“FREEDOM TO THE SLAVE”

Courtesy of The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History [GLC04198]

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Gilder Lehrman Document Number: GLC04198

Title: [Broadside recruiting African Americans for military service]

Author: unknown

Year: 1863

Place: s. l.

Type of document: Broadside

Description: Color print depicting a Union soldier holding a United States flag with an attached banner declaring "Freedom to the Slave." In the background on one side, African American troops march holding a United States flag bearing the words "U. S. Regt. Colored Troops." On the other side, African Americans walk into a public school. The Union officer stands on a flag depicting a snake, while a slave tears the flag in half. On verso, a printed statement declares "All SLAVES were made FREEMEN BY ABRAHAM LINCOLN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, JANUARY 1st, 1863. Come, then, able-bodied COLORED MEN, to the nearest United States Camp, and fight for the STARS AND STRIPES." Docketed by Harriet E. Shafer and May S. Scott, both of Michigan. Contains several torn creases.