Category Archives: Reconstruction

nothing to see year

Posted on January 1, 2021 by SUMPTER

At least not over here. The Chicago Tribune used its January 1, 1871 issue to review the old year. According to the paper, the recent-history-perusing side of Janus would have been kind of bored looking at events in the United … Continue reading →

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guns and egg-nog

Posted on December 25, 2020 by SUMPTER

And the firecrackers look like fun, too As Reconstruction was presumably trudging on, a New York City newspaper provided its readers with a couple glimpses of Christmas celebrations from the land down under, down under the Mason-Dixon line. From Harper’s … Continue reading →

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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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peanut prophecy

Posted on August 8, 2020 by SUMPTER

From the July 16, 1870 issue of Harper’s Weekly: PEA-NUTS. OUR illustration on this page represents a scene which is perfectly familiar to those who have visited our Southern cities; and we dare say some of our readers who have … Continue reading →

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spring chicken

Posted on May 14, 2020 by SUMPTER

____________________ Come to find out, Meherrin Station Virginia is the site of a historical marker which commemorates two Civil War-related events. Federal cavalry units were in the area during the Wilson–Kautz Raid in late June 1864. The raid’s mission was … Continue reading →

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ebony and ivory

Posted on February 25, 2020 by SUMPTER

According to Wikipedia, Mississippi “was readmitted to the Union on January 11, 1870, and its representatives and senators were seated in Congress on February 23, 1870.”[*the dates are questionable] Although both new senators were Republicans and non-native Mississipians, one was … Continue reading →

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the golden character

Posted on January 10, 2020 by SUMPTER

According to documentation at Project Gutenberg, President Ulysses S. Grant sent his first annual message to Congress when it reconvened early in December 1869. It was a long report; overall things seemed pretty peaceable. Reconstruction in the Southern states was … Continue reading →

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“soil is trod by none but freemen”

Posted on November 18, 2019 by SUMPTER

In his first year as Commander-in-Chief, President Ulysses S. Grant followed the tradition begun by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 by calling for a national day of Thanksgiving on a Thursday in November. The new president opted for a slightly earlier … Continue reading →

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“the cereals of August”

Posted on August 30, 2019 by SUMPTER

A recent post was about a medallion and monument related to the American Civil War that was found on a single page in a newspaper from 150 years ago. And, mirabile dictu, the editors at Harper’s Weekly packed even more … Continue reading →

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Bullets Met at Gettysburg

Posted on July 2, 2019 by SUMPTER

On the sixth anniversary of Day 1 of the Battle of Gettysburg a monument in the National Cemetery on the battlefield was dedicated. The Soldiers’ National Monument hadn’t been quite completed, but a reported 15,000 people showed up for the … Continue reading →

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