Views showing rows of tents adorned with flags and recruitment banners lining the central path in the tree-lined square. Views also include soldiers manning the tents, male visitors, and women standing outside the gate of the square., Attributed to F. De B. Richards., LCP AR [Annual Report] 2000, p. 63-64., One of the images [P.9808.3] reproduced in The Print and Photograph Department of the Library Company of Philadelphia's Center City Philadelphia in the 19th century (Portsmouth, N.H.: Arcadia Publishing, 2006), p. 120., Arcadia caption text: From September to October 1862, Independence Square was transformed into the Civil War recruiting camp Camp Independence. In an effort to avoid a statewide draft, recruiters manned 25 tents along the main thoroughfare amid a band playing patriotic music and under the gaze of dutiful spectators. A few thousand of the over 80,000 Philadelphians who served in the military during the Civil War enlisted at this site, one of the most successful in the city.
Creator
Richards, F. De B. (Frederick De Bourg), photographer
Date
September or October 1862
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - Richards - Civil War [P.9808.2 & 3]
