Carte-de-visite (CDV) photograph of Chicago’s last building with a direct connection to the Civil War- the Soldiers' Home. This building was constructed at the edge of the Camp Douglas prisoner-of-war camp through the efforts of a women's relief organization. During the war, the building served as a hospital for recovering soldiers. Following the war, it served as a dwelling for disabled Union Army veterans. The building's earliest iterations were designed by William W. Boyington, the architect of the Old Chicago Water Tower.

This view was taken by Fassett of Chicago and shows a line of men, likely Union veterans, lined up to enter the facility. Soldiers’ Homes like this one were critical to the care of many thousands of former soldiers, many of whom became destitute after the war due to disability and relied on places like these for basic shelter.





[Antique Photography, Daguerreotype, Ambrotype, Albumen, carte-de-visite, CDV, Tintype] [Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Civil War, Union, Confederate, Ulysses S. Grant, US Grant, Robert E. Lee, Abraham Lincoln]