|
Prev
| Next
| Contents
"THEM GILLITEENS."
The illustrated newspapers of the United States and England had a good
deal of fun, not only with President Lincoln, but the latter's Cabinet
officers and military commanders as well. It was said by these
funny publications that the President had set up a guillotine in his
"back-yard," where all those who offended were beheaded with both
neatness, and despatch. "Harper's Weekly" of January 3rd, 1863,
contained a cartoon labeled "Those Guillotines; a Little Incident at the
White House," the personages figuring in the "incident" being Secretary
of War Stanton and a Union general who had been unfortunate enough to
lose a battle to the Confederates. Beneath the cartoon was the following
dialogue:
SERVANT: "If ye plase, sir, them Gilliteens has arrove." MR. LINCOLN:
"All right, Michael. Now, gentlemen, will you be kind enough to step out
in the back-yard?"
The hair and whiskers of Secretary of War Stanton are ruffled and awry,
and his features are not calm and undisturbed, indicating that he has
an idea of what's the matter in that back-yard; the countenance of the
officer in the rear of the Secretary of War wears rather an anxious, or
worried, look, and his hair isn't combed smoothly, either.
President Lincoln's frequent changes among army commanders--before
he found Grant, Sherman and Sheridan--afforded an opportunity the
caricaturists did not neglect, and some very clever cartoons were the
consequence.
Prev
| Next
| Contents
Stories and Anecdotes About the Life of Abraham Lincoln
|
|