United States Soldiers at Camp William Penn (Come and Join Us Brothers)

Blacks were banned from military combat until late 1862, despite pleas and petitions demanding they be included in the war effort. Once the ban was lifted, after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, black leaders, including Frederick Douglass, encouraged blacks to join the fight for full citizenship. The Bureau of Colored Troops was formed to recruit and register black volunteers for the Union Army. Approximately 180,000 blacks served as Union soldiers during the Civil War. This is one of the first recruiting posters used to promote black service