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Occupation of Ye Wicked City of Baltimore
Benjamin F. Butler of Massachusetts was a savvy lawyer and politician with high aspirations for military command during the Civil War. He was also one of the personalities whom Volck targeted for some of his severest satire. In the spring of 1861, Butler was commanding the Eighth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, one of the first regiments to respond to President Lincoln's call for state militia. Without authorization, he assumed command of Union militia near Baltimore and occupied the city. Butler would continue to be a maverick and overstep his orders as the war progressed. In this satire, Volck depicts Butler as drunk, bungling, and in need of assistance from his soldiers to mount his horse.
Lithograph, c. 1862 |