A large group of soldiers seated on open ground at Camp Willis, Columbus, Ohio gathers for an evening meal in this real photo postcard dating to the summer of 1916, when the First Ohio Cavalry Squadron was encamped there during the Mexican Border Crisis mobilization. The printed caption on the image face reads "An Evening Meal, Camp Willis, Cols. O." with the photographer's initials "E.W." The format is a standard divided-back real photo postcard.

Dozens of men in dark campaign uniforms and broad-brimmed campaign hats crowd the frame, many holding tin mess plates and cups. A wooden barrel and a galvanized metal trash can stand at left, serving as field mess stations. White canvas pup tents are visible at the right edge, with military outbuildings and a line of trees receding into the background. One soldier near the rear raises his arm, and a figure operates what appears to be a photographic or surveying instrument beside a tent at right.

Camp Willis was a Columbus training ground used by the First Ohio Cavalry Squadron in the summer before its deployment for border duty along the Rio Grande, during which time the squadron trained without horses. The "E.W." credit on the image face identifies the photographer by initials only; no further studio attribution is determinable from the card.

Printed caption on image face reads: "© An Evening Meal, Camp Willis, Cols. O." with initials "E.W." at right. Reverse bears a standard divided-back postcard format with no written correspondence or address.