The Wasp — 1889 — page 346: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This 1889 *Wasp* cartoon satirizes a dispute between two military figures over Memorial Day parade participation. **The figures:** A Prussian-style officer (left, with distinctive tall plumed helmet) represents "General Cutting," who offers a compromise of three companies. The bearded man on the right, labeled "Grand Army Veteran," represents Civil War veterans who reject this offer. **The satire:** The veteran's retort—that during the Civil War, the Grand Army mobilized "en masse" (in full force)—mocks the National Guard's inadequate commitment to honoring the war dead. The cartoon criticizes the Guard's unwillingness to fully participate in Memorial Day ceremonies, contrasting their limited contribution with the veterans' total wartime sacrifice. The Prussian styling of General Cutting suggests criticism of militaristic pretension.