Category Archives: 150 Years Ago This Month

puppet show?

Posted on April 10, 2015 by SUMPTER

From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in 1865 (in same column as the April 9, 1865 written communication between Generals Lee and Grant regarding surrender): JAMES REDPATH, the abolition leader, now the Charleston correspondent of the New York Tribune, … Continue reading →

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make love, and war

Posted on April 8, 2015 by SUMPTER

Spring’s not a bad time to celebrate the creative arts. From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in April 1865: A corporal of the 18th New Hampshire regiment was recently taken ill and sent to the hospital, and in a … Continue reading →

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home and way

Posted on April 7, 2015 by SUMPTER

Apparently a Medal of Honor recipient from Seneca Falls, New York was home on furlough during at least some of the dramatic events in the first part of April 1865. Two clippings from Seneca County, New York newspapers in April … Continue reading →

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cold(-hearted) draft

Posted on March 31, 2015 by SUMPTER

Three clippings from Seneca County, New York newspapers in March 1865: The Terrors of the Draft. The hardships of the draft are being seriously felt in many parts of the State. – Families are broken up and in many cases … Continue reading →

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wheels of fortune

Posted on March 26, 2015 by SUMPTER

150 years ago this month the Confederacy had enacted a law to enlist slaves in Southern armies and was beginning the law’s implementation. The draft in the North to implement President Lincoln’s call for 300,000 more troops was plodding along. … Continue reading →

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Brevet Major McDonald

Posted on March 12, 2015 by SUMPTER

Most of the 50th New York Engineers are still participating in the siege of Petersburg and James H. McDonald of Seneca Falls is still in the news. From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in March 1865: BREVETED [sic] MAJOR. … Continue reading →

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capture the flags

Posted on March 2, 2015 by SUMPTER

Some time after the Union Army of the Shenandoah captured most of Jubal Early’s rebel force at the Battle of Waynesboro, Union General Sheridan sent Major Compson of the 8th New York Cavalry to Washington, D.C. to deliver captured battle … Continue reading →

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poor conscription

Posted on February 27, 2015 by SUMPTER

After four years of war it was hard to scrounge up enough new recruits to satisfy the Union government’s draft quotas. The Seneca Falls supervisor was recruiting in New York City. Men were available, but there wasn’t enough money to … Continue reading →

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draft dilemmas

Posted on February 26, 2015 by SUMPTER

150 years ago this month another Union draft was rapidly approaching, but a local town still didn’t know what its quota would be. The town supervisor was down in New York City headhunting for recruits to fill his town’s requirements. … Continue reading →

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fishy business

Posted on February 25, 2015 by SUMPTER

A presumably Democrat paper criticized President Lincoln for using his power of pardon to release a former Baltimore Provost Martial who was convicted of abusing his power. From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in February 1865: COL. FISH PARDONED. … Continue reading →

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