[CIVIL WAR]. Men Wanted! For the Invalid Corps. Elmira, NY: 17 June 1863. 

19 3/4 x 26 3/4 in. letterpress broadside mounted on board and framed, 26 x 33 in. (creasing, fold lines, partial separation at folds, chipping, short tears, and few areas of loss to edges and corners, incl. 2 in. tear and large piece missing at top center). Undersigned in type by Captain and Provost Marshal Samuel M. Harmon, 27th District, State of New York. Top center features a large illustration of an eagle holding a banner in its beak reading, "The Union Forever!" This broadside on thin newsprint paper urges recruitment in the Invalid Corps, stating, in part, "Only those faithful Soldiers who, from wounds or the hardships of War, are no longer fit for active field duty will be received in this Corps Of Honor." A list of requirements and terms of service is also included. 

The Invalid Corps, later known as the Veteran Reserve Corps, was organized by order of the US War Department in April 1863. It created within the Union Army an organization of partially disabled soldiers who were deemed "meritorious and deserving," and who remained fit for non-combat duties such as prison guards, hospital guards, or as clerks and orderlies. This thereby freed able-bodied soldiers to serve on the front lines. Between 1863 and 1866 more than 60,000 soldiers served in the Invalid Corps. This recruiting poster for this district was created less than two months after the order was issued creating the new corps. 


The Civil War and American Militaria Collection of Bruce B. Hermann