Tag Archives: Ulysses S. Grant

friendly request

Posted on January 19, 2015 by SUMPTER

President Lincoln was trying to please his son Robert, his wife Mary, and his general Grant. He seems pretty confident that the war will soon and finally come to an end. From The Papers And Writings Of Abraham Lincoln, Volume … Continue reading →

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leaden sky ledger

Posted on December 13, 2014 by SUMPTER

As a Richmond paper tallied the military balance sheet for 1864, the conclusion was inescapable – the South had had a great year. From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in 1864: The Military Account Current Between North and South … Continue reading →

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“Our pits are in an awful condition”

Posted on November 21, 2014 by SUMPTER

A young man from Seneca County enlisted for one year in August 1864. Instead of the regiment he signed up for, he was sent to the “Orange Blossoms” from downstate. He was finding picket duty in front of Petersburg pretty … Continue reading →

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October surprise?

Posted on November 3, 2014 by SUMPTER

As the 1864 presidential election neared, a Democrat paper claimed that a Union assault on the Petersburg-Richmond front was politically motivated to create good war news for President Lincoln; the administration then covered up the failed attack. From a Seneca … Continue reading →

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“bulldog grip”

Posted on September 1, 2014 by SUMPTER

Things are a bit slower up here in the country, especially when you publish a non-daily paper. Here’s a digest of some recent operations on two major fronts. From a Seneca County, New York newspaper on September 1, 1864: War … Continue reading →

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a whittlin’ in the sun

Posted on August 11, 2014 by SUMPTER

A Richmond newspaper reprinted the following report, in which a British war correspondent doubts that General Grant and the Union forces were going to defeat the South, with its armies motivated by hatred for the enemy and love of states’ … Continue reading →

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“undermining Petersburg”

Posted on July 23, 2014 by SUMPTER

A Southern correspondent reported that Grant was going to be leaving Petersburg any time soon; if he dug tunnels for mines at Vicksburg, you could expect the same in his latest siege. Price controls were making it impossible for First … Continue reading →

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raise ya 200,000

Posted on July 19, 2014 by SUMPTER

I kinda felt like I was at a card table with the most vigorous prosecutors of the war. From The Papers And Writings Of Abraham Lincoln, Volume Seven: TELEGRAM TO GENERAL U.S. GRANT. EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, July 20, 1864. 4.30 … Continue reading →

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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: 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 … Continue reading →

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“the suppressic veri and the suggestio falsi”

Posted on June 12, 2014 by SUMPTER

going to hurt me more than you? From the June 11, 1864 edition of Harper’s Weekly at Son of the South: Also 150 years ago this week, a Richmond paper noticed that Union Secretary of War Stanton’s telegrams to General … Continue reading →

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