Abraham Lincoln, Our Martyred President — April 15, 1865

A memorial plate rather than a political cartoon, this full-page engraving mourns Lincoln two months after his assassination. At center, a crowned skeleton—Death personified—sits enthroned between classical columns, draped in robes, holding a scepter: kingship seized by violence. Above, a draped funeral pyramid bears the legend 'Our Martyred President / April 15, 1865.' Two flanking medallions supply moral commentary: the left, captioned 'Thy Will Be Done,' shows a white family at domestic prayer; the right, 'Our Saviour,' depicts a Black family in apparent thanksgiving—freedpeople mourning their liberator. The pairing frames Lincoln as redeemer of both households, a theological elevation common in 1865 Union mourning imagery.