General Thomas Swearing in the Volunteers Called into the Service of the United States at Washington, D.C.

General Thomas Swearing in the Volunteers Called into the Service of the United States at Washington, D.C. is a significant early work by Winslow Homer, dating from 1861. Executed as a wood engraving, this type of print was crucial for disseminating news and visual documentation during the immediate onset of the American Civil War. The scene captures the high tension and patriotic fervor in Washington, D.C., shortly after the attack on Fort Sumter, depicting the formal process of induction for Union troops who answered the urgent call for service.

Homer, who was working extensively as an illustrator for Harper’s Weekly at the time, demonstrates his early skill in capturing a detailed public spectacle. The composition is packed with figures, focusing attention on General Lorenzo Thomas administering the oath to the assembled volunteers. The medium of wood engraving, while limiting tonal range, allowed Homer to define individual expressions and the mass movement of the crowd, emphasizing the collective commitment to the preservation of the United States. This focus on immediate, unvarnished wartime reality would define much of Homer's subsequent career as a preeminent American artist.

Classified as a historical print, the work exists within the esteemed collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. As an important visual record of the 1861 mobilization, the detail and accuracy of General Thomas Swearing in the Volunteers Called into the Service of the United States at Washington, D.C. make this a vital resource for studying the visual culture of the period. Because it was originally published in an illustrated periodical, numerous prints of this wood engraving were produced, and high-quality versions of this historical work are often found in the public domain today, ensuring wide access to Homer’s journalistic documentation of the Civil War.