The John A. McAllister Collection: Printed Ephemera
Recruiting Posters
Pennsylvania played an important role in supplying the Union Army with both officers and enlisted men. On the home front, merchants in organizations like the Union League and Corn Exchange raised funds to help support local companies. Civilians collected money to pay bounties for the volunteers and substitutes required to meet the local recruitment quotas.
The McAllister Collection includes more than 500 recruiting posters for companies of the Pennsylvania militia and for regiments of the Pennsylvania Volunteers. These are accessible in Koha by searching the Form/Genre heading “Recruiting posters” or by searching individual regiments or their commanding officers. Images from the posters are available through the Islandora digital asset repository.
Also available are broadsides relating to military bounties, Citizens Volunteer Substitute Committees, public rallies in support of the troops, and works on the military draft and its avoidance. Most materials are from Philadelphia, but a substantial number originated in Bethlehem, Pa.