convert

Posted on July 7, 2014 by SUMPTER

I don’t know how accurate the folowing letter is, but it would seem to have been quite a propaganda coup for a Democrat paper, especially during the 1864 presidential campaign. The Lincoln administration was too abolitionist for this letter-writing Republican editor who went to war. And he can only get accurate news from Democratic publications.

From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in 1864:

A Soldiers Letter.

The following letter is from the editor of a Republican paper, published in Wyoming county in this State. The letter was dated near Petersburg, July 8th, 1864:

Northern coat of arms (Entered . . . 1864 by J.E. Cutler in the District Court of . . . Mass. Probably drawn by Joseph E. Baker, Boston; LOC: LC-USZ62-19673)

“Northern coat of arms”

Dear Wife. – A great many want to know, I suppose, how the last battle went. My answer is, invariably, that we have had but one, and that commenced on the 5th of May last. The soldiers all console themselves with the belief that this season will end the war, and I believe so myself. If we can’t whip them by fall we never can. The soldiers will stand it no longer. They will go for a new administration. In fact, I have changed my views from what they were when I left home. There is too much nigger in the present administration, and too many lies published in newspapers. I find if I want to approximate anywhere the truth, I have to take it from Democratic newspapers.

Inclosed you will find a silver dollar, (if it ever reaches you) which I send to the little “cherub,” and one which I prize quite highly for two reasons; and one is, because they are scarce, and the other is because it is a relic from the battle field near Petersburg, and was once the, [sic] property of some Reb. I picked it up shortly after the battle. H.A. TIFEANY.

You can read about the 1864 political cartoon at the Library of Congress

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Week, Northern Politics During War, Northern Society, Overland Campaign, Siege of Petersburg, The election of 1864 | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

bridge engineers

Posted on July 5, 2014 by SUMPTER

News filtered back that a soldier from Seneca Falls and his men did good work building a bridge for the Army of the Potomac in June. From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in July 1864:

THE 50TH N.Y. ENGINEERS. – A correspondent of the Rochester Union with the 50th N.Y. Engineers, gives quite an interesting account of the building of a bridge across the Chickahominy on the 12th ult., by the 3d battalion of the 50th Engineers, including Co. K., the whole under the command of Capt. JAS. H. MCDONALD, of this village, now acting major of the regiment.

You can read an overview of the 50th’s work during the Overland Campaign at To the Sound of the Guns. According to a chart Major George W. Ford was the “Officer in command of train” for both bridges built on June 12th.

The Army of the Potomac crossing the Chicahominy at Long Bridge (by Edwin Forbes, 1864 June 12; LOC: LC-DIG-ppmsca-20711)

The Army of the Potomac crossing the Chicahominy at Long Bridge

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good time in the grove

Posted on July 4, 2014 by SUMPTER

From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in 1864:

FOURTH OF JULY IN TYRE. – The patriotic citizens of Tyre have procured a monument which is to be erected to the memory of the deceased Soldiers from that town. It is to be placed in the cemetery near the residence of JASON SMITH, Esq. The dedication of the monument is to take place in the grove near the cemetery on the Fourth of July. An obituary address will be given by Rev. P.E. SMITH, an oration by Rev. W.H. GOODWIN, of Geneva. The Exercises are to commence at 10 A.M. After the close of the exercises, there is to be a Pic Nic in the grove, each family furnishing their own refreshments. A good time is expected.

According to a history of Seneca County, Jason Smith was a veteran of the War of 1812. He volunteered for the Union army in 1862, but was rejected by New York Governor Morgan as too old, especially given a sufficient number of younger men and Jason’s prior service in the war against English aggression. Jason would have been 67 or 68 when he volunteered, I think. Rev. P.E. Smith was Jason’s son.

There were Pic Nics further south, too. The 50th New York Engineers were kept busy during the Overland Campaign:

During the operations of the Army of the Potomac in May and June, 1864, the main work of the regiment was that of laying bridges at various points, notably one 2,010 feet long, across the James. At Petersburg the regiment was in demand at all points for work of construction and repair on the fortifications, and it also assisted in destroying railroads. During its long service the men became very proficient in engineering and through its steadiness under fire is said to have lost during the last year of its service no bridge material of any kind.

