Thanksgiving, federal style

Posted on November 23, 2023 by SUMPTER

Harper’s Weekly, November 29, 1862

When the Civil War started, Thanksgiving was not a national holiday. There seemed to be a tradition of Thanksgiving with turkey in November. Sometimes states (and possibly also localities) declared Thanksgiving Days for a variety of reasons. According to Pilgrim Hall Museum, Abraham Lincoln’s second Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1863 was issued on October 3rd. It was “the first in the unbroken string of annual presidential Thanksgiving proclamations, [and] is regarded as the true beginning of the national Thanksgiving holiday. Actually, it was a resurrection and not a beginning, since there had been earlier national Thanksgivings, beginning with those proclaimed by the Continental Congress during the Revolutionary War.” Here is the first national Thanksgiving proclamation in 1777 per Pilgrim Hall:

Thanksgiving Proclamation 1777
By the Continental Congress
The First National Thanksgiving Proclamation

IN CONGRESS

November 1, 1777
FORASMUCH as it is the indispensable Duty of all Men to adore the superintending Providence of Almighty God; to acknowledge with Gratitude their Obligation to him for Benefits received, and to implore such farther Blessings as they stand in Need of: And it having pleased him in his abundant Mercy, not only to continue to us the innumerable Bounties of his common Providence; but also to smile upon us in the Prosecution of a just and necessary War, for the Defense and Establishment of our unalienable Rights and Liberties; particularly in that he hath been pleased, in so great a Measure, to prosper the Means used for the Support of our Troops, and to crown our Arms with most signal success:

It is therefore recommended to the legislative or executive Powers of these UNITED STATES to set apart THURSDAY, the eighteenth Day of December next, for SOLEMN THANKSGIVING and PRAISE: That at one Time and with one Voice, the good People may express the grateful Feelings of their Hearts, and consecrate themselves to the Service of their Divine Benefactor; and that, together with their sincere Acknowledgments and Offerings, they may join the penitent Confession of their manifold Sins, whereby they had forfeited every Favor; and their humble and earnest Supplication that it may please GOD through the Merits of JESUS CHRIST, mercifully to forgive and blot them out of Remembrance; That it may please him graciously to afford his Blessing on the Governments of these States respectively, and prosper the public Council of the whole: To inspire our Commanders, both by Land and Sea, and all under them, with that Wisdom and Fortitude which may render them fit Instruments, under the Providence of Almighty GOD, to secure for these United States, the greatest of all human Blessings, INDEPENDENCE and PEACE: That it may please him, to prosper the Trade and Manufactures of the People, and the Labor of the Husbandman, that our Land may yield its Increase: To take Schools and Seminaries of Education, so necessary for cultivating the Principles of true Liberty, Virtue and Piety, under his nurturing Hand; and to prosper the Means of Religion, for the promotion and enlargement of that Kingdom, which consisteth “in Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost.”

And it is further recommended, That servile Labor, and such Recreation, as, though at other Times innocent, may be unbecoming the Purpose of this Appointment, be omitted on so solemn an Occasion.

Apparently Congress’s recommendation had to be agreeable to the states. According to the Library of Congress, the State of Massachusetts-Bay officially approved on November 27th:

Massachusetts-Bay agrees

I didn’t see any evidence at the Library of Congress that the State of New Hampshire agreed to the Congressional recommendation, but on November 17th New Hampshire did proclaim its own Thanksgiving Day for December 4th, two weeks before Congress’s suggestion. This is the text of New Hampshire’s proclamation per the Library of Congress:

STATE OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE.

A PROCLAMATION,

For a General Thanksgiving.

