Small House of Everything

Small House of Everything

Saturday, August 17, 2019

THE "UNION" ALPHABET BOOK FOR CHILDREN (1862)

No shaded nuances here.  Union good, Confederacy bad -- not that they are referred to as the Confederacy, rather here they are "traitors," treasonous and evil.

Here are twenty-six pages -- including front and back cover -- mainly devoted to army leaders of both sides.  Again, Union good, other side Bad.  The only exception is Stonewall Jackson, whom the author seems to admire.

Let's tke a look at a couple of letters:

  • M stands for McCLELLAN   a Major General in the Federal Army.  At one time he was Commander-in-Chief of the whole Federal forces; he is now in command of the army of Virginia.  He is a brave and gallant soldier, and one of the most popular officers in the country.
  • Q stands for QUARTER!  which the rebels say we shall not have.  Quarter is not to be expected of men, who fight under a Black Flag, and instead of tsking care of our ounded soldiers, amuse themselves by killing them.
...and so it goes.

An interesting, quick read, as well as a fascinating look at was propaganda from a century and a half ago.

Also, please note there is not a single reference to slavery.


At the top of each page is an illustration (presumably from other "alphabet" books) that has absolutely nothing to do with this book.  These illos seem to have been thrown in willy-nilly.

BTW, the publisher (Sampson & Farrar, Boston) hedged its bets on the back cover with ads for both The Game of the Rebellion and The Game of the Union, "The two most interesting Games ever published."

Check it out:


https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=74029&b=i

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