In 1960, the last surviving Civil War veteran died at the age of 116, providing the impetus for a Life magazine tribute that, in turn, inspired this drawing. Rivers saw the article and the accompanying photograph of the soldier lying in state and extrapolated aspects of the image for this composition, obscuring certain details to heighten the mystery of the setting. The faces and bodies (including that of the guard standing watch over the casket) are loosely rendered, suggesting a faded memory comprised of interlocking fragments. In the context of the civil rights movement and social transformation of the 1960s, one can imagine how Rivers was captivated by this historic death, which put into perspective two pivotal periods in American history, and those few whose lives intersected them both.