Civil War posters, 1861-1865

The 304 Civil War Posters in this collection consist predominantly of recruiting posters, as well as advertisements for public meetings, auctions and social functions pertaining to the Civil War. This collection includes posters from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Maine. Within the collection are posters for artillery, cavalry and infantry divisions of the United States Army, as well as state National Guard regiments and local regiments such as the Camden Zouaves, West Jersey Rifles and the Mozart Regiment. Many of these posters were used in targeted recruitment campaigns, calling upon African-Americans, Irish-Americans and German-Americans to enlist in the Union Army (a number of the posters are written in German). Many of the recruitment posters encourage men to avoid the draft and proactively sign up with a regiment, advertising high bounties, complimentary uniforms and pensions for the families of those who enlist. The posters use patriotic iconography featuring Lady Liberty, George Washington and Union soldiers, in addition to eagles, cavalrymen, liberty caps and American flags.