Description:

Civil War

Civil War Era Freemen Rally Broadside

 

Printed broadside advertising an upcoming Freemen Rally. At top, a fierce eagle displaying a "Freemen Rally!" banner is depicted in a patriotic frieze. Five lines of mixed block lettering appear below: "Silas M. Burroughs, Will Address the Citizens of Two Bridges, Tuesday Evening, Ocober [sic] 19th, at 7 O'Clock P.M." An inscription establishing the broadside's provenance is found in the lower left corner, reading in part: "Found this in Joseph --- effects after his death." Laid down on paper. Minor wear including isolated foxing, wrinkles, and several small holes. Measures approximately 14" x 13.875".

 

Although the broadside is undated, the term "Freeman Rally" suggests that it dates from ca. 1856-1865, when public discourse often juxtaposed Northern "Freemen" with Southern slave-holders. The dichotomy was liberally employed by members of the nation's newest political party, the Republicans, whose central planks remained the preservation of the Union and the abolition of slavery.

 

Mrs. E. A. Parkhurst and John Adams's 1864 song "Come, Rally Freeman, Rally!" exemplifies the nationalistic sentiment uniting "freemen" across the United States. The lyrics read in part: "Come, rally freemen, rally, / And hoist our banner high, / Hurrah boys! hurrah boys! / Our cause it is the right one, / And for it we will die. / Hurrah for the Union! / Abraham and Johnson / Will make the nation free, / Hurrah boys! hurrah boys! / We'll rally next November / For them and Liberty. / Hurrah for the Union!"

 

Silas M. Burroughs (1810-1860) was a lawyer from upstate New York who served as a member of the New York State Assembly and U.S. Congress. Burroughs was a Republican. His district, located just 40 miles west of abolitionist hotbed Rochester, New York, likely represented similarly anti-slavery constituents. Burroughs died in office in June 1860.

 

Burroughs was going to address the community of Two Bridges. It's possible that this was Two Bridges, New York, a neighborhood on Manhattan's Lower East side near Chinatown and the East River waterfront.

 

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