'A Bivouac Fire on the Potomac' illustration   Save
National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center
Description: This is an illustration from Harper's Weekly of two African Americans entertaining troops by dancing near a campfire during the Civil War. ALTERNATE TEXT: A group of men, about 33 individuals, sit around a campfire at night near a military camp. There are a few men in the four tents, but they are not in focus. Two African American entertainers are near the middle of the make-shift circle. One African American is mid-jump with his arms on his hips. The fiddler, whos face is a stereotypical caricature with missing teeth, sits at the inner edge of the circle to the right side. A drum lays unused near the fiddler. Two men to the bottom right of the circle are playing cards with a piece of paper in between them that read "IOU". There are what look to be marbles around the "IOU" paper. A few of the soldiers are wearing different uniforms and hats, but are intermingled with the Union army troops. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: NAM_OVS25A-D_001
Subjects: African American soldiers; Civil War 1861-1865; Newspapers
Places: National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center