IT being the United Voice of Reason and Revelation, that Men should praise the Lord for hisGoodness and for his wonderful Works to the Children of Men; and the Year, now drawing to a close, being distinguished by many great and signal Favours of Divine Providence, conferred on this, and the other United States of America amidst our deep Distresses, and notwithstanding our manifold and aggravated Offences; sensible that Ingratitude is the basest of Characters, which, with deep Abhorrence we should ever avoid; and in order that our great and bountiful Benefactor may have the praise and glory, due for his Mercies, in the most conspicuous and solemn Manner ascribed to him:

THE COUNCIL and Representatives of this STATE, in General Court assembled, have appointed THURSDAY, the fourth Day of December next, to be a Day of public THANKSGIVING throughout this STATE; and hereby solemnly exhort and require both Ministers and People, of every Profession, religiously to devote the said Day to the Purpose aforesaid; and with unfeigned Gratitude and Ardour address the all-gracious Jehovah with their united Ascriptions of Praise, for the essential Benignity of his Nature, and the exuberant Profusions of his Goodness—for the paternal Tenderness with whichthe Corrections of his Rod, so abundantly deserved by our Back-slidings and heinous Offences, have been managed, and the rich Mercy he hath intermixed with his Judgments; particularly that he hath so far supported the great American Cause, and defeated the Counsels and Efforts of our merciless Oppressors. That he hath smiled on our Councils and Arms, and crown’d them with signal Success, especially in the Northern Department, in turning the Advantage the Enemy seemed to have gotten against us, by possessing themselves of the Fortress of Ticonderoga, to their own Confusion—and giving one of the principal Armies of Britain wholly into our Hands, with so little Blood-shed; in which great Event, so interesting to the important Cause depending, the Arm of the LORD of Host, the GOD of the Armies of Israel, is conspicuously manifest, demanding the Power, the Glory, and the Victory to be ascribed to him, and inviting our further Hope and Confidence in his Mercy. That he hath preserved our Sea-Coasts in safety—preserv’d the inestimably precious Life of our worthy General, and Commander in Chief, and so many of our Officers and Soldiers; and that the present Campaign, pursued by our Enemies with such direful Breathings of Cruelty and Slaughter, and such sirenuous [sic – probably strenuous] Exertions on one Side and another, has not been more bloody. That he is mercifully continuing the several American States firmly united in the Common Cause; and giving us such a promising, animating Prospect, of being able (by his further Help) finally to support our Liberty and Independency against all the Power, and Policy of Britain to subject and enslave us. That he hath bless’d us with so much Health in our Camps, and in our Habitations whereby we have been able to carry on the necessary Labours of the Field, while so many were call’d off to Arms. That he hath bless’d us with a very fruitful Season, and given us, in great Plenty, the precious Productions of the Earth for Food and Cloathing, peculiarly precious at a Time when our Imports from abroad are chiefly stop’d, and, therefore, binding the Duty of Gratitude and Praise upon us with encreased Obligation.—And above all, that in the greatness of his Forbearance and long suffering, he is yet continuing to us, an unthankful, unfruitful People, the blessed Gospel of JESUS CHRIST; and our Religious Liberty and Priviledges, by which we have the happiest Advantage for glorifying our Creator and Redeemer, and securing our eternal well-being.

And, as, in present Circumstances, we have Reason to rejoice with trembling, so let the Solemnity be attended with the deepest Humiliation, before the great Sovereign, for our many crying Sins and great Unworthiness of his Favours—begging Forgiveness thro’ the all-atoneing Blood of the Cross; and the plentiful out-pouring of the Divine Spirit, for a general Reformation of Manners and Revival of Religion among us, left [sic – probably lest] being deaf to the loud, united Calls of Judgment and Mercy, we provoke the God of Heaven to forsake us, after all the great Things he hath done for us; and so our unrepented Iniquity prove our Ruin.

And all servile LABOUR is forbidden on said Day.

By Order of the COUNCIL and Assembly, EXETER, November 17th, 1777.
M. Weare, PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL.
E. THOMPSON, Secretary.

GOD save the United-States of AMERICA.

EXETER; Printed by Zechariah Fowle, junr. 1777.

