Author Archives: SUMPTER

Abe’s Cornerstone

Posted on December 3, 2014 by SUMPTER

The Union must be preserved and slavery is wrong. Nevertheless, the president still released two rebel prisoners. From The Papers And Writings Of Abraham Lincoln, Volume Seven: MEMORANDUM, DECEMBER 3, 1864. On Thursday of last week, two ladies from Tennessee … Continue reading →

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vandals?

Posted on December 2, 2014 by SUMPTER

A Democratic-leaning paper in upstate New York was not quite so enamored of total war in Georgia as The New-York Times appeared to be in its Thanksgiving day issue. Presumably the rebels would soon resist the Union army with a … Continue reading →

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small world

Posted on December 1, 2014 by SUMPTER

From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in December 1864: PRISONERS HEARD FROM. – The following is an extract from a letter written by Mr. Lewis DeMott, of this village (now in hospital at Annapolis, Md.) to his wife, under … Continue reading →

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risks of intercourse

Posted on November 29, 2014 by SUMPTER

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch November 30, 1864: From Petersburg. During the past two days a good deal of unimportant skirmishing and cannonading has taken place on the Petersburg lines. About one o’clock on Monday, our troops on General Mahone’s … Continue reading →

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more or less on Sherman

Posted on November 28, 2014 by SUMPTER

A pretty subdued Monday morning editorial from Richmond. The paper isn’t sure where Union General Sherman and his army are headed in Georgia, but the editors “should not be surprised if they met some resistance in this march.” From the … Continue reading →

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“the eager, hungry glare”

Posted on November 27, 2014 by SUMPTER

A local paper reprinted part of a very long report in the November 26, 1864 issue of The New-York Times that detailed the bad condition of exchanged Union soldiers. From a Seneca County, New York newspaper on December 8, 1864: … Continue reading →

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laughing gassed?

Posted on November 26, 2014 by SUMPTER

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch November 26, 1864: A “convention of the dentists of the Confederacy” is called, to meet at Augusta, Georgia, on the 28th instant–to pull Sherman’s teeth, probably. You can keep up with the progress of the … Continue reading →

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“insurrectionists cried out for mercy”

Posted on November 25, 2014 by SUMPTER

A Richmond newspaper admired the effectiveness and restraint of the Confederate garrison that thwarted an attempted mass escape by Union prisoners at Salisbury, North Carolina. From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in December 1864: Attempt of the Union Prisoners … Continue reading →

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“From Maine to California”

Posted on November 24, 2014 by SUMPTER

150 years ago today was the day President Lincoln proclaimed as a day of Thanksgiving. The New-York Times saw it as a day that helped unite the states and parties and hoped it would remain a grand national holiday. From … Continue reading →

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shrapnel

Posted on November 22, 2014 by SUMPTER

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch November 22, 1864: Killed in Bed by a shell. –During Sunday night, forty-one shots were fired at the city of Charleston, and on Monday, thirty-one, up to 6 P. M. A man and wife, named … Continue reading →

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