The series was first produced in 1861, and continued at intervals until 1863. After publishing the first ten in Baltimore the publication was suppressed by the Federal Government. The Artist fled to Europe and continued the work, which was sent back by a Blockade Runner. The set was captured and were destroyed. In 1871 the Artist returned, and a small was edition was published; but public feeling was still so strong, that it was deemed prudent to withdraw them. The Artist shows genius in caricature combined with artistic and technical ability of the finest order. The work is essential in any collection relating to the War of the Rebellion. They might more properly be called "Historic Illustrations of the Confederacy." 

Adalbert Johann Volck was born in Augsburg, Bavaria in 1828 before immigrating to the United States in 1848. Volck established himself as a successful dentist in the pro-North section of Baltimore, siding with the new Confederate States of America following the outbreak of the Civil War. Throughout the Civil War, Volck worked as a Confederate blockade runner, smuggling medical supplies and drugs through Southern lines. Volck became a personal courier for Confederate President Jefferson Davis, all while working as a spy and operator for the South. During the Union occupation of Baltimore by General Benjamin Butler, Volck expressed his pro-Confederate sentiments through his art, frequently attacking characters like Butler, Daniel E. Sickles, and Abraham Lincoln. From 1861 to 1863, Volck completed two sets of his Confederate War Etchings, unable to finish the last set in the years following due to the fears of capture by Union troops for treason. Unpopular during the Civil War due to limited accessibility by Southerners, the collection was reprinted in the years following the conflict where they gained great success. An unreconstructed Confederate throughout the remainder of his life, Volck died in 1912 as one of the greatest artists of the Confederacy and the Lost Cause.

Similar sets have sold at auction for $3,000-4,000 and are in museum collections including the Gettysburg Civil War Museum and the Smithsonian. The set is in an archival box with each set separated by acid-free tissue paper.