Category Archives: Confederate States of America

beef prices

It’s been almost six months since the Richmond Bread Riot, but scarcity and inflation are still making life difficult in Richmond. Here a group of butchers are willing to comply with a government request that they regulate their beef prices … Continue reading

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loads and loads of money

print away our problems? Well, not really, as the editors at the Richmond Whig understood. From The New-York Times September 25, 1863: The following paragraphs are from the [Richmond] Whig, of the 23d: … PAINFUL SIGHT. It is nothing unusual … Continue reading

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fierce battle near Crawfish Springs

Read all about day One at the Battle of Chickamauga at Civil War Daily Gazette. Here’s an early report from the battlefield. From The New-York Times September 21, 1863: HIGHLY IMPORTANT.; A Great Battle Fought Near Chattanooga. The Engagement of … Continue reading

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Charley Green

We know that women disguised themselves as men so they could serve in the ranks during the war. Some even served while pregnant. But to the extent that this story is true, “Charley’s” wound at Manassas is interesting – if … Continue reading

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no resale allowed

Melon Market Speculation? From the Richmond Daily Dispatch September 16, 1863: Violating a Market ordinance. –Barbers McDonald, Catherine Welsh, and Margaret Sullivan, three Irish women, were fined $5 for buying watermelons in the market to sell again. The melons were … Continue reading

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“whiskey-drinking odor about it”

150 years ago today The New-York Times praised Abraham Lincoln’s letter to James Conkling defending his Emancipation Proclamation and the use of black troops to fight the rebellion. Mr. Conkling read the letter to a pro-Union mass meeting in Springfield, … Continue reading

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four hundred pound supper

It might not be a coincidence that that the same issue of the Richmond Daily Dispatch that praised the Confederate armies also published a letter written by George Washington that expressed his concern with the seeming apathy of Americans not … Continue reading

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“the most perfect stagnation”

It’s been quiet along the major Eastern front. The Army of Northern Virginia is keeping busy with drills and reviews, the latter attended by women spectators. The soldiers seem to be well-fed and desertions are down, thanks to General Lee’s … Continue reading

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Jeff’s Emancipation Proclamation?

From The New-York Times August 30, 1863: VERY IMPORTANT NEWS.; The Last Rebel Card Played by Jeff. Davis. Call for Five Hundred Thousand Negro Troops. Their Freedom and Fifty Acres of Land Promised to Them. Four Rebel War Vessels Run … Continue reading

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well corked canteens

150 years ago today folks in Richmond could read about the ingenuity and daring of some Confederate prisoners of war who escaped from Fort Delaware and/or the recently built barracks on Pea Patch Island. From the Richmond Daily Dispatch August … Continue reading

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