Judge — May 30, 1891 — page 16: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon celebrates the reconciliation between North and South following the Civil War. Two military figures—likely representing a Union officer (Grand Army of the Republic) and a Confederate veteran—shake hands beneath a massive, menacing octopus labeled "War," while soldiers with flags stand behind them. A small child figure watches from below. The satire's point: the "octopus of war" that divided the nation is being conquered through unity. The May 30 date references Decoration Day (now Memorial Day), when Americans honored war dead. The cartoon commemorates an actual 1891 event where ex-Confederates and Union veterans jointly decorated General U.S. Grant's tomb, symbolizing sectional healing over 25 years after the war's end.