Tag Archives: trenches

“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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calling on negroes, the disabled

Posted on September 12, 2014 by SUMPTER

… and legislators? “X” from Petersburg is concerned about getting more men into the Confederacy’s armies to try to at least partially offset additions to Northern forces. From the Richmond Daily Dispatch September 12, 1864: From General Lee’s Army. (From … Continue reading →

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suffering in the trenches

Posted on June 28, 2014 by SUMPTER

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 … Continue reading →

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duckin’, dodgin’, and dirt

Posted on June 10, 2014 by SUMPTER

In the trenches at Cold Harbor. The first part of this letter might be an example of gallows humor, especially since Chaplain Scott just missed getting shot in the head. From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in 1864: LETTERS … Continue reading →

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