It looks like 150 years ago today the regiment’s officers took a break and got together to enjoy a Independence Day dinner. Was Seneca County’s James H. McDonald at table?

Views in camp of 50th New York Engineers in front of Petersburg, Va. (by Timothy H. O'Sullivan; photographed 1864; LOC: LC-DIG-ppmsca-33116)

“Celebrating the 4th of July, 1864, in front of Petersburg. Lt. Col. Ira Spaulding and officers of the 50th N.Y.V. Engineers at dinner”

Views in camp of 50th New York Engineers in front of Petersburg, Va. (by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, photographed 1864; LOC: LC-DIG-ppmsca-33115)

different take on same dinner

________________________________________________

Thomas Nast did up Independence day 1864 for the July 16, 1864 issue of Harper’s Weekly (at Son of the South:

july-fourth-1200 (by Thomas Nast, Harper's Weekly 7-16-1864)

American Flag – “Protector Of All Rights”

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first anniversary

Posted on July 3, 2014 by SUMPTER

A year after Gettysburg, General Meade reflected on his great victory in a letter to his wife. From The Life and Letters of George Gordon Meade … (page 210):

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, July 3. 1864.

We are not doing much at present; the great heat and the dust, together with the exhausted condition of the men, imposed a quiet on us which the enemy does not seem disposed to disturb.

The story of Gettysburg Music composed for the piano,

1864 sheet music

To-day is the anniversary of the last day’s fight at Gettysburg. As I reflect on that eventful period, and all that has elapsed since, I have reason to be satisfied with my course, and cause to be most thankful. The longer this war continues the more will Gettysburg and its results be appreciated. Colonel de Chanal, who is still with me, says he studied the battle, with maps at Pau, but had no idea that on its anniversary he should be the guest of the victorious commander. He says that in Europe it was looked on as a great battle.

It is said that Washington is very unhealthy, and that many of our wounded are dying there. It is strange; the health of the army never was better – we have no sickness at all. But if we are kept here, I presume, as the summer advances, we must expect considerable sickness.

The July 1,2,3 thing usually wakes me up every year, so it’s not surprising that General Meade would be very aware of the anniversary. I was surprised that his antagonist in the battle, Robert Lee, was on the cover of the July 2, 1864 issue of Harper’s Weekly, which was pretty much pro-Union, pro-war, and pro-Lincoln. The paper gave the Confederate grudging admiration as “unquestionably a consummate master of the art of war. That superiority, indeed, was acquired at the expense and under the patronage of the Government he is now endeavoring to destroy; but this does not alter the fact.” Harper’s might have been trying to explain how General Grant and over 100,000 Union troops couldn’t beat Lee and his army after two months of an intense campaign, but the timing seems ironic on the anniversary of one of Lee’s big defeats.

You can see the image and read the bio at Son of the South

An incident of Gettysburg - the last thought of a dying father (Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, (1864 Jan. 2), p. 236.)

“An incident of Gettysburg – the last thought of a dying father” (Frank Leslie’s 1-2-1864)

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“the solitary blunder”

Posted on July 2, 2014 by SUMPTER

A Southern take on the North’s coming celebration of July 4th and the Declaration of Independence: the United States was abrogating all the principles of the Declaration except for its one mistake – the idea that “all men are created equal”. This editorial’s last paragraph echoes Alexander Stephens’ Cornerstone speech from way back in March 1861.

Civil War envelope showing eagle with American flag attacking 7-star Confederate flag (between 1861 and 1864; LOC: LC-DIG-ppmsca-31730)

American eagle attacking the CSA

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch July 2, 1864:

The Fourth of July.

The great national festival of the United States will be celebrated this year with uncommon spirit. On the last anniversary Grant occupied Vicksburg; this Fourth, crowning glory of all, he is to take Richmond. With the capture of Richmond, the war is to end, the principal rebels be executed, the plantations and negroes of the South pass to Northern proprietors, its mighty States dwindle into subjugated territories, and the Republic move on with a momentum and majesty which will astonish and overawe the world. The American eagle, with one wing overshadowing the Atlantic and the other the Pacific, and with the Southern Confederacy struggling helplessly in his talons, will soar aloft, giving a scream that will scare the British Lion out of his wits, and make the Gallic cock “skedaddle” like a Shanghai. Oh, puissant and irresistible Ulysses! Oh, memorable and immortal 4th of July, 1864!

