Author Archives: SUMPTER

Lost in Lexington

According to documentation at the Library of Congress, Washington College in Lexington, Virginia held commencement exercises on June 18, 1868. A northern newspaper was disgruntled by a report from an unnamed source about some activities (toasts) during an alumni supper … Continue reading

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death down south

In early June 1868 two black men fought a duel in South Carolina; one of the men was mortally wounded. A northern editorial thought that duels in general were absurd, tragic, and barbaric, but saw this particular duel as a … Continue reading

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living flag

“Sure I wave the American flag. Do you know a better flag to wave? Sure I love my country with all her faults. I’m not ashamed of that, never have been, never will be.”                  – John Wayne According to Wikipedia, … Continue reading

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don’t speak too ill of the dead

Almost eight years ago the American Civil War sesquicentennial commemoration was warming up as some blogs looked at the 1860 presidential campaign. Those remembrances of past events really got serious with the election of Abraham Lincoln. It was still over … Continue reading

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decorating the mounds

Civil War general John A. Logan has been in the news a lot lately. As a Representative from Illinois he was one of seven House managers during the Impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson. The U.S. Senate eventually acquitted the … Continue reading

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Johnson acquitted

Spiro Agnew must have seemed like a godsend to our high school Latin teacher. When Vice-president Agnew got into some difficulties with the law in 1973 he eventually resigned from office after pleading no contest, or in Latin nolo contendere, … Continue reading

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Grant nominated

Eight years after Abraham Lincoln was nominated for U.S. President at the Wigwam the Republican party returned to Chicago for its National Convention. This time the meeting was held at Crosby’s Opera-house, which was able to hold about 2500 spectators … Continue reading

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the recalcitrant seven

____________ A couple cartoons in the March 21, 1868 issue of Harper’s Weekly seem to have been pointing out some irony in the struggle between Congress and Andrew Johnson. President Johnson parroted “Constitution” as the justification for his policies, for … Continue reading

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fictional preservation?

An editorial in the April 25, 1868 issue of Harper’s Weekly lamented all the historic Revolutionary War era structures that were being left to deteriorate and hoped that three other “sacred” buildings could be preserved. One of those structures related … Continue reading

Posted in 150 Years Ago, Aftermath, American Culture, American History, Monuments and Statues, Postbellum Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

the long march

April 14, 1865 was something of a banner day in Washington, D.C. Gilbert Bates, who had served as a sergeant in the 1st Wisconsin Heavy Artillery during the war, arrived on foot in the nation’s capital carrying the Stars and … Continue reading

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