Photographic postcard of encampments after Springfield race riot

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A black-and-white photographic postcard of militia encampments in Springfield, Illinois, after the race riot. Settled across a large, open space within the city, state militiamen are pictured encamped with tents, rifle towers, carts, and other military gear strewn across grassy patches between intersecting roads. Several small and large buildings flank the encampment, with a large tree on the left side of the image. Hundreds of men are gathered near the tree and to the right of the tree, inside of the mobile camp. Several electrical poles dominate the air above the area. Inscribed in black ink at the bottom right of the image is “POST / PHOTO / SPRINGFIELD RACE WAR / AUG.’ 08”. The postcard is unused and, on the reverse, has a divided back with respectively marked spaces, [CORRESPONDENCE HERE] and [NAME AND ADDRESS HERE], for inscriptions.

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