Louis Maurer (1832-1932) lived to be 100 years old—fulfilling one century’s worth of accomplishments. The New York Times described Maurer in his obituary as a “lithographer, painter, cabinetmaker, shell expert, wood and ivory carver, anatomist, crack shot, winner of a blue ribbon in the first New York horse show, and the first to ride a horse in Riverside Park.” Maurer, the son of a cabinetmaker, was born in Biebrich, Germany, but immigrated to the United States in 1851.  In New York, Maurer worked as a wood carver until Charles Currier, the brother of the publishing house co-owner Nathaniel Currier, discovered Maurer’s talent.  Maurer worked as a lithographer for Currier & Ives for a decade beginning in 1854.  Currier & Ives published 27 of Maurer’s lithographs in a ten-year period, including 17 cartoons of the presidential election of 1860.  Though today, Maurer’s 1860 cartoons are some of the most recognized Currier & Ives prints, he left the firm to break out of his own, and in 1872 founded his own lithographic company Heppenheimer & Maurer.  Maurer officially retired in 1884, but did not stop gaining new talents or experiences. Maurer began studying the flute at age 80, and on his 100th birthday, performed for his family and friends. The New York Times reported that Maurer was still full of vigor even at towards the end of his long life: “in 1930, at Green Pond, N.J. he stopped a mounted policeman and prevailed on the officer to let him ride the horse a while.”  Louis Maurer passed on his artist talents to his son Alfred, one of the three children he had with his wife Louisa.

To view a slideshow of a collection of Maurer’s cartoons in Flickr, click on any of the images below:

The German artist, Louis Maurer, drew upon an American sport—baseball—for this pro-Lincoln political cartoon, which Currier & Ives published in September 1860, only two months before the presidential election of 1860. Maurer created a parody of the four main presidential candidates (from left to right): Constitutional Union Party candidate John Bell, Northern Democratic Party candidate Stephen A. Douglas, Southern Democratic Party candidate John C. Breckinridge, and Republican Party candidate Abraham Lincoln.  Lincoln, who stands on the home plate, reminds his opponents that they need a “good bat” to hit a home run.   Each baseball player’s bat represents the platform they are running on.  The artist suggests that Lincoln’s bat of “equal rights and free territory” is more powerful than Breckinridge’s Southern “slavery extension” bat, Douglas’ pro-states’ rights bat of “non intervention” or Bell’s bat “fusion,” which the cartoon of Douglas refers to as a strategy to defeat Lincoln. All of the candidates also wear belts that either reflect a personal or party characteristic.  For example, Douglas’ belt reads “Little Giant,” a nickname that became popular during the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates for Illinois senator. On the other hand, Lincoln’s “Wide Awake Club” belt eludes to the group of young, Republican men of the same name who marched in Northern cities to gain support for Lincoln.  To learn more about the “Wide Awakes” and their influence as a grassroots political group, read this article from the Journal of American History.

In the end, Breckinridge admits defeat, holding his nose as he moves away from the skunk in the foreground. At the time, “skunk’d” was used as a baseball term to describe a shutout or a large margin of victory.  The baseball context of “The national game. Three ‘outs’ and one ‘run’” presents an engaging way to introduce this political cartoon to the classroom.   The first chapter of Jules Tygiel’s book Past Time: Baseball as History (2001) explains this cartoon’s political references within the framework of the history of baseball as an American sport.

According to the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, the farthest northern point attained by an organized body of the Confederate Army was present day Pennsylvania Route 34, about 1 mile north of Carlisle Springs. The Pennsylvania Historical marker, erected in 1929, states that on the morning of June 28, 1863, an organized band of the Confederate Army of Robert E. Lee reached the farm of Joseph Miller near Sterrett’s Gap. There is no evidence as to whose command these Confederates belonged to as none of their records from the Gettysburg campaign indicate an exploration near Sterrett’s Gap. Check out ExplorePAhistory.com for more information and details on the historical marker.

Another common conception of the farthest northern point or high-water mark of the Confederate Army was during day 3 of the Battle of Gettysburg. Union troops were positioned behind a small grove of trees within a confined area known as “The Angle” on July 3, 1863 during “Pickett’s Charge.” The first government historian of the Gettysburg battlefield, John B. Bachelder, conferred the title “High Water Mark of the Rebellion” to this small grove or “copse” of trees. Bachelder’s influence led to the creation of the “High Water Mark of the Rebellion Monument,” dedicated in 1892. For more information the National Parks Service website and the Historical Marker Database provides further details, maps and images.

