“Victory Will Lead to Peace - Richmond Has Fallen”
Likely Philadelphia, 1865 - Frame: 9 x 10 ⅞ inches; sight: 7 ¼ x 9 inches
 
An ephemeral patriotic handbill issued in the brief but momentous interval between the fall of Richmond on April 3, 1865, and the Confederate surrender at Appomattox on April 9. The design centers on a boldly rendered American flag, capturing the immediacy of the Union’s final victory and the anticipation of peace after four years of conflict.
 
Printed for rapid distribution, such handbills were intended to communicate breaking developments and to shape public sentiment in real time. Their inherently temporary nature accounts for their rarity today, making surviving examples compelling witnesses to the closing days of the Civil War.
 
Condition: Very fine.