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At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Supervisory Committee for Recruiting Colored Regiments [United States Soldiers at Camp William Penn]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC09742 Author/Creator: Supervisory Committee for Recruiting Colored Regiments Place Written: Pennsylvania Type: Print Date: 1864 Pagination: 35 x 42.7 cm. Order a Copy

One hand-colored lithograph printed circa 1864 of U.S. soldiers at Camp "William Penn." Includes two subcaptions of "Rally Round the Flag, boy! Rally once again, Shouting the battle cry of Freedom!" Published by the Supervisory Committee for Recruiting Colored Regiments.

Camp William Penn was founded in July 1863 to help meet the call for African-American soldiers. Located in Cheltenham just north of Philadelphia, it trained eleven regiments of United States Colored Troops recruited from
all over the country.

The source of this photo is composed of a photograph of Captain George E. Heath, second in command at Camp Penn from September 1863 to May 1864. The flag, scenery, and drummer boy were all added by the lithographer.

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