Description

This hand-colored cartoon depicts a stand off between Lincoln and other men over a bale of cotton labeled with the text "Is Cotton King?" Lincoln holds a sword in one hand and an axe in the other. A large eagle in a military jacket is perched on a barrel labeled "Prime Mess Beef" and holds an American flag. William Seward wears a top hat and stands beside Lincoln with his thumb on his nose, pointing across the cotton bale. The right side of the print shows Jefferson Davis with one hand on the bale and the other raising a sword to Lincoln. John Bull is standing by a barrel labeled "Whiskey" holding his hands up to his ears, and an African American man dances on top of a Confederate flag, also holding his thumb to his nose. The print has been cropped and has been patched in the upper right corner. It is badly discolored. The title, "Trial by Battle" has been clipped from the print. Part of The Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection, courtesy of the Indiana State Museum