In the western theater, there are several locations that stake claim as the northern most point obtained by the Rebels. During the Battle of Salineville on June 26, 1863 near Salineville, Ohio, Confederate Major General John H. Morgan evaded Union capture before finally surrendering near West Point, Ohio. A marker commemorating Morgan’s surrender and the northern most engagement of the Confederate Army is located on present day Ohio Route 39 about 3.4 miles west of Salineville. In Davis County, Iowa, a plaque observing a Confederate raid on October 12, 1864 led by Lieutenant James “Bill” Jackson is located in Bloomfield, Iowa, slightly north of the Morgan marker in Ohio.

Further north than all these locations is St. Albans, Vermont where on October 19, 1864, Confederate Lieutenant Bennett H. Young raided the small town from Canada located about 15 miles south of the border, robbing several banks with a small Rebel force. While there was never an engagement between Young’s forces and a Union force, the St. Albans Raid is considered the northern most point occupied by the Confederates.

The Republican Party held its second national convention beginning at noon on May 16, 1860 in Chicago.  The presidential nominees included the veteran statesmen Edward Bates, Salmon P. Chase, Simon Cameron, and William H. Seward, as well as a new senator from Illinois, Abraham Lincoln.  Although Seward was the favorite going into the convention and led the nominees on the first two ballots, Lincoln won the Republican presidential candidacy. Republican delegates had looked to back the candidate they felt could generate the most electoral support.  Horace Greeley, the editor of the New York Tribune, had the ears of 48 delegates.  Greeley’s battle cry was “anyone but Seward!” and initially gave his support to Bates.  According to Greeley’s recent biographer Robert Chadwell Williams, as Lincoln began closing in on Seward in the third ballot, Greeley shifted his 48 votes over to Lincoln, giving him the candidacy.

This Currier & Ives political cartoon shows Seward drowning of the pier after being pushed in by Greeley (the figure in the top hat). Drawn by Louis Maurer and published in 1860, “Impending Crisis” satirizes the influential role of newspapermen in Civil War-era politics.  Henry J. Raymond (in the police uniform), founder of the New York Times, also helped write the charter of the Republican Party in 1856 and later was a New York Representative.  James Watson Webb (on the left dressed as a newspaper boy), editor of Courier & Esquirer, recently threw his support behind the Republican Party.  The title of the cartoon refers the book written by Hinton Rowan Helper in 1857, The Impending Crisis of the South: How to Meet It, which denounced slavery from an economic viewpoint—slavery prevented a diverse economy, disadvantaging poor Southerners. Although Seward is undergoing the crisis of losing the Republican presidential candidacy in this cartoon, he would become Lincoln’s Secretary of State, a member of a cabinet filled with Lincoln’s previous political rivals.

The Battle of Gaines’ Mill took place on June 27, 1862 in Hanover County, Virginia and was the third of the Seven Days’ Battles and its largest engagement. After the battle of Beaver Dam Creek, Union Major General George B. McClellan determined to change his base to the James River in order to protect his Army of the Potomac from what he felt was a much superior Confederate Army. Confederate General Robert E. Lee unleashed a relentless attack against Union Brigadier General Fitz John Porter throughout the day. McClellan driven by fear and indecision was convinced that his Union Army was vastly outnumbered and failed to provide adequate reinforcements for Porter’s V Corps. As the battle raged, the Confederate Army awaited the arrival of Major General Stonewall Jackson to turn the tide in the battle. Jackson arrived later than Lee expected which proved costly for the Confederate soldiers. By the time Lee executed his all out attack on the Union Army with Jackson present, it was 7 P.M. and darkness was approaching.

The final assault from the Confederate Army was successful in finally breaking Porter’s line. McClellan eventually provided reinforcements but only about one tenth of the forces he had at his disposal. The Union troops arrived just as Porter’s soldiers fell back into a retreat. The Confederate Army pushed McClellan’s army into a further retreat, ending the Union General’s hopes for capturing Richmond and gave Lee his first major victory of the campaign. The battle was not won without staggering losses from both sides. Estimated casualties for the Confederates totaled 8,700 while the Federals suffered 6,800. McClellan avoided a major defeat but felt that his Army was vastly inferior to the Confederacy, something that would plague McClellan and the Union Army for the rest of his tenure as general-in-chief of the Union Army. In a telegram sent to Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, McClellan professed:

“I have lost this battle because my force was too small…The Government has not sustained this army….If I save this army now, I tell you plainly that I owe no thanks to you or to any other persons in Washington. You have done your best to sacrifice this army.”

