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Volunteer Refreshment Saloon, supported gratuitously by the citizens of Philadelphia, Pa.
Title
Volunteer Refreshment Saloon, supported gratuitously by the citizens of Philadelphia, Pa
Description
Print containing an exterior view and three titled interior views of the saloon and hospital of the volunteer relief agency located near the Navy Yard at Swanson and Washington Avenues. Exterior view shows heavy street activity. A Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad train stops on the grounds in front of a cheering crowd of spectators. Hundreds of soldiers line up to enter and depart the "Hot Coffee and Refreshment" and "Water" stand and "Dining Saloon Free for Volunteers"; officers direct foot traffic onto the train; and other soldiers enter the adjacent "Post Office" and are greeted by women in front of a row of adjoining row homes. Also shows the O.K. House in the background, the fence of "W. Thorn Lehigh & Schuylkill Coal Yard," and an American flag marked "Union for Ever" adorning the saloon. Interior views, framed by scroll ornaments, shows a line of soldiers at, and others waiting for a row of wash basins at the "Washing Department"; the "Interior of the Dining Saloon Free for Union Volunteers" where soldiers wait in line for food, eat standing up at tables, and are served by female volunteers; and civilian spectators watching the men volunteers of the "Cooking Department" attend cauldrons atop ovens, and carry baskets of food and large coffee pots. Also contains facsimile signatures of saloon supporters and a vignette portrait of General Winfield Scott below the image. Portrait framed by a laurel wreath held in the beak of an eagle surrounded by American flags, a fasces, cannons, and a banner reading "Respectfully dedicated by the Committee to Winfield Scott General in Chief of the U.S.A." Situated at the transportation hub between the North and the South on land leased en gratis from the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad, the agency provided meals, hospital care, washing, sleeping, and writing facilities to military personnel, refugees, and freedmen. It served over 800,000 men, 1,025,000 meals before closing., Second state., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 813.2, Wainwright retrospective conversion project, edited., Historical Society of Pennsylvania: Bc 32 U 58b (3 copies). Two of HSP copies contain blind stamp of B.S. Brown.
Creator
Boell, William
Date
c1861
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *W438.2 [P.9001.2]