Palm Sunday

Published six weeks after Appomattox, this double-panel plate draws a pointed parallel between two Palm Sundays: Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem (left, labeled The Savior's Entry into Jerusalem) and the Confederate surrender (right, labeled The Surrender of Gen. Lee and His Army to Lieut. Gen. Grant). A robed allegorical figure labeled Blessed Are the Peace Makers bridges both arches, beneath the doxology Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow. The border medallions read Liberty and Union. The caption pledges to "hold out the olive branch to our erring and misguided brethren of the Southern States" — Nast's rare conciliatory note. The politics are Unionist and Christian in character.