Description: A fallen soldier clutches a letter to his chest in a setting of forest and rocks.
Historical Note: This black, white, and gray painting was published in The Century Illustrated Magazine in December 1890 to accompany the sentimental poem "Marthy Virginia's Hand" by George Parsons Lathrop. Gaul, born too late to witness the war first hand, began during the 1880s to create works that reflected the public's interest in remembering the Civil War. He inherited a farm in Van Buren County Tennessee in 1881 and lived there until 1885, visiting and teaching in Tennessee from time to time during the decades that followed.
Institution: Tennessee State Museum
Publisher: Digital Initiatives, James E. Walker Library, Middle Tennessee State University
Rights: Images reproduced on this website are intended for individual, educational use only. For research inquiries about specific objects or requests for high resolution images, contact Tennessee State Museum.