We consider it an unfortunate thing that the 4th of July does not occur in December. The thermometer ought to indicate the freezing point when a man reads the Declaration of Independence to a Northern audience at such a time as this. He must be a cool man naturally, and ought to have a refrigerator for a rostrum, who has the face to go through that document before a public assembly, from the clause which asserts that “all governments derive their just power from the consent of the governed,” down to the final article in the long list of royal outrages– “he has excited domestic insurrection among us.” There is not a wrong alleged nor a grievance enumerated in that instrument which Lincoln has not perpetrated and surpassed. To denounce a defunct king of England for deeds which an American President is eulogized for performing, is an enterprise which no ordinary mortal would undertake in this weather.

Declaration of Independence (no date recorded on shelflist card; LOC: LC-DIG-pga-00368)

Moses was a Virginian, of course

These are the circumstances which must add to the difficulty of such a performance. Such for example as the fact the “the day they celebrate” dawned from the sky of that Virginia which they are now seeking to rend and devious [devour?]; that it was Richard Henry Lee, delegate from Virginia, who, by instructions from his constituents, rose in that dreadful hour, and moved the resolution of Independence; that it was Thomas Jefferson of Virginia who drafted the Declaration whose anniversary they celebrate; that it was George Washington, of Virginia, whose mighty chieftainship made that Declaration good. To add, new glories to the 4th of July by crushing Virginia forever to the dust, is a conception which could enter none but the brains of a “peculiar people.” To carry among their trophies on the 4th, a shattered lamp, whose golden light illumined the midnight that blackened between Bunker Hill and Yorktown, a triumph that no hearts but theirs could glory in.

declar-of-independence-1

Nix that equality idea, gentlemen

Happily for us, they can enjoy that feast only in imagination. Their demigod Ulysses has failed to furnish their populace the promised entertainment. The capture of Richmond on the 4th of July has not come off according to the programme. Nevertheless, let the Northern patriots be content. If they have not taken the capital, they have burned the farm-houses, devastated the fields, and plundered the defenceless population of a State which gave them the Aaron, whose lips pronounced the Declaration of their freedom, and the Moses whose valor led them through the desert.

The only doctrine of the whole Declaration which the North can consistently rejoice in, is that which asserts the equality of man, and which is the solitary blunder in that great document. That all men are created equal; that they are equal politically, morally or socially; that they are equals in any other than a religious sense, is too evident an absurdity gravely to discuss. But this single falsity has swallowed up in the Northern mind all the great truths and principles of constitutional liberty. It is this, as applied specially to the ignorant and debased Africans, which is the mainspring of the most infernal war known in modern times. It is this which blinds the North to the supreme folly of celebrating their own freedom by endeavoring to enslave others; of degrading themselves to the level of the black and endeavoring to produce by miscegenation that uniformity which the God of Nature had forbidden, and of glorying in their shame.

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Week, Confederate States of America, Siege of Petersburg, Southern Society | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“on the edge of Niagara”

Posted on July 1, 2014 by SUMPTER
Phillips, Wendell (between 1865 and 1880; LOC: LC-DIG-cwpbh-05177)

a non-voter who “could neither give nor take office under the present Constitution”

A famous abolitionist was pretty unimpressed with the author of the Emancipation Proclamation.

From The New-York Times July 1, 1864:

WENDELL PHILLIPS ON THE ADMINISTRATION.; Reasons Why He Cannot Support Lincoln and Johnson–Mr. Lincoln’s Re-election a Public Calamity.

To the Editor of the Independent:

You refer to me in your notice last week of the Cleveland Convention, and seem to think I should wish, if fully informed, to withdraw from that movement. I believe I am fully informed in regard to it — at least your article suggests nothing new to me — and I have no wish to withdraw from it. * * * * I am glad and proud to be identified with such a movement, and history will forever guard the fact that the Cleveland Convention was the first political body of Americans to make that claim, and to plant itself fairly on the Declaration of Independence, in which they are, at once, consistent, statesmanlike and just. The next generation will see and acknowledge that the men who demanded that step knew their times better, and served them more efficiently, than the author of the Emancipation Proclamation of January, 1863.