The Civil War Preservation Trust website provides a wealth of information on the battle including images, maps, recommended readings, online resources and scholarly articles. The Official Virginia Civil War Battlefield Guide by John S. Salmon is partially available on Google Books and offers a clear overview of the battle with maps and gives directions and information for visiting the battlefield. One of best reviewed and definitive accounts of the battle is featured in Stephen W. Sears’ To the Gates of Richmond: The Peninsula Campaign. For primary accounts from both sides, consult volume 11 of the Official Records.

The Election of 1860 mirrored the divided nature of the United States both in the presidential candidates and the voting results.  The four major candidates represented three parties, a result of sectional discord: Stephen Douglas (northern Democratic party), John Breckinridge (southern Democratic party), Abraham Lincoln (Republican party), and John Bell (Constitutional Union party).  This pro-Breckinridge political cartoon shows Douglas (on the left) and Lincoln (on the right) duking in out in a boxing ring, while Breckinridge points towards the White House with one hand and thumbs his nose (a sign of disrespect) at the boxers with the other.  The boxers’ coaches reflect the stereotypical perception of their constituency: an Irishman backs Douglas, reflecting the northern Democrats, while a black man coaches Lincoln, the antislavery-Republican candidate.  According to the artist, who may have published this cartoon in Cincinnati, Breckinridge could slip into the White House while Douglas and Lincoln were preoccupied with their “political prize fight.” Although the cheering line of gentlemen on the path to the White House would reflect the lower-Southern states’ unanimous support of Breckinridge, the split nature of the Democratic party helped enable Lincoln’s electoral victory.

American Political Prints, 1766-1876 (1991) catalogues Library of Congress’s collections, giving a brief contextual summary as well as the date and place of publication for their political images.  The book’s introduction briefly explains the history of American printmaking and also includes a selected bibliography for further research.

Early on the morning of July 1, 1863 Union soldiers met Confederate General Robert E. Lee in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania after his initial invasion into the state. The first of three days of battle centered around Gettysburg and saw a promising start for the Confederate force. Confederates successfully pushed Union soldiers out of the town and left the latter force with one of the only remaining defensive positions in the area – Cemetery Hill – located southeast of Gettysburg. After the fighting ceased around 4:30PM, Union General George G. Meade and other military leaders oversaw the arrival of Union reinforcements and prepared for the next day’s battle. Meanwhile, Lee’s forces began securing their occupation of the town and planning the logistics for the new offensive strategy the general had undertaken.

A broad research engine will yield several thousand resources and images pertaining to the Battle of Gettysburg and its first day of combat. Navigating through these sources only highlights a select few that offer a clear, accurate, and useful resource for lesson plans and scholarly research. Fortunately, the National Archives collection of Civil War photographs includes those taken of casualties in the battle and the House Divided record of the battle offers historical maps of the area. Military dispatches from the first day contained in The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, as provided by Cornell University’s Making of America collection, cover the preceding day through to the last dispatch on the evening of July 1^st. By combining each of these online resources into a short film on the Battle of Gettysburg, the U.S. Army’s website offers educators an easily navigable and short exploration of how the battle began and concluded.

Some historians separate the first day of combat in Gettysburg from the rest of the battle. Educators and scholars can view many of these close explorations in part on Google Books, including Warren W. Hassler, Jr.’s The First Day at Gettysburg: Crisis at the Crossroads (1970) and The First Day at Gettysburg: Essays on Confederate and Union Leadership (Edited by Gary W. Gallagher, 1992). More recent publications do not treat the first day as a separate entity, but they expand the historiography of the battle, as seen in Margaret S. Creighton’s The Colors of Courage: Gettysburg’s Forgotten History (2005) and its focus on immigrants and women affected by the battle. For educators searching for modern scholarship on the battle as a symbol of the Civil War and legend in American history, Thomas A. Desjardin’s These Honored Dead: How the Story of Gettysburg Shaped American Memory (2003) revisits the popular story of the Battle of Gettysburg and the persistent myths one can trace back to the first day of combat.

The Battle of Spotsylvania took place from May 8-21, 1864 in Spotsylvania County, Virginia following the Battle of the Wilderness.  Union General Ulysses S. Grant and his forces attacked Confederate General Robert E. Lee during Grant’s attempt to advance to Richmond.  Although the fighting was fierce the Confederate Army was unable to stop the progress of the Union troops as Grant was able to continue moving towards Richmond on May 21.  The National Park Service’s website provides an overview of the battle as well as links to a virtual tour of the battleground.  Also included is information for visiting the battlefield which may be valuable for teachers looking to plan a field trip to the area.  The Civil War Preservation Trust’s website has historical maps as well as a collection of photographs with different markers and monuments located in the battlegrounds.  Gordon C. Rhea commented on the significance of the battle in his book The Battles for Spotsylvania Courthouse and the Road to Yellow Tavern:

“Grant’s simple message carried the matter-of-fact assurance that the general meant to stay the course.  He was holding true to his clear vision of the road to victory.  The Wilderness had sorely tested his resolve, and after two days of bitter combat he was forced to concede that Lee had maneuvered him to impasse.  But he wisely recognized that the Wilderness was just a tactical reverse, not the end of the campaign.  Grant’s strategic objective of destroying Lee’s army remained unchanged.  His task now was to find another way to bring the wily Virginian to battle on terms more favorable to the Federals.”

