A Short History: General E. Kirby Smith, from the Histories of Generals series (N114) issued by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Smoking and Chewing Tobacco 1888

This trade card of General E. Kirby Smith was produced around the turn of the 20th century by W. Duke & Sons, as part of a series promoting tobacco. These cards, distributed with tobacco products, offer a window into the cultural narratives circulating at the time. Here, General Smith, a Confederate general, is presented alongside a Confederate soldier bearing a tattered flag. These images participated in the construction of the Lost Cause mythology. This revisionist history sought to romanticize the Confederacy and downplay slavery's role in the Civil War. Consider how the commercialization of historical figures can shape public memory. These cards were tools for building brand loyalty, but they also served to normalize and valorize a specific, and deeply problematic, version of American history. This version of history, while attempting to forge a sense of identity, simultaneously promoted exclusion and inequality.