Existing comment:
Searching for Arms
Union occupation of southern locales often made life difficult for residents, especially those who did not fly the American flag. Volck's city of Baltimore was occupied early in the war -- beginning in May 1861 -- and in this etching he depicts one of the hardships southern sympathizers endured. Northern troops would enter homes of secessionists in search of firearms and sewing machines; the latter were routinely destroyed to prevent their use for outfitting Confederate soldiers. Volck suggests that the intruding soldiers have dislodged the family from their beds; the mother comforts her frightened daughter while draping a curtain around their nightclothes. Soldiers keep the father from entering the room, while the officer in the foreground holds up a miniature Confederate flag, the only fruit in their search for arms.
Etching, 1863 |