John R. Kelso’s Civil Wars:
A Graphic History - Episode 11
More on the text
Teacher, Preacher, Soldier, Spy, 131-40. The disastrous Battle of Neosho had occurred on May 31, 1862. Kelso gave testimony for an inquiry into the conduct of his commander, Colonel John M. Richardson of the 14th MSM Cavalry. The officer conducting the inquiry, Lieut. Col. James K. Mills, commander of the post at Springfield, noted that “there is scarcely a point upon which the testimony is not contradictory.” The soldiers who fought told very different stories about the battle. The officers investigating the defeat came to different conclusions about who deserved blame. Richardson said that after he had been shot off his horse, the men panicked without his leadership. Mills gave Richardson the benefit of the doubt and seemed to shift responsibility to the junior officers, including Kelso, and to the undisciplined men. Brig. Gen. Egbert B. Brown, who headed the Southwestern Division of the MSM at Springfield, concluded that the blame rested almost solely on Richardson. So did Kelso, who, still fuming as he wrote a long account to Susie, declared that Richardson was utterly incompetent and possibly treasonous.
More on the Illustration
Here he is, balled up on the ground and having these horses running around and over him. The ground is shaking and he’s got to have the sense of, “I have no idea what's going to happen.” His whole body has got to in hyper-drive, but he has to stay still. I’m trying to get the sensation of the movement of the horses. I'm trying to say a lot of things. I’m indicating the corral that they were in and how they're trying to run away from the gunfire. Chris and I talked about how his hat had actually fallen off and he was tucking his hands underneath his body. But I wanted the expressiveness of his hands, which is so important. The hand on top of the head was really meant to be protective. The other hand, the clutching fist, suggests trying to keep his sense of control over an uncontrollable situation.
Again I’m trying to use light sources, and I had a lot of fun putting shadows on blades of grass. Anywhere I could use light and dark, I really enjoyed taking that license. Then there are these barbed bushes. And the viewer is right there at ground level with him. You're right there.