Fortification

Collection

Charles C. Myers Collection

Creation Date

1908

Creator(s)

Unknown

Language

English

Postcard showing a large fortification comprised of multiple buildings in the background and a cobblestone street with horse-drawn vehicles in the foreground. Charles C. Myers identifies the complex as the London Tower where kings and queens were imprisoned.

Comments and Context

In Charles C. Myers’s own words, “You have often heard of London Tower, and I doubt not you naturally supposed it was some large edifice towering far into the sky–but not so. About the year 1078 there was built a stone building 137 x 132 ft with walls 90 ft high and 15 ft thick. This was built to use as a fort and was called London Tower, but it is now known as the White Tower–being whitewashed, since then from time to time there has been other buildings added to the place until what is now known as London Tower is a group of buildings covering about 130 acres of ground and situated on the east bank of the Thames River. The original tower was used as a prison as well as a fort and many prisoners were confined there during the 15th to 17th centuries, including several kings and queens, many of which were decapitated. Mary, Queen of Scots, was for a while confined there previous to her execution in 1587.”

Collection

Charles C. Myers Collection

Uncle Sam lies asleep in a chair with a large eagle perched on a stand next to him. He is dreaming of conquests and annexations, asserting his “Monroe Doctrine” rights, becoming master of the seas, putting John Bull in his place, and building “formidable and invulnerable coast defenses.” On the floor by the chair are jingoistic and yellow journalism newspapers.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1895-11-13

The “USS Merrimac,” a cargo ship, is under fire as it passes between the fortifications at the Socapa Battery and Morro Castle at the entrance to Santiago de Cuba Bay, Cuba, during the Spanish-American War. Includes an American flag labeled with the names of the eight volunteer sailors, “Hobson, Charette, Murphy, Deignan, Phillips, Kelly, Clausen, [and] Montague,” intent on scuttling the ship to block the harbor and trap the Spanish fleet within. Caption: The Trojan Horse – Great Olympus! These Yankee exploits put me clear in the shade!

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1898-06-29

John Bull sits on a strong fortress representing England, with a telescope in one hand and strings attached to battleships in the other. On the edge of the continent are four figures representing “Germany” (William II), “Austria” (Franz Joseph I), “Italy” (Umberto I) and “France” (Felix Faure) wondering what John Bull is doing. In the background, a battle rages between the United States and Spain around the island of Cuba. Caption: The Continental Powers–What are you doing there? / John Bull–Oh! nothing, nothing at all; – just looking on!

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1898-05-18

A hapless army of clergymen assaults a fortress labeled “Non-Sectarian Institution” around a building labeled “House of Refuge” with a battering ram labeled “Freedom of Worship Bill.” One bishop is carrying a military standard labeled “In hoc signo vinces” (In this sign you will conquer) that shows a ballot box labeled “Irish Vote.” Defending the ramparts are newspaper editors, including Puck. In the middle distance is a building labeled “Public School” and in the background, atop a hill, is a statue labeled “Constitution” that states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1885-04-22

Print shows newspaper editors Charles A. Dana, James G. Bennett, Carl Schurz, Henry Watterson, George W. Curtis, and Whitelaw Reid, as well as Puck, with a fleet of paper gunboats labeled “N.Y. Times, N.Y. Sun, N.Y. Herald, Ev. Post, Puck, Brooklyn Eagle, Courier-Journal, Harpers, Phila Times, Mail, [and] N.Y. Tribune.” The fleet is firing cannons, “ink” bottles, and pens, bombarding a fortress flying a flag labeled “Plunder,” where the walls are comprised of paper bundles labeled “Bills, Jobs, Bargains, Corrupt Bills, [and] Logrolling.” The fortress is defended by “Robeson Bey” standing at center with a bandage labeled “Record” around his head, “Keifer” and “Jones,” with John A. Logan labeled “306,” James D. Cameron, David Davis, John Sherman, and others. Cannonballs burst among them labeled “Criticism, Censure, [and] Condemnation.” The fortress cannons are labeled “River & Harbor Bill $20,000,000, Pension Arrears $103,962,300, Monitor Job, Public Buildings, Mileage Steal, [and] Mississippi Levee.” Within the fortress are the U.S. Capitol and the U.S. Treasury labeled “Ammunition House.”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1882-08-02

Theodore Roosevelt is surprised at Ambassador Bryce’s questions regarding the fortifying of the Panama Canal. Fortifications will keep the fleet available for operations and are not aimed at a particular nation. The canal could last for centuries and any nation could eventually be an enemy. Roosevelt compares the situation to Great Britain’s presence at Gibraltar. Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt’s health continues to improve.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1911-10-27

Josephine Shaw Lowell was pleased that a fort has been renamed for her late husband, General Charles Russell Lowell who was killed during the American Civil War. She asks President Roosevelt to extend her thanks to Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt for the note.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-02-24