Rallying the Troops

The Shots Fired on Fort Sumter Mobilized the City

Masses of volunteers in Philadelphia and throughout the North soon exceeded Lincoln’s initial call for only 70,000 troops. Civic groups, professional organizations, and ethnic and occupational organizations joined local government in an outpouring of the volunteer spirit that had long guided Philadelphia civic life. Throughout the course of the war, these groups would dig deep to raise funds for troops and support efforts for the war. In the first year alone, about 60 military organizations were mobilized for three months’ service in defense of the city, the state, and the capital in Washington, D.C. Union reverses through 1861 and 1862 discouraged many, but business and civic leaders and local governments dug deep in their pockets to increase bounty payments to keep up recruitment. In 1863, as the Confederate forces invaded central Pennsylvania, recruitment was slow. But the threat of the draft spurred enlistment and, perhaps most important, the dramatic increase in bounty payments enticed many poor workers to the Union cause. Before it was all over, some 75,000 to 100,000 Philadelphia men out of a male population of about 300,000 had fought for the Union, a considerable percentage.

 

John A. McAllister collected over 500 local recruiting posters that boldly document the drama and excitement of a city mobilizing for war. Printers’ notes on several of them suggest that they were rare from the beginning, with press runs as low as twenty-five copies. The very small sample of McAllister’s recruiting posters displayed here is but a glimmer of the tip of the iceberg, focused on the dramatic rather than narrative or chronology. Shown are advertisements and circulars for products and services produced for soldiers.

Click on images for a larger view.

E. W. Carryl, Army and Navy Goods (Philadelphia, 1861).

E. W. Carryl, Army and Navy Goods (Philadelphia, 1861).

Phillip Wilson & Co., The Soldier’s Friend (Philadelphia, 1861).

Phillip Wilson & Co., The Soldier’s Friend (Philadelphia, 1861).

R. Newell & Son, Ordnance Dept. Phila. Navy Yard . Albumen print photograph (Philadelphia, ca.1862). R. Newell & Son, Ordnance Dept. Phila. Navy Yard .   Albumen print photograph (Philadelphia, ca.1862).
Parr’s Patent American Camp Chest (Philadelphia, 1861).

Parr’s Patent American Camp Chest (Philadelphia, 1861).

R. B. Fitts, E. P. Thornburgh, and William Stacy, The Army Feed and Water Bucket (Philadelphia, 1861).

R. B. Fitts, E. P. Thornburgh, and William Stacy, The Army Feed and Water Bucket (Philadelphia, 1861).

James Robinson, The American Watch (Philadelphia, 1861).

James Robinson, The American Watch (Philadelphia, 1861).

Chas. Laing & Co., Military Dress Hats and Fatigue Caps (Philadelphia, 1861).

Chas. Laing & Co., Military Dress Hats and Fatigue Caps (Philadelphia, 1861).

C. B. Coventry, To The Volunteers- an Old Soldier’s Advice (Philadelphia, 1861).

C. B. Coventry, To The Volunteers- an Old Soldier’s Advice (Philadelphia, 1861).

Soldier’s Vote (New York?, 1864).

Soldier’s Vote (New York?, 1864).

W. C. Whiteman, Soldiers’ Philadelphia City Messenger Company (Philadelphia, 1863?).

W. C. Whiteman, Soldiers’ Philadelphia City Messenger Company (Philadelphia, 1863?).

Jos. H. Jefferies, Metallic Coffins (Philadelphia, 1863).

Jos. H. Jefferies, Metallic Coffins (Philadelphia, 1863).

Order of Arrangement for the Consecration of the Soldiers’ Cemetery… (Philadelphia, 1863). Order of Arrangement for the Consecration of the Soldiers’ Cemetery… (Philadelphia, 1863).
Men of the Washington Grays. Alumen print photograph (Philadelphia, 1861).

Men of the Washington Grays.  Alumen print photograph (Philadelphia, 1861).

View of the Reception of the 29th Regiment Published for the Benefit of the Cooper Shop Soldiers’ Home. Colored lithograph (Philadelphia, 1863).

View of the Reception of the 29th Regiment Published for the Benefit of the Cooper Shop Soldiers’ Home. Colored lithograph (Philadelphia, 1863).

John L. Magee, View of the encampment of the Corn Exchange Regiment 118th. Penn. Vols. near Falls of Schuylkill Colored lithograph (Philadelphia, 1863).

John L. Magee, View of the encampment of the Corn Exchange Regiment 118th. Penn. Vols. near Falls of Schuylkill Colored lithograph (Philadelphia, 1863).

Continental Cavalry! Col. J. E. Peyton: To horse! To horse! An opportunity is offered to all bold and daring men to engage in this most attractive species of military service (Philadelphia, 1861).

Continental Cavalry! Col. J. E. Peyton: To horse! To horse! An opportunity is offered to all bold and daring men to engage in this most attractive species of military service (Philadelphia, 1861).

Rally for the defense of the city! Robeson Guards! Union league regiment! Now organizing for the defense of the city against rebel invaders (Philadelphia, 1863).

Rally for the defense of the city! Robeson Guards! Union league regiment! Now organizing for the defense of the city against rebel invaders (Philadelphia, 1863).

Irish Brigade! 2nd Regiment, Col. Robert Emmett Patterson. Recruits wanted for Company A, Two dollars bounty paid to each man on being mustered in (Philadelphia, 1861 or 1862).

Irish Brigade! 2nd Regiment, Col. Robert Emmett Patterson. Recruits wanted for Company A, Two dollars bounty paid to each man on being mustered in (Philadelphia, 1861 or 1862).

Achtung! Achtung! Russel-Garde Leichte Infanterie! (Philadelphia, 1862 or 1863).

Achtung! Achtung! Russel-Garde Leichte Infanterie! (Philadelphia, 1862 or 1863).

 

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