Author Archives: SUMPTER

“oblations to themselves”

Posted on November 10, 2014 by SUMPTER

Unsurprisingly, a Richmond paper was thankful the South wasn’t like Yankeedom. From the Richmond Daily Dispatch November 10, 1864: Thursday morning….November 10, 1864. Lincoln’s thanksgiving day. We observe that Lincoln, with commendable gratitude, has issued his proclamation for a day … Continue reading →

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rainy night in D.C.

Posted on November 8, 2014 by SUMPTER

On Election Day 1864 President Lincoln spent the evening at the war department reading the telegraphic good news. Here’s a bit more about Washington and Gotham on November 8th. From the Richmond Daily Dispatch November 14, 1864: Later from the … Continue reading →

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Beast on Broadway

Posted on November 7, 2014 by SUMPTER

General Benjamin F. Butler had yet another role to play for the Union cause – help keep New York City peaceful and orderly for the November 8th election. New Yorkers could read his orders 150 years ago today. From The … Continue reading →

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election day forecast

Posted on November 6, 2014 by SUMPTER

threats at home and from abroad Richmond editors shared some information they said they found in Northern papers about the upcoming Yankee presidential election: the United States government warned about a conspiracy to set fire to Northern cities on November … Continue reading →

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campaign mission

Posted on November 5, 2014 by SUMPTER

Two newspapers are definitely represented in the big notebook of Civil War clippings at the Seneca Falls, New York public library: the Seneca Falls Reveille, still published with a different name today, and the Seneca County Courier, which was published … Continue reading →

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“blood-bought franchise”

Posted on November 4, 2014 by SUMPTER

I’ve gone to the polls many times, but I’ve never had to be concerned about the military interfering with my vote. Apparently not so in Civil War Kentucky. From the Richmond Daily Dispatch November 4, 1864: Governor Bramlette, of Kentucky, … Continue reading →

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October surprise?

Posted on November 3, 2014 by SUMPTER

As the 1864 presidential election neared, a Democrat paper claimed that a Union assault on the Petersburg-Richmond front was politically motivated to create good war news for President Lincoln; the administration then covered up the failed attack. From a Seneca … Continue reading →

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just “checker playing,”?

Posted on October 31, 2014 by SUMPTER

A Democratic paper reported lots of evidence that New York soldiers were voting for General McClellan in large majorities. From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in 1864: The Vote in the Army Are the Soldiers for McClellan? A special … Continue reading →

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EXECUTIVE Mansion

Posted on October 30, 2014 by SUMPTER

“The buck stops here,” but President Lincoln did not seem to have any role in the following account – except that a Democrat paper put his name in the headline. Still, it was probably a tasty story for the newspaper’s … Continue reading →

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big purses

Posted on October 29, 2014 by SUMPTER

Despite the manpower shortage, rotten weather, and the annoying “Yankee invasion”, 150 years ago this week residents of Richmond could look forward to horse races at a local track. Apparently jockeys were exempt from the Confederate draft. From the Richmond … Continue reading →

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