Category Archives: Confederate States of America

insurrection bad

Posted on June 2, 2014 by SUMPTER

Nothing new here. For the South to win its war for independence, the South has to guard against negro insurrections. In fact, slaveown shouldn’t even let their slaves go at large. From the Richmond Daily Dispatch June 2, 1864: Charged … Continue reading →

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capital gratitude

Posted on May 28, 2014 by SUMPTER

150 years ago this week VMI cadets were in Richmond, where the were thanked for their valor in helping the Confederates win the Battle of New Market. Governor “Extra Billy” Smith also presented them with a new flag. From the … Continue reading →

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deconstructing Bobby Lee

Posted on May 23, 2014 by SUMPTER

From The New-York Times May 23, 1864: The Chivalry of the Rebel Gen. Lee. “When monkeys are gods, what must the people be?” ROBERT E. LEE, Commander of the rebel army, is deemed the paragon of Southern chivalry. The rebels … Continue reading →

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headbanger

Posted on May 15, 2014 by SUMPTER

Grant is beating his head against a wall. 150 years ago today Walter Herron Taylor, an aide to General Robert E. Lee, got off a letter to his beloved Bettie. From Lee’s Adjutant: The Wartime Letters of Colonel Walter Herron … Continue reading →

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printers to the front

Posted on May 12, 2014 by SUMPTER

150 years ago a Richmond paper couldn’t give its readers as much war news as it would have liked because its some of it employees were called to military duty. However, people could rest assured: General Lee telegraphed that the … Continue reading →

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no more fiddling

Posted on May 2, 2014 by SUMPTER

I’ve heard it said that, in general, we should trust sources closest to the date of a historical event. People can lie any time, but our memory sure can play tricks as time moves on and on. Here a member … Continue reading →

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aiding and abedding

Posted on April 29, 2014 by SUMPTER

Desperation sure can lead to some creativity. Here a soldier and his friends used a “novel mode” to try to escape the military, but the Confederate authorities eventually got their man. The Richmond paper reminded their readers about the high … Continue reading →

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guano gone

Posted on April 25, 2014 by SUMPTER

The CSS Alabama is still at work disrupting commerce on the high seas. Here’s how Raphael Semmes, the ship’s commander, remembered the pursuit and capture of a boat full of fertilizer 150 years ago this week. From Memoirs of Service … Continue reading →

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“attracted a great crowd”

Posted on April 21, 2014 by SUMPTER

The dates in the following articles don’t seem to match up just right, but it does seem that by 150 years ago tonight a Yankee female surgeon was locked up in Castle Thunder. From the Richmond Daily Dispatch April 22, … Continue reading →

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farm administration

Posted on April 14, 2014 by SUMPTER

Bureaucracy: Interpret, Enforce, Modify In February 1864 the Confederate Congress passed a 35 page Law In Regard To Taxes, Currency and Conscription. The Bureau of Conscription apparently changed the rules for farm exemptions a month or so afterwards. Contiguous small … Continue reading →

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