Category Archives: Confederate States of America

in pain

To paraphrase Shelby Foote: Before the Civil War many Americans said “The United States are …”; after the war they said “The United States is. It’s been well-documented how when the war started many Southerners had to choose between their … Continue reading

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that European diet

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch November 10, 1863: Eat Press [Less] meat. –The great scarcity of meats of all kinds in this Confederacy renders it absolutely necessary that all classes should be exceedingly economical in its use, in order to … Continue reading

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and yet so far

Going on three years now Charleston and especially Fort Sumter have been hugely symbolic (New York City Republicans fired a “miniature Fort Sumter” at a Washington’s birthday celebration back in 1861). The Union has been banging away all year, but … Continue reading

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sidewalks are for white folks

And blacks can’t congregate about their churches, even on Sundays This piece made me think of the white settlers in Humboldt County, California back in April 1861. U.S. troops were fighting and killing the troublesome Indians. An editorial said the … Continue reading

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blame boy bureaucrats

According to a Richmond newspaper, “There is no wheat in market” because of the government’s “starvation plan of impressment”, or at least the way it was being implemented by “Beardless and senseless boys”. But who else was there? From the … Continue reading

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ticket to sew

Problem? A Richmond newspaper believes that soldiers’ wives were possibly not being given the preferential treatment they deserved in getting seamstress work at the Clothing Bureau. From the Richmond Daily Dispatch November 2, 1863: Soldiers’ wives. –Complains are frequently made … Continue reading

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Tredegar still hiring

Big surprise – the South’s war economy is still going great guns. From the Richmond Daily Dispatch October 28, 1863: Wanted–1,000 negroes. –We wish to hire for the year 1864, one thousand Negroes, to be employed at the Tredegar Iron … Continue reading

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satire is the best medicine

A New York paper says it is republishing an article from a Richmond newspaper, no date given, that comments on worsening conditions in the Confederacy. How do you house and feed three million people in the Southern capital? The writer … Continue reading

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black gold

Inflation in the Confederacy wasn’t just wreaking havoc on prices for basic needs like flour. Slave prices were at their highest ever in Richmond. From the Richmond Daily Dispatch October 24, 1863: High prices. –The highest prices yet paid for … Continue reading

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Richmond voters against maximum prices

150 years ago yesterday a referendum was held in Richmond so that voters could let their state representatives know whether or not the voters supported the “maximum bill” (price controls) that was being considered by the Virginia legislature. It didn’t … Continue reading

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