Filling Cartridges at the United States Arsenal, at Watertown, Massachusetts (from "Harper's Weekly," Vol. 5, no. 238, cover)

Filling Cartridges at the United States Arsenal, at Watertown, Massachusetts (from "Harper's Weekly," Vol. 5, no. 238, cover) is a pivotal print created by Winslow Homer in 1861, just as the conflict of the American Civil War began. Executed as a detailed wood engraving, this work served as the cover illustration for the August 17th issue of the influential illustrated newspaper Harper’s Weekly, widely disseminating the reality of the burgeoning war mobilization to the Northern public. This early journalistic effort by Winslow Homer demonstrates his emerging skill as a draftsman focused on realistic contemporary subjects before he transitioned primarily to painting.

The subject matter focuses intensely on the labor taking place at the Watertown Arsenal, one of the Union’s primary manufacturing sites for munitions. Homer depicts groups of working men and women engaged in the critical, repetitive task of filling paper cartridges with gunpowder. Prior to the war, heavy industry was largely the domain of men, but the overwhelming logistical demands of the conflict necessitated the widespread employment of women in essential factory roles. The composition captures the efficiency and seriousness of the operation, underscoring the crucial role of domestic labor in supporting the Union effort.

This significant image of wartime readiness is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As a mass-produced print circulated during the initial phase of the American Civil War, the work offers valuable historical insight into the domestic and economic mobilization of the North. Homer would continue to create prints documenting life during the war, and this piece marks a key early exploration of modern American working life.