Category Archives: Southern Society

Not Abe’s Australia

Northern Democrats were extremely indignant over the arrest, trial, and sentencing of Clement Vallandigham. As the Lincoln administration worked out what to do with the troublesome Copperhead, Southerners also became indignant. The Confederacy wasn’t about to become a dumping ground … Continue reading

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Recess

This war sure has been hell, but 150 years ago today a Richmond editorial took a break from battle and advocated a kinder, gentler approach to educating young Confederate citizens. From the Richmond Daily Dispatch May 15, 1863: Don’t snub … Continue reading

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TIK toc

150 years ago this week the Confederate government revived an old idea in order to obtain new supplies for its armies in the field. On May 24, 1863 To combat spiraling inflation, the Confederate Congress levies a 10 percent “tax … Continue reading

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patriotic rags

and earn a good (Confederate) dollar 150 years ago this week a Richmond newspaper was offering top dollar for the material necessary for its publication. From the Richmond Daily Dispatch April 22, 1863: Rags! Rags!! Rags!!! –The highest market price … Continue reading

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Wily Yankee Propaganda?

Here a Richmond paper tries to make sense of various prognostications coming out of the Northern press. From the Richmond Daily Dispatch April 22, 1863: The wait and Watch System. Several Federal journals intimate that no active hostilities on their … Continue reading

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granular analysis

In a message to the state legislature South Carolina governor Milledge Luke Bonham identified several reasons for food shortages in his state: the law prohibiting liquor production was not being obeyed or enforced; the law limiting cotton production to three … Continue reading

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Our barns should be bulging

Hope springs eternal? Food was scarce throughout the Confederacy in the spring of 1863. “In a dozen or more cities and hamlets from Richmond to Mobile, desperate women raided shops or supply depots for food.” A week after the Richmond … Continue reading

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A Benevolent Union in Richmond?

Five days after the Richmond Bread Riot the following report was published in the Richmond Daily Dispatch of April 7, 1863: Relief for the poor. –For the purpose of relieving the wants and necessities of the wives and families of … Continue reading

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Poles are to Russia …

… like Southerners are to the United States A Richmond editorial ridiculed Yankee vanity and found common cause with Polish rebels fighting Russian despotism. European recognition and/or intervention is pretty much a lost cause. From the Richmond Daily Dispatch April … Continue reading

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Abundant Virginia

Scarcity in the army only due to transportation issues and poorly executed impressments Two days after the Richmond Bread Riot(squelched by the press to conform to the Secretary of Defense’s wishes) a Richmond paper reproduced an editorial squelching the rumor … Continue reading

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