One motive for enlistment was the desire of young men on both sides to prove their courage and conviction to friends and neighbors who volunteered with them, to local leaders who organized their regiments, and to the public at large. Many immigrants from Ireland and Germany, hoping to gain full recognition as American citizens, joined the Union Army. Some men answered appeals like the broadside above, issued by Colonel Joshua T. Owen, who raised a regiment in Philadelphia to serve in Colonel Edward Baker's brigade.
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