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 Clasp Hands Across the Bloody Chasm

 “Baltimore 1861-1872”
  Source:  Harper’s Weekly
  Date:   August 3, 1872, p. 596

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Click to see the previous version of this cartoon

Complete HarpWeek Explanation:
For the Harper’s Weekly issue dated August 3, 1872, the series of “Hands Clasped over the Bloody Chasm” began in earnest with “Baltimore 1861-1872.”  It depicts a supposed Baltimore anti-war rioter of April 19, 1861, reaching across the flag-draped corpse of a member of the 6th Massachusetts Regiment to accept a fawning clasp from Greeley.  A second fallen Union soldier lies beyond the first.  (The Massachusetts contingent was en route through Maryland to assist in the defense of Washington, D.C., when waylaid by a mob.)  At the right rear, Senators Carl Schurz and Reuben Fenton try to placate Senator Charles Sumner, whose concern for his state’s militia is understandable.  The reference to “1872” is a reminder of Greeley’s Baltimore nomination by the Democrats.

 

 
 
 

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