The next merit of Cleveland is its protest against the fast-growing despotism of an Administration which never shows vigor except against single individuals and in the quiet streets of New-York and Boston, but is imbecile and submissive in Tennessee and New-Orleans. If, in the profound peace of New-York, and without necessity, the President usurps all the power of Congress and the Judiciary — as in the Arguelles case — or wholly suppresses the Senate by sending his tool FRANK P. BLAIR to command an army without the shadow of a commission, it is time to ask where we are. If these things are done in the green tree, what may we expect in the dry? Ever since 1861 I have done what I could to point out the dangerous tendency of this use of despotic power. Its necessary use is alarming; the moment it outgoes the strict limits of that necessity, it should arouse the most vigilant attention and rebuke.

The only other article of the Baltimore Platform, in which the influence of Cleveland can be traced, is that meaningless and hypocritical one supposed to relate to a change in the Cabinet; an attempt to say nothing and yet save appearances — an attempt, the first half of which was successful. The Baltimore men knew then, and know now, that Mr. LINCOLN neither plans nor will consent to change his Cabine[t] unless he is forced to do it by a pressure outside his party and so strong as to make it tremble.

You dread a union between Cleveland and the Democrats. I should welcome it. The only question is the terms of such union. I am not myself a voter, and could neither give nor take office under the present Constitution. But any Democrat who will join me in securing a union without a slave, and with every man, black or white, equal before the law, I shall be glad to work with. If Cleveland imitates the Republican party, and to win office deserts its principles, then I shall desert Cleveland. But as the party now in power has betrayed us and left us only one chance in three of saving the Union, I am disposed to try any other which gives its adhesion to right principles.

In ordinary times, politics is of little interest to me. But to-day the nation hangs on the edge of Niagara. I have some hope, though but little expectation, that it will be saved under its present leaders. Duty bids me make every effort to insure its safety. Hence I joined the Cleveland Convention, as a protest against the calamity of Mr. LINCOLN’s reelection. I still trust that it may be made effectual to prevent that disaster. I hope the sound portion of the Democratic party — lovers of their country — will accept an Anti-Slavery basis of action and join us. To achieve such a union is my present effort. I gave the Republican Administration generous confidence for three years. Compromising, purposeless, halting, cowardly, they have disgusted their own supporters and well nigh wrecked the nation. That way ruin lies. I am anxious, at least, to try another. Watchful in the past against deceit, I shall watch as vigilantly in the future, and when the Cleveland movement commits folly, I shall rebuke and desert it. At present, its existence is almost my only hope of anything good being bullied out of this Administration.

It is too early to form any opinion of the result of the coming canvass. GRANT carries the decision of it on the point of his sword. If we of Cleveland fall, I shall not be surprised. Perfectly well aware that compromise is the essence of politics, and indispensibly necessary to success at the ballot-box, I should be more surprised to succeed. Indeed, the hour of such success would be the one when I should most anxiously reexamine my own position. Let me commend to you the same caution.

columbia-cartoon (HW 7-2-1864)

(Lincoln in his …on his head?) THAT’S WHAT’S THE TROUBLE WITH JOHN C.
MRS. COLUMBIA. “Tell me, DOCTOR, what is the matter with him? Do you think his Brain is affected?”
DOCTOR JONATHAN. “Oh! no, my dear MADAM ; it’s only a rather aggravated case of Sore Head!”

Unless, however, some union takes place among the opponents of the Administration, I have little expectation that the North Will finally succeed, except on the basis worse than defeat. If the North does triumph, I shall always look back to the Cleveland Convention as one of the most efficient contributions to that success.

Last, as to the nominees of the Cleveland Convention: I have confidence in the Anti-Slavery purpose of JOHN C. FREMONT; and I wait to see the policy which he and his political friends will adopt for the accomplishment of that purpose. As events unfold, I shall take my guidance in them, and shall take fit opportunity to express my opinion. I know the nature of politicians — how little to be trusted. Whether we shall be able to trust the Democratic party in this crisis, is yet uncertain; that we cannot trust the voluntary action of the Republican party is proved.

My motto is “The Country,” and I welcome any man’s aid to save it. If Chicago comes to Cleveland, I shall welcome its aid. If any of us quit Cleveland and go to Chicago. I shall not follow.

