Tag Archives: Robert E. Lee

temple tussle

Posted on December 23, 2020 by SUMPTER

The day before the 1860 U.S. presidential election the governor of South Carolina advised secession in the event of Abraham Lincoln’s probable victory. Thanks to the telegraph, that news got up North very quickly. On Election Day, November 6, 1860, … Continue reading →

Posted in 160 Years Ago, Secession and the Interregnum, Slavery, The election of 1860 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

the three exemptions

Posted on November 26, 2020 by SUMPTER

Apparently 150 years ago the United States was free from pestilence and civil strife: BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas it behooves a people sensible of their dependence on the Almighty publicly and collectively … Continue reading →

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a death on campus

Posted on October 12, 2020 by SUMPTER

It was a damp, chilly afternoon in Lexington, Virginia. A heavy rain set in that eventually resulted in some severe flooding. September 28, 1870 was a long day for Robert E. Lee, the president of Washington College. According to Colonel … Continue reading →

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

feeding frenzy

Posted on April 8, 2019 by SUMPTER

You could say it’s a (very brief) tale of five Union generals. When Ulysses S. Grant became President of the United States in March 1869 he promoted his friend William T. Sherman to be the Commanding General of the U.S. … Continue reading →

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late summer of ’68

Posted on September 29, 2018 by SUMPTER

Some headlines from early September 1868. Statewide elections in Vermont resulted in large Republican majorities. The Georgia legislature expelled twenty-five black representatives (New York Times September 4, 1868). After a conference at White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, Union General William … Continue reading →

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Month, Aftermath, Postbellum Politics, Postbellum Society, Reconstruction, Southern Society, The election of 1868 | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lost in Lexington

Posted on July 4, 2018 by SUMPTER

According to documentation at the Library of Congress, Washington College in Lexington, Virginia held commencement exercises on June 18, 1868. A northern newspaper was disgruntled by a report from an unnamed source about some activities (toasts) during an alumni supper … Continue reading →

Posted in 150 Years Ago, Aftermath, Postbellum Politics, Postbellum Society, Reconstruction, Southern Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lincoln memorial

Posted on February 12, 2018 by SUMPTER

In its February 10, 1918 issue the New York Tribune published a page of photos commemorating Abraham Lincoln, probably to honor the sixteenth president’s 109th birthday (February 12th): In a February 13, 1918 article from Petersburg The New-York Times reported … Continue reading →

Posted in 100 Years Ago, American Culture, American History, American Society, World War I | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

family reunion

Posted on June 8, 2017 by SUMPTER

This is the Showing forth of the Inquiry of Herodotus of Halicarnassos, to the end that neither the deeds of men may be forgotten by lapse of time, nor the works great and marvellous, which have been produced some by … Continue reading →

Posted in 100 Years Ago, Aftermath, American History, American Society, Battlefields, Postbellum Society, Reconstruction, Southern Society, Veterans, World War I | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

2,111 unknown

Posted on September 30, 2016 by SUMPTER

150 years ago this month the Civil War Unknowns Monument was sealed at Arlington National Cemetery. Although Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs intended the monument to honor Union soldiers, Confederate soldiers were probably also included because all the skeletons were … Continue reading →

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concord in Lexington

Posted on October 2, 2015 by SUMPTER

On October 2, 1865 Robert E. Lee was inaugurated as president of Washington College in Lexington, Virginia – and signed an amnesty oath pledging allegiance to the United States and all its laws, including those regarding the emancipation of slaves. … Continue reading →

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