page of: “General McClellan & His Staff” plus a very dramatic print of a: “Splendid Charge of U.S. Cavalry at the Battle of Dug Spring, Missouri” .

I am intrigued by the print of “Scenes in the Brooklyn Navy Yard”, as among the 7 prints is one of a large gunboat under construction. What a massive undertaking! Other prints in this issue include “Camp Warren, Burlington, Iowa…”, a dramatic double page print of a naval battle: “The U.S. Frigate St. Lawrence Sinking the Privateer Petrel At Sea”, plus I was surprised to see a nice print of: “The Rebel General Lee”, the first time I ever saw a print of this famous Confederate general.

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Filed under: Civil War, Harper's Weekly, Illustrated Newspapers, Newspaper Collecting Ideas, The Hobby
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