Yours respectfully, WENDELL PHILLIPS.

The political cartoon that differed with Wendell Phillips on the relative merits of Lincoln and Fremont was published in the July 2, 1862 issue of Harper’s Weekly at Son of the South

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onions, pickles …

Posted on June 30, 2014 by SUMPTER

and water

NY Times 6-30-1864

NY Times 6-30-1864

The United States Sanitary Commission was accepting donations of produce for the Army of the Potomac.

From The New-York Times June 30, 1864:

ONIONS FOR THE ARMY

Arrangements having been made for the transportation of vegetables to the Army of the Potomac, those disposed to give, either in money or in vegetables, can send the money to the subscribers, or inform them where the vegetables are to be had, on Friday next, July 1.

CHAS. N. MARSHALL, No. 38 Burling-slip.

GEO. W. BLUNT, No. 179 Wator-street.

THE SANITARY COMMISSION WILL RECEIVE ONIONS AND OTHER VEGETABLES.

We are now authorized to state that the Sanitary Commission will receive and receipt for any and all moneys that may be sent to them for this purpose, and that they will also attend to the shipment of any and all supplies in kind, by which phrase we mean quantities of fresh onions or other vegetables, which may be sent to the commission in barrels or boxes, by farmers or other persons, who do not find it convenient to spare money at this time, but who chance to have, in their own barns or cellars, a store of the vegetables which are so much needed by our noble boys at the front.

All supplies sent by the Sanitary Commission will be forwarded free of transportation charges, inasmuch as the Commission own their own ships and steamers, and have to pay freight charges to no one.

All money that the donors desire to have devoted to the special object herein mentioned should be addressed to “Mr. GEORGE T. STRONG, Treasurer United States Sanitary Commission, No. 823 Broadway, New-York City.”

Barrels, boxes or packages of vegetables, fruits, pickles, &c., intended to supply this immediate demand, should be addressed to “The Woman’s Central Relief Association, No. 10 Cooper Union, New-York City.”

Apparently people in Petersburg had been suffering for want of an even more basic need. The New-York Times from 150 years ago today reported the “severe lack of water” for the Union army at Petersburg. The thirty day drought meant that “It is with the utmost difficulty that men and animals get even a scanty supply of water.” There is some evidence that Petersburg got some rain on June 26th.

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suffering in the trenches

Posted on June 28, 2014 by SUMPTER
Sharpshooters 18th Corps (by Alfred Waud, July 1864; LOC: LC-DIG-ppmsca-21251)

Union sharpshooters 18th Corps, Petersburg, July 1864

Sharpshooters making men lie low in extreme heat

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch June 28, 1864:

From the Southside.

Saturday was an extremely hot and dusty the even the usual sharpshooting and picket firing between the armies in front of Petersburg were indulged in to a very limited extent. There were a few casualties from these causes. The breastworks of the two armies are now only about 300 yards apart, and it does not require very sharp shooting on either side to bring down the object armed at. The Petersburg Express, of yesterday, has the following:

About eleven o’clock Saturday night there was a sharp fire of musketry on the centre of our lines, and it was reported yesterday that the enemy made an assault upon our breast works, but inquiry at headquarters did not confirm this report.

Yesterday like Saturday, was very warm, and one men suffered greasily [greatly?] in the trenches, without shade along a greater portion of the lines, and on account of the watchfulness of sharpshooters, unable to raise their heads above the breast works to get even what little air their was. There was one consolation with the many disagreeable features of our situation, and that was, that the enemy suffered equally from like causes with ourselves. Last evening the sky became overcast with clouds and there was a slight sprinkle of rain. This was the first fall which has visited this action for nearly a month, and it was most gladly welcomed by all.

There was heavy cannonading on our centre yesterday about 11 o’clock, and for a while the impression prevailed among our citizens that a fight was brewing. But the firing was discontinued in less than thirty minutes, and matters remained unusually quiet during the balance of the day.

The Southern railroad is still inoperative, the enemy being within the vicinity of the Six site House in large force. But this does not place the city nor Gen Lee’s army in a state of siege. We are still in communication with many portions of the South, and can stand such a siege as Grant thinks he has estabitioned [established?] for twenty years to come.