Another resource which may be useful is The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies which provides several letters of correspondence between different commanding officers during the Battle of Spotsylvania.  James McPherson’s Battle Cry of Freedom, available in limited view on Google Books, gives another overview of the battle and its participants.   Also, the Library of Congress’s collection of Lincoln Papers provides a few different original letters along with transcriptions regarding the battle including one from General Grant to President Abraham Lincoln that gives Grant’s personal account of the Union Army’s progress.

The Christiana Riot took place on September 11, 1851 when Maryland slaveowner Edward Gorsuch and several of his relatives attempted to capture fugitive slaves at William Parker’s house in Christiana, Pennsylvania. Gorsuch was killed and several members of his party were wounded in the fight, but Parker and the fugitive slaves escaped to Canada. House Divided has several newspaper articles and a diary entry related to this event, including an editorial from Frederick Douglass’ Paper. The African Americans who participated in the riot “are to be tried…for high treason,” which Douglass characterized as “the climax of American absurdity.” Editors of the Memphis (TN) Appeal, however, had a different perspective on what they called a “great judicial farce.” Instead of facing “charges of which they might by convicted,” the Appeal criticized prosecutors for their decision “to rest [the case] solely on the law of treason.” “The State authorities fail[ed] in their duty and pass[ed] over the real crimes [of] riot and murder,” as the Appeal observed. Teachers may also want to check out the resources available from “Slavery & Abolition in the US: Select Publications of the 1800s,” which is a digital collection of books and pamphlets produced by Dickinson College and Millersville University. The site has a number of great sources, including: A True Story of the Christiana Riot (1898), which is a recollection by David Forbes, and The Christiana Riot and the Treason Trials of 1851: An Historical Sketch (1911),  written by William Hensel to commemorate the 60th anniversary. Two of the best secondary sources on this event are Jonathan Katz, Resistance at Christiana: The Fugitive Slave Rebellion, Christiana, Pennsylvania, September 11, 1851 (1974) and Thomas P. Slaughter, Bloody Dawn: The Christiana Riot and Racial Violence in the Antebellum North (1991). While William Parker’s house no longer exists, a historical model of the building is available on House Divided’s Virtual Field Trips page.  (See this page for help in using these files).

Thaddeus Stevens, one of the most powerful and controversial congressmen of the nineteenth century is the central figure of a large restoration project conducted by the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Stevens was an adamant opponent of slavery and helped runaway slaves escape, even going so far as to employ spies to watch for slave-catchers.  He was also a leading attorney in several fugitive slave cases, most notably the Christiana Treason Trial (1851). Stevens also shared his home with Lydia Hamilton Smith, a mixed race woman who managed his household affairs and also proved to be an enormously successful businesswoman herself.

The Stevens & Smith Historic site is a $20 million educational and interpretive complex, integrating the restored 19^th century properties of Stevens and Smith located in historic downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania featuring an original cistern discovered in 2003 believed by historians and archeologists to have been used by Stevens and Smith as a hiding place for escaping slaves along the Underground Railroad. A cistern is an underground storage tank used for holding water.

The planning for the Stevens & Smith Historic site overcame several obstacles before its approval, specifically the original plans for a new downtown convention center in Lancaster, Pennsylvania calling for the demolition of the historic sites previously owned and managed by Stevens and Smith. The Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County possessed protective easements on the properties and were successful in developing a strategy for the preservation of Stevens’ Lancaster city law office and residence from the antebellum period within the new Lancaster County Convention Center.

For more information check out the Stevens & Smith Historic Site online for a full overview and updates on the project. The site also features a video on the story of Stevens & Smith and images of the proposed historical site.  Fergus Bordewich’s article, “Thaddeus Stevens and James Buchanan – How Their Historic Rivalry Shaped America” is a great source for historical background on Stevens’ and Smith’s contributions and connections to the abolitionist movement in Lancaster.  Further information can be found on the Thaddeus Stevens Society website including an overview of the archeological dig of the cistern conducted outside Stevens’ residence and law office. The address for the site is located at 45-47 South Queen Street Lancaster, Pennsylvania.