Author Archives: SUMPTER

‘demi-deity’ in bronze

Apparently some people politicized public monuments 150 years ago. From the October 8, 1870 issue of Punchinello (at Project Gutenberg): “SOLEMN SILENCE.” Perhaps very few persons—and especially very few members of the Republican party—are aware that a monument to ABRAHAM … Continue reading

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define citizen

The magic number was .75, or at least that was the magic constant and had been since the U.S. federal constitution was promulgated in 1788. According to Article 5 of the Constitution, a proposed amendment that has been approved by … Continue reading

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peanut prophecy

From the July 16, 1870 issue of Harper’s Weekly: PEA-NUTS. OUR illustration on this page represents a scene which is perfectly familiar to those who have visited our Southern cities; and we dare say some of our readers who have … Continue reading

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reading the reasons

On July 2, 1776 the Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia voted for independence from Great Britain. On July 4th the Congress agreed to the words in the written Declaration. July 8th was a “great day of celebration” in Philadelphia as … Continue reading

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“Eighty-odd years since …”

The Fourth of July 1863 was a glad day for the Union during the American Civil War. Rebels surrendered Vicksburg, Mississippi to Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant, and that evening the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia began to … Continue reading

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virtual vacation

Apparently some people weren’t venturing too far from home 150 years ago. What they might have been missing: I’m so old I sort of remember when they turned off the American Falls when I was going to school. As it … Continue reading

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lapping it up

Here’s a man that might have fit right in with Stonewall Jackson’s foot cavalry – except that he hailed from north of Mason-Dixon. From Harper’s Weekly June 11, 1870: WESTON, THE PEDESTRIAN. WE give on this page a portrait of … Continue reading

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floral tributes

From the May 31, 1870 issue of The New-York Times. Except the day on which is celebrated the independence of these United States, there is no day that calls out the patriotic feelings of our people more than “Memorial Day.” … Continue reading

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spring chicken

____________________ Come to find out, Meherrin Station Virginia is the site of a historical marker which commemorates two Civil War-related events. Federal cavalry units were in the area during the Wilson–Kautz Raid in late June 1864. The raid’s mission was … Continue reading

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Old Pap gone

I first knew of him as “The Rock of Chickamauga.” In September 1863 Union General George H. Thomas and his men held off the Confederate Army of Tennessee while about a third of the Union Army of the Cumberland was … Continue reading

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