_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

An assassination in Serbia 150 years ago today led to a world war that was dominated by trenches on the western front.

NY Times 6-29-1914

NY Times 6-29-1914

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YMCA appeal

Posted on June 27, 2014 by SUMPTER

Not enough work and/or supplies for all the refugees

On June 25th the Richmond Dispatch editors alluded to the city’s increased population. The following appeal is more evidence of overcrowding. Since there were destitute refugees from all over the Confederacy living in Richmond, the YMCA is asking for help from throughout the Confederacy. From the Richmond Daily Dispatch June 27, 1864:

An appeal to the people of the Confederate States

–The Directors of the Young Men’s Christian Association of Richmond respectfully, but earnestly, submit to the benevolent and the patriotic throughout the Confederate States an appeal in behalf of the soldiers’ families in this city. Since the commencement of the war Richmond has been a refuge for those who have been driven from their homes by our ruthless enemies. Thousands of helpless woman and children, not from the devastated counties of Virginia alone, but from nearly every State of the Confederacy, have sought an asylum in our midst. Our citizens have been appealed to in numberless instances to relieve the sick and wounded soldiers, to finish [furnish?] shoes and clothing for soldiers in the field and hospital, and to afford food and shelter for their suffering families, and nobly have they, in the great majority of instances, responded to every appeal.

The supplies of provisions in the city at this time are so reduced, and the difficulties of obtaining others by ordinary means so numerous and great, that the funds contributed for the relief of the poor can accomplish but little in purchasing the necessaries of life.

In a written report from the Clothing Bureau it appears that there are more than three thousand females in this city who are seeking employment from the Government in vain, and that those who obtain work are not fully employed. The wages received for their work will not enable these poor women to procure a sufficiency of the plainest food for themselves and children. Without assistance, then, from the city and country generally, many instances of actual starvation must have occurred. Our City Council has made most liberal appropriations for the purchase of supplies, both for gratuitous distribution and for sale at cost; but the agents employed for the purpose have not been able to procure the quantity of provisions required.

Under these circumstances we feel that it is our duty to appeal to our fellow-citizens throughout the Confederate States to forward, without delay, contributions of money and supplies to the Army Committee of this association. Since the commencement of the war this Committee has labored zealously and faithfully for the temporal and spiritual welfare of our soldiers and their families, and for the success of our glorious cause. Let those soldiers not be discouraged now, upon the eve of our severest, and, as we trust, our last and most glorious campaign, for want of the generous sympathy and support of their friends at home.

Shipments made to Roger Martin, Superintendent, or Wm P Munford, Chairman of the Army Committee, will be promptly attended to. And in accordance with a special agreement made with the Superintendent of the Southern Express Company, all express charges will be paid by them at Richmond.

Contributions of money should also be sent to these gentlemen.

Wm Willis, Jr, Pres.

J D K Straight, Secretary.

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cat fight

Posted on June 26, 2014 by SUMPTER

From the June 25, 1864 issue of Harper’s Weekly at Son of the South:

cat-fight (Harper's Weekly, 6-25-1864)


ABOUT THE SIZE OF IT.
GENERAL GRANT. ” Well, and what if it should come to a kilkenny fight ? I guess Our Cat has got the longest tail!”

It wasn’t just Grant that was determined. On June 24, 1864 General Meade, commander of the Army of the Potomac, expressed a desire for peace but also an understanding that the war would have to be persevered in. From The Life and Letters of George Gordon Meade … (page 207):

… In flags of truce, and on all occasions that we meet the rebel officers, they always begin conversations by asking when the war is going to be over, and expressing themselves as most heartily tired and anxious for peace. I believe these two armies would fraternize and make peace in an hour, if the matter rested with them; not on terms to suit politicians on either side, but such as the world at large would acknowledge as honorable, and which would be satisfactory to the mass of people on both sides. But while I ardently desire peace, and think a settlement not impracticable, I am opposed to any cessation of our efforts so long as the war has to be continued, and I regret to see symptoms of a discontent which, if persisted in, must paralyze our cause …

Left to his druthers, General Meade might not have opted for Grant’s relentless 1864 campaign.

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Week, Military Matters, Overland Campaign, Siege of Petersburg | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment