Enlisting and Training Service of the 54th Supporting the 54th

Item contributed by Historic New England

John A. Andrew, governor of Massachusetts between 1861 and 1866, was responsible for recruiting volunteers and militiamen to satisfy the Massachusetts quota for the Civil War. A staunch abolitionist, Gov. Andrew became an important figure behind the creation of some of the United States Army’s first African American units, including the 54th Regiment of Massachusetts, after the Emancipation Proclamation. This poster, dated 1862, is an example of a recruitment poster announcing that the store in which it was placed would close early to encourage enlistment.




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Broadside, 15 x 10 inches (HxW).

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