I have shared about Halloween before and since it is that time of year, I wanted to share this haunting illustration by Thomas Nast which appeared in Harper’s Weekly on July 7, 1866.

Captioned “Why He Can’t Sleep,” the image shows a sleepless Jefferson Davis being haunted by the ghosts of Union soldiers. The most haunting skeleton is lying next to him in bed and pointing to an apparent bullet hole in his skeletal skull, while still another points to a gallows outside.  You can see fresh graves and coffins in the background along with what appears to be a tattered flag.  The spirit of the goddess Columbia appears to lead the spectral horde in harrying the former president of the Confederacy.  

Davis can be seen as an emaciated, haggard looking man who is far removed from his days as president.  During this time, Davis would be half way through his two-year imprisonment at Fortress Monroe in Virginia. 

What else can you see in the image?  What is Nast trying to say about Davis?