Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon. Foot of Washington St. Philadelphia

[Philadelphia]: Ives pr. & stationer, 1862. Folding trade card, 2.5 x 3.75 inches, with views of the Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon and the attached hospital on the front and back and text inside. Light soiling; very good. The Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon was "staffed by volunteers and provided relief for Union troops on their way to or returning from battlefields in the South. Its services included warm meals, temporary housing, medical services, and washing facilities. From its opening on May 27, 1861, to its closing on December 1, 1865, over 800,000 men were assisted in this saloon and served over 1,025,000 meals" (Smithsonian). This card was made specifically for the 50th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers, who spent December 20th, 1862 to January 7th, 1863 in Philadelphia before departing by sea for duty in the Port Hudson Campaign in Louisiana. The unit's regimental historian later noted that the regiment "received every attention and the most generous hospitality" at both the Union Saloon and the nearby Cooper Shop Volunteer Refreshment Saloon, and concluded that "words can hardly express the kindness lavished upon the soldiers by the people of this patriotic city during the war...." The interior of the card welcomes the regiment, includes a roster of the field, staff, and line officers present in Philadelphia, and provides a list of places of interest that soldiers might wish to visit while in the city.