(CIVIL WAR CONFEDERATE) Generals of the Southern Forces

Sale 2310 - Lot 94

Price Realized: $ 3,360

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 1,000 - $ 1,500

(CIVIL WAR--CONFEDERATE.) Generals of the Southern Forces. Partly hand-colored proof lithograph on heavy paper, 23 x 31 inches; skillfully repaired one-inch tear in bottom margin; generally clean and bright. New York: Goupil & Co. (M. Knoedler, Successor), 1861

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Additional Details

An imagined group portrait of eleven Confederate military leaders at the outset of the war, with Jefferson Davis and a beardless Robert E. Lee in the center, and also featuring Leonidas Polk, John Magruder, P.G.T. Beauregard, Joseph Johnston, and others who became less commemorated, such as "Simmons" [James Simons], naval commander George Nichols Hollins, Benjamin McCulloch, Sterling Price, and William Hardee. A battle scene plays out in the background, with a hand-colored flag flying overhead.
The production of this inspiring Confederate print in New York bears some examination. New York was the home of more than a few Copperheads and outright Confederate sympathizers, certainly, but perhaps the target audience was simply Union men who wanted to put a face on the enemy. It appears that the lithographers themselves were not taking sides here; they also produced a similar group portrait of northern generals titled "Defenders of the Union." For an earlier parallel, recall that portraits of Washington and other American leaders were popular in London at the outset of the Revolution (see lots 42, 43, and 44 in this sale).
This print is unusually scarce. No copies appear in WorldCat, and none have been found at auction. The Museum of the Confederacy has an alternate issue printed by Goupil in Paris, with an added "the" before the title.