"Gas and glory" (Currier lithograph, 1852)
Two framed scenes: at left, 'New Hampshire', Pierce drills militia volunteers, shouting 'Forward!'; at right, 'Mexico', he trails the troops holding his stomach and asking to resign. The pairing sets his drilling of militia volunteers against his Mexican War service; it is a single satirical contrast, not a presentation of selected claims, so it carries no card-stacking tag. The title 'Gas and glory' is the label that does the work (name-calling).
- Date
- 1852
- Period
- Pre-1914
- Made by
- Nathaniel Currier, New York ("For sale by Nathaniel Currier at No. 2 Spruce St. N.Y.")
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Issuer type
- Media
- Regime
- Fillmore Administration
- Leader
- Millard Fillmore
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Persuade or win support
- Event
- 1852 US Election
- Techniques
- Name-calling
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- Library of Congress, retrieved October 2, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain: published 1852, US; LOC rights: "No known restrictions on publication."
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Text on the object
[Left panel, soldier at far left:] Capting Pierce where them Britishers! darn their skins just show em to a feller! will ye? [Left panel, Pierce:] Forward! my brave Compatriots preserve but that undaunted front, and victory is ours.-- [Right panel, Pierce:] Oh! how bad I feel, and every Step I go forward, I feel worse. I've got such a pain in the abdomen I must resign my Command and go home. [Right panel, soldier:] Come along General Pierce! heres them ere enemies you used to talk about on trainin days down East. Hurry up and lick em. [Panel captions:] New Hampshire. Mexico. [Title:] GAS AND GLORY. [Imprint:] For sale at N°2 Spruce St. N.Y.
Read from a 640 px derivative; the speech boxes are small and a few words (for example 'Capting', 'ere', 'trainin') are read together with the LOC summary quoting them. The lithographer's credit, if any, is not legible.
