Judge — June 1, 1889 — page 3: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Memorial Day 1889: A Civil War Veteran's Tribute This is a sentimental Memorial Day cartoon from 1889, four years after the Civil War ended. The illustration shows women decorating a soldier's grave with flowers while an elderly veteran recounts his comrade's service. The text uses dialect verse to recall a fallen soldier—references to "Hell's Kitchen" and "Ball's Bluff" (actual Civil War battle sites), mentions of enlistment bounties, and combat details. The veteran emphasizes the soldier's sacrifice: he lost a leg in battle ("dropped a leg") in Virginia, yet gave his life for his country. The satire appears gentle—honoring working-class soldiers ("seventy-six") while perhaps suggesting that common soldiers deserved more recognition than officers received. The emotional, vernacular tone makes the tribute democratic rather than elite, capturing how ordinary Americans memorialized their war dead.