Ten Little Mulligan Guards

This illustrated version of a child's song and game was originally published before 1875 by McLoughlin Brothers of New York. On the surface, it's the story of ten Irish guards who, playing at war games, meet their grisly demise one by one as the story progresses, until there are none left. A musical score is included, as is racist terminology. It is thought the verse was written by Edward Harrigan, a legendary figure in the history of the American stage. Harrigan and his theatrical partner Anthony Hart broke through with their wildly popular 1873 musical sketch "The Mulligan Guards," which lampooned the post-Civil War target shooting societies that existed in New York at the time.