Author Archives: SUMPTER

constitutional amendment

Posted on January 31, 2015 by SUMPTER

150 years ago today the United States House of Representatives approved an amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolishing slavery throughout the United States; the Senate had earlier voted in favor of the proposal. Although three-fourths of the states would have … Continue reading →

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institutional amendment

Posted on January 30, 2015 by SUMPTER

The long lead Monday morning editorial at the Dispatch discussed a well-known catchphrase during the Civil War and discussed why it was fallacious – in the South. The paper later reported that Southern church leaders warned that slave owners needed … Continue reading →

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ice blockade

Posted on January 29, 2015 by SUMPTER

It was reported that Mother Nature helped out the rebel cause a bit. Presumably federal government horses and mules were at risk. From The New-York Times January 29, 1865: NEWS FROM WASHINGTON.; MR. BLAIR’S PRIVATE PAPERS. Special Dispatches to the … Continue reading →

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pop

Posted on January 28, 2015 by SUMPTER

We seem to hear a lot nowadays about economic bubbles – for example, the housing bubble of recent years. 150 years ago today Gothamites could see the bubble concept applied to any hope of successful peace negotiations between North and … Continue reading →

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sourcing recruits

Posted on January 27, 2015 by SUMPTER

Conscription in early 1865 was kind of a fluid thing. Here are three short pieces from the Seneca Falls, NY library big notebook of Civil War clippings that show 1) the quota for the 24th New york Congressional District didn’t … Continue reading →

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“service years” quota

Posted on January 26, 2015 by SUMPTER

150 years ago this month a newspaper up in Wayne County, New York complained about how it understood the federal government was implementing President Lincoln’s December 1864 call for 300,000 more soldiers. The new quotas would be based on the … Continue reading →

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James River battle

Posted on January 24, 2015 by SUMPTER

In January 1865 the Confederate navy on the James River attempted to attack and destroy the Federal supply depot at City Point in order to help lift the siege of Richmond and Petersburg. The Confederate fleet was stopped at the … Continue reading →

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three star flag

Posted on January 23, 2015 by SUMPTER

The 160th New York Infantry fought in Louisiana through 1863 and during the Red River campaign in the first months of 1864. It then got to Virginia in time for the Battle of Snicker’s Ferry. The Regiment wouldn’t be mustered … Continue reading →

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peace signs

Posted on January 22, 2015 by SUMPTER

About 150 years ago people up in this neck of the woods could read about some rumored peace maneuvers. From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in January 1865: More Peace Rumors. The telegraph of Thursday evening gives us more … Continue reading →

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bored of war

Posted on January 21, 2015 by SUMPTER

150 years ago today Richmond’s Dispatch was full of Northern accounts of the the fall of Fort Fisher. The editors spun the resultant closing of the port of Wilmington as economically advantageous: The fall of Fort Fisher, and the subsequent … Continue reading →

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