In Philadelphia, 20,000 firemen march in an unprecedented gala parade
On a fine day in Philadelphia, firemen from more than a hundred fire companies, including thirty visiting from East Coast cities, paraded through the streets in a remarkable display. In an estimated ten mile procession on a route of up to twenty miles, around twenty-thousand firemen participated in the parade that took three hours to pass any point. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
"Firemen's Jubilee: Grand Parade of Firemen in Philadelphia," New York Times, October 17, 1865, p.1.