Thanks for Saratoga

treasure in an attic

Much has changed since 1777. Back then Congress recommended that recreation be omitted on the day of Thanksgiving. Nowadays recreation/entertainment is a big part of the celebration. By the late 19th century people played and watched college football on the holiday. The games weren’t only in New York City. Here is a 1910 example from Nashville:

You can see the rest of the newspaper and read more about the game at the Library of Congress. The Library also has more general information about the Globe:

The Nashville Globe was a black-owned and operated publication launched in 1906. Richard Henry Boyd, the primary architect of the Globe, was a former slave from Texas. After teaching himself to read and write, Boyd attended Bishop College in Marshall, Texas, and spent several years organizing churches and Baptist organizations for freedmen. In 1896, Boyd moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and founded the National Baptist Publishing Board (NBPB) and in 1904 the One-Cent Savings Bank. The following year, when the city made it mandatory for all streetcars to be segregated by race, Boyd, along with his son Henry A. Boyd, Dock A. Hart, Charles A. Burrell, and Evans Tyree, formed the Globe Publishing Company. Its purpose was to publish a newspaper to promote a boycott of the city’s streetcars and to combat racial discrimination and social inequalities. The first issue of the Nashville Globe was published in January 1906.

The Republican weekly was published on Fridays at the NBPB’s facilities. Henry A. Boyd and Joseph O. Battle oversaw the editorial content, which focused on dispelling false assumptions perpetuated about African Americans by white mainstream newspapers, speaking out against racial segregation and injustice, and promoting self-help literature and middle-class deportment within the black community. …

I noticed on page 3 of the Thanksgiving Globe that “Negroes are no longer considered slow in foot ball.”

Nashville Globe November 24, 1910 page 3

opposed streetcar segregation

President Laurens

The teams that played the Thanksgiving in Nashville are historically black educational institutions (Fisk and Meharry) that are still in operation today. According to Pilgrim Hall the last general national thanksgiving day before President Lincoln’s 1863 was held in April 1815 in gratitude for the end of the War of 1812. The Presidential Proclamation is still unbroken

From the Library of Congress: Percy Moran’s c1911 painting of Burgoyne’s surrender at Saratoga – apparently American General Gates refused to accept General Burgoyne’s sword; the newspaper clipping is at the same link as Massachusett’s endorsement of the federal Thanksgiving day – I didn’t see any information about when and where the clipping was published – I think the clipping got a couple dates wrong, Lincoln’s proclamation and Burgoyne’s surrender; part of page 1 of the November 25, 1954 issue of The Key West Citizen – The Thanksgiving article backs up Pilgrim Hall: “In his book “History of Thanksgiving and Proclamations,” H.S.J. Sickel writes that presidential proclamations —but not state or local ones fell into disuse for nearly a half century until revived by Lincoln. …”

One of the places you can find Winslow Homer’s “Thanksgiving in Camp” is at the Internet Archive. The image was published in the November 29, 1862 issue of <Harper’s Weekly, which is available at Internet Archive. That issue also included a cartoon with two turkeys and a Thanksgiving story. I got the photo of R. H. Boyd at Wikipedia. That’s also where I got Lemuel Francis Abbott’s 1781 or 1784 painting of Henry Laurens, who was born in Charleston, South Carolina and was a slave-trader. Henry Laurens served as President of the Continental Congress from November 1, 1777-December 9, 1778. November 1, 1777 was the date of the Congressional Thanksgiving proclamation above. On November 15, 1777 the Continental Congress passed the Articles of Confederation.

Massachusetts Dreamin’

Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted in 160 Years Ago, American History, American Society | Tagged Abraham Lincoln, American War of Independence, Artemas Ward, Articles of Confederation, Fisk University, Henry Laurens, Meharry Medical College, Nashville Tennessee, Richard Henry Boyd, State Rights, Thanksgiving, The Nashville Globe | Leave a comment

A death on Kearsarge Avenue

Posted on October 11, 2023 by SUMPTER

Kearsrage vs. Alabama, June 19, 1864

For two years the CSS Alabama wreaked havoc with Union shipping. That stopped on June 19, 1864 when the USS Kearsarge sunk the rebel commerce raider off the coast of France. John Winslow, the Kearsarge’s commander, died at his home in Boston 150 years ago last month. From the October 18, 1873 issue of Harper’s Weekly:

THE LATE ADMIRAL WINSLOW.

