Grand Review of the Army of the Potomac – Drawn by Mr. Thomas Nast (from "Harper's Weekly")

Thomas Nast|Harper's Weekly

October 10, 1863 · Wood engraving · Drawings and Prints

In the fall of 1863, the Army of the Potomac gathered outside Washington and prepared to move south. This image, designed by Nast and published in Harper’s Weekly in mid-October, was intended to hearten Northern readers. A vast military array lines up to march past General George Meade and other Union commanders on a plain near the Potomac River. The accompanying text notes, "It is seldom that the artist…succeeds in conveying to the spectator the idea of immense numbers of men…Mr. Nast has…shown us the whole corps d’armee in active evolution. A nobler sight it is seldom possible to witness." With a victory at Gettysburg behind them, the Union was ready to engage General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. It would be another year and a half before the conflict ended.

Artist

Thomas Nast|Harper's Weekly

Date

October 10, 1863

Medium

Wood engraving

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1929