The Hercules of the Union, slaying the great dragon of secession

General Winfield Scott, a hero of the Mexican War and unsuccessful Whig candidate for President in 1852, was in command of the Union forces at the beginning of the Civil War. He resigned late in 1861, father the Union defeat in the first Battle of Bull Run. In this cartoon however, he is depicted as Hercules about to slay the Hydra with a club marked "Liberty & Union". The Hydra's heads include many prominent Confederate figures - Jefferson Davis, Gen. Beauregard & others.
Courtesy of Boston Public Library