"Double-Quick Step To Richmond"

By Alexandra Johnston

This cartoon, “Double-Quick Step To Richmond,” by artist John McLenan, depicts a malnourished, whiskey-drinking Confederate soldier running back to Richmond, being chased by a robust, healthy Union soldier with a gun. The Confederate soldier has no shoes, is very thin, and has no uniform. He is toting a bottle of whiskey and a sword and what appears to be a book. Harper’s Weekly published the cartoon on July 13, 1861, only a few months after the beginning of the war. This cartoon reflects the Union hopes that the Civil War could be a limited war, without a full-scale mobilization of men and weapons. Harper’s Weekly ran many headlines, cartoons, and editorials urging Union troops to attack the Confederacy and capture its capital at Richmond, which was very close to the Union capital of Washington, D.C. Having underestimated the Confederate army, the Union troops would soon be surprised at one of the first battles of the war, the First Battle of Bull Run or the First Battle of Manassas on July 21, 1861, when the Confederate army scored a victory.

Overall, this cartoon signifies that although the Union had high hopes of quickly capturing Richmond, Confederates more than able to defend themselves. After the Battle of Bull Run, it became clear that the images pictured in this particular cartoon were not realistic expectations. In general, the attitude of Harper’s Weekly toward the war changed in a similar way. Before the war began, Harper’s Weekly cherished idealist fantasies of compromise. However, once it became apparent that the conflict would be prolonged, Harper’s Weekly promoted war as “often the safest, surest, shortest, and least bloody way of peace.”^[1] This cartoon is a perfect example of Union beliefs before it became clear that Confederates would not so quickly raise the white flag. Their strong conviction in their cause gave them strength to fend off the Union soldiers at Bull Run and many subsequent battles.

Endnotes

^[1] The North American Review, April 1, 1865, 623-25