President Lincoln and His Cabinet, with Lt. General Scott, in the Council Chamber at the White House

ca. 1861 · Etching, engraving and stipple · Drawings and Prints

President Lincoln and His Cabinet, with Lt. General Scott, in the Council Chamber at the White House — Robert Whitechurch|Christian Schussele|Simon Cameron|General Winfield Scott|Caleb Blood Smith|Abraham Lincoln|Montgomery Blair|Samuel Portland Chase|Edward Bates|Gideon Welles

Based on a drawing (2013.634.1), Schussele’s print documents Lincoln's chier advisors early in the Civil War. Pictured from left to right are Edward Bates (Attorney General), Gideon Welles (Secretary of the Navy), Montgomery Blair (Postmaster General), William Henry Seward (Secretary of State), Salmon Portland Chase (Secretary of the Treasury), the President, General Winfield Scott (Chief of the Army), Caleb Blood Smith (Secretary of the Interior), and Simon Cameron (Secretary of War). The accurate furnishings and view through the window of an unfinished Washington Monument lend a sense of immediacy, with the image intended to reassure viewers that Lincoln, regarded by many as an ill-prepared Westerner, was surrounded by experienced men. Since the engraving lacks a publication line, it may never have been issued, perhaps because Scott retired and Cameron had been replaced by February 1862.

Artist: Robert Whitechurch|Christian Schussele|Simon Cameron|General Winfield Scott|Caleb Blood Smith|Abraham Lincoln|Montgomery Blair|Samuel Portland Chase|Edward Bates|Gideon Welles
Date: ca. 1861
Medium: Etching, engraving and stipple
Department: Drawings and Prints
Credit line: Gift of Harold Holzer, 2013