Union League of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Founded 1862 as a patriotic society supporting President Lincoln's efforts to preserve the Union. Recruited and financed troops during the Civil War. Its membership of prominent citizens later pursued political reform and social, philanthropic, and civic causes.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Founded in 1862 amid the Civil War, the Union League of Philadelphia began as a patriotic society rallying support behind President Lincoln and the cause of preserving the Union. Its members recruited and financed regiments for the war effort, including some of the first Black troops raised in the North. In the decades after the war its prominent membership turned to political reform and a wide range of civic and philanthropic work.
Why it matters
The Union League shows how wartime loyalty organized the home front behind Lincoln, then translated that energy into the civic and reform movements of the postwar city.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- Bridgette Mayer0.6 mi away · 709 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- African American Museum in Philadelphia0.7 mi away · 701 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Congress Hall0.7 mi away · Philadelphia, PA
- Liberty Bell Center0.7 mi away · 526 Market Street, Philadelphia
- Independence Hall0.7 mi away · 520 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Independence Visitor Center0.8 mi away · 599 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
Attractions
- One Liberty Observation Deck0.3 mi away
- Reading Terminal0.4 mi away
- The Universal Sphere0.5 mi away
- Chinatown Friendship Gate0.5 mi away · 10th and Arch Street
- Liberty Bell0.7 mi away · 526 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- President's House0.7 mi away
Food & drink
- Munchie’s Cafe0.6 mi away · 728 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Philly Pretzel Factory0.6 mi away
- Burger King0.6 mi away
- Fat Salmon0.6 mi away · 719 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- El Azteca0.6 mi away
- Maya's Pizza & Grill0.6 mi away · 716 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA
Places to stay
- Holiday Inn Expressnearby · 1305-11 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Cambria Hotel Philadelphia Downtown - Center Citynearby · 219 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA
- DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Philadelphia Center City0.1 mi away · 237 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Fairfield Inn & Suites0.2 mi away · 261 South 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Residence Inn Philadelphia Center City0.2 mi away · 1 East Penn Square, Philadelphia, PA
- Loews Philadelphia Hotel0.2 mi away · 1200 Market Street, Philadelphia
Places data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hours and details change — call ahead.
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Related people
- · Abraham Lincoln
Related events
- · American Civil War
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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The house at 912 Walnut Street sheltered two remarkable George McClellans. The father, a physician, founded Jefferson Medical College and lived here until his death in 1847. The son, raised here as a boy, grew up to command the Army of the Potomac in the Civil War's early years and to run for president against Abraham Lincoln in 1864.
George Gordon Meade (1815-1872)
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1999
George Gordon Meade rose from Army engineer to major general, taking command of the Army of the Potomac just days before it turned back Robert E. Lee's invasion at Gettysburg in July 1863 — the campaign that broke the Confederacy's northward push. Philadelphia was his family's city, and a grateful nation gave him a house here, where he lived until his death in 1872. The marker stands near that home, tying the Union's most consequential victory to the ordinary streets of the general who won it.
US Sanitary Commission Great Central Fair
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For three weeks in June 1864, Logan Square filled with exhibits, goods, and crowds as the U.S. Sanitary Commission's Great Central Fair raised more than a million dollars for Union soldiers and their families. The Commission had grown out of the vast, largely female volunteer effort to feed, nurse, and comfort the men at the front. On June 16, President Abraham Lincoln—making his only official public appearance in Philadelphia—stepped before the crowd to praise the work being done there.
Christian Street Hospital
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Opened in May 1861 as the first U.S. Army hospital of the Civil War, the Christian Street Hospital became a place of medical discovery as well as healing. Here Drs. S. Weir Mitchell, William Keen, George Morehouse, and colleagues studied nerve injuries among wounded soldiers, using electricity and drugs to pioneer the treatment of neurological disorders. The hospital closed in 1865 as the war ended.