THE BATTERY, Washington, Aug. 17 1848

• President Zachary Taylor
• Rare campaign publication
• Nice masthead for display

This was a campaign newspaper supporting Zachary Taylor for President and Millard Fillmore for Vice President.
In the era before radio, television, and the internet it was not uncommon for political parties to create short-lived newspapers to support their candidate and publicize their political platform. Such newspapers were short-lived; once the election was over so was the newspaper, however some titles existed for some months afterward.
This is the #7 issue, the title existing from July 6 through Nov. 2, 1848, then printing just two more issues: an "Extra" edition dated Nov. 16, 1848 and the final issue of Jan. 25, 1849, for a total of 20 issues.
The great masthead engraving is a political cartoon showing the heroic Taylor on his horse commanding: "A Little More Grape! Captain Bragg" being shot at Lewis Cass, his political rival.
This phrase was a famous one, a command to then-Captain Braxton Bragg to fire more grapeshot at the Mexicans during the Battle of Buena Vista in the Mexican War. It was likely initiated by a poem in a previous issue titled: "A Little More Grape, Capt. Bragg."
Sixteen pages, 9 by 11 1/4 inches, great condition.

Background: This issue of The Battery, dated August 17, 1848, represents an exceptionally rare artifact of mid-19th-century American political media, surviving from a tightly restricted run of just 20 total issues published by Whig supporters between July 1848 and January 1849. Published specifically as a temporary campaign organ to propel General Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore to the White House, the newspaper’s primary highlight is its striking masthead engraving—a prominent political cartoon that immortalized Taylor on horseback shouting, "A Little More Grape! Captain Bragg," directing artillery at his Democratic rival, Lewis Cass. This iconic command referenced Taylor's famous order to Captain Braxton Bragg to fire grapeshot at Mexican forces during the Battle of Buena Vista, a crucial military victory that Whig strategists co-opted into a powerful partisan rallying cry, likely inspired by a campaign poem of the same name printed in an earlier edition. Because ephemeral political newspapers like The Battery were intentionally short-lived and discarded immediately after the election cycle, surviving copies—especially intact 16-page complete editions measuring 9 by 11¼ inches in exceptional condition—are exceedingly scarce historical documents that offer a rare, unfiltered window into antebellum campaign tactics, partisan press strategy, and early political satire.