Category Archives: 150 Years Ago This Month

subsidized limbs

Posted on March 7, 2016 by SUMPTER

From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in March 1866: FREE LIMBS. – Soldiers who have lost limbs in the service of the United States, are entitled to artificial substitutes, that can be procured upon the presentation of evidence of … Continue reading →

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no respect

Posted on February 29, 2016 by SUMPTER

It was pitiful enough to find so much idleness, but it was more pitiful to observe that it was likely to continue indefinitely. The war will not have borne proper fruit, if our peace does not speedily bring respect for … Continue reading →

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misguided tour?

Posted on February 1, 2016 by SUMPTER

In a review of a Northern periodical the Richmond Daily Dispatch of December 23, 1865 said visiting yankees ought to be wary of trusting too much in their tour guides: Periodicals. –The January number of the Atlantic Monthly is upon … Continue reading →

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oysters for the vet

Posted on January 27, 2016 by SUMPTER

Even Sumpter will rouse himself for a delicious meal. Also, the following reminded me of local charity dinners nowadays. From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in (probably) January 1866: DONATION TO A SOLDIER. – A donation and oyster supper … Continue reading →

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hero as tour guide

Posted on November 30, 2015 by SUMPTER

Is there not a better future for these men also? The time will come when we shall at least cease to hate them. In the summer of 1865 a correspondent visited Gettysburg two years after the great battle. His very … Continue reading →

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chains into ploughshares

Posted on November 11, 2015 by SUMPTER

A poem from 150 years ago celebrated peace and the victory of freedom and free labor over slavery: From The Atlantic Monthly, VOL. XVI.—NOVEMBER, 1865.—NO. XCVII. ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Our modern Veteran’s Day springs from Armistice Day: The shooting finally stopped … Continue reading →

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the serious, the somber, the sullen …

Posted on October 31, 2015 by SUMPTER

the South. Interested in reading a 115 stanza poem about Abraham Lincoln? You can browse on over to Project Gutenberg and delve into The Atlantic Monthly, VOL. XVI.—OCTOBER, 1865.—NO. XCVI.. Although I did not read it all, one part of … Continue reading →

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American Union Commission report

Posted on October 25, 2015 by SUMPTER

In October 1865 the American Union Commission, “organized to aid in the restoration of the Union upon the basis of freedom, industry, education, and Christian morality,” published a report of its work helping destitute Southerners. It is a 33 page … Continue reading →

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lest we ignore

Posted on September 30, 2015 by SUMPTER

In a September 1865 sermon advocating negro suffrage Henry Ward Beecher reportedly said that the North could take care of all the freed slaves in the South, “but the so doing would be a violation of the fundamental law of … Continue reading →

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It’s up to Uncle Sam

Posted on August 31, 2015 by SUMPTER

For, disguise it as we may, the United States government really holds and exercises the power which gives vitality to the preliminaries of reconstruction, and it is therefore responsible for all evils in the future which shall spring from its … Continue reading →

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