We give on this page a portrait of the late Rear-Admiral JOHN A. WINSLOW, the hero of the Kearsage and Alabama fight, who died on Monday, September 29, at his residence on Kearsarge Avenue, Boston Highland, after an illness of nearly two years. The late Admiral was in the sixty-second year of his age, having been born on the 9th of November, 1811, in North Carolina. On the 1st of February, 1827, he entered the Naval Academy as the protégé of DANIEL WEBSTER, having been then a resident of North Carolina. He was with the Falmouth (West India) squadron, in 1829-1831, and in 1833 was promoted to the rank of Passed Midshipman. He was sent to the Boston Navy-yard in 1834, and he accompanied the Brazil squadron in 1835-37. He obtained the commission of Lieutenant December 9, 1839, and subsequently took part in the Mexican War, as chief officer on board the Saratoga, twenty guns, but he was not again actively employed until 1852, when he was detailed for the St. Lawrence, the flag-ship of Commander DULANG. In 1855 he was promoted to the rank of Commander, and ordered to Boston. In 1862, upon the organization of the Mississippi flotilla, he was recalled to active duty with the commission of Captain. On the 16th of July he was appointed to the command of the Kearsarge, and in recognition of his services on board that vessel, he was, after the sinking of the Alabama, promoted to the rank of Commodore; and on the 2d of March, 1870, when a resident of Massachusetts, he obtained the rank of Rear-Admiral, commanding the Pacific fleet. His total sea service was twenty years and ten months; on shore, off duty, thirteen years and one month; unemployed, eleven years and nine months – making a total service of forty-five years and eight months. The late Admiral was a man of rather full habit, with hair thin and quite gray. He dressed plainly, and his manner was quiet and unassuming.

Pilgrim’s descendant

no more Alabama (at sea level)

circular fight

According to Wikipedia, John Ancrum Winslow was “a descendant of Mayflower passenger Mary Chilton and her husband John Winslow, who was a brother of Pilgrim father Edward Winslow.” Also, during the Mexican War Winslow shared a shipboard cabin with Raphael Semmes, the Alabama’s commander.

You can read about The Battle of Cherbourg at Naval History and Heritage Command, where I got three of the images: the top battle scene; Winslow in profile; Kearsarge’s officers on deck “at Cherbourg, France, soon after her 19 June 1864 victory over CSS Alabama. Her Commanding Officer, Captain John A. Winslow, is 3rd from left.”

The 1873 Harper’s Weekly content is from Hathi Trust; the section reproduced above is on page 917. From the Library of Congress: sheet music; a Winslow report and battle map

Captain Winslow 3rd from left

Posted in 150 Years Ago, Naval Matters, Veterans | Tagged Battle off Cherbourg, CSS Alabama, Daniel Webster, John Ancrum Winslow, Mount Kearsarge, Raphael Semmes, USS Kearsarge | Leave a comment

still salient

Posted on September 15, 2023 by SUMPTER

“This country is fortunate in its Gettysburg”

Thirty years after the Battle of Gettysburg, Union General Daniel Sickles’ management of the Third Corps on the second day of the battle was still controversial. From the August 24, 1893 issue of The National Tribune:

THIS country is fortunate in its Gettysburg, a spot where the works of man have joined themselves humbly to the handiwork of the Creator, to lend undying interest to a scene that leaves us without cause to envy our British cousins their possession of Waterloo. In the preservation of this battlefield, and its enrichment by monuments to those who fought or fell there, one sees how human nature craves visible expression for sentiments that stir it deeply.

Gettysburg perpetual and transcendent, so, necessarily, are its controversies; many and various, and shared in about equal number and measure between the hosts that massed, respectively, on and about the Seminary and Cemetery Hills. One of them, coveniently [sic] known to history as the Meade-Sickles controversy, is the subject of this present brief article.

Thanks to the chief actors in this dispute, a full and clear apprehension of its elements is at command. This is not a small matter, where arguments are so often profitless because they revolve about, without touching each other.

It was nearly seven years after the battle when Gen. Meade, his knowledge and judgment refined by time and reflection, his lips and heart unsealed by the privacy of his communication,
OPENED HIS MIND
unreservedly to Col. Benedict, of Vermont, upon the subject of the advancement of the Third Corp line, at the extreme left of the Union position, on the second day of Gettysburg. His confidence remained unviolated for 16 years; then the publication of his letter to Benedict summoned Gen. Sickles, as it were, by a voice from the grave, to his defense. This he rendered with a full measure of that skill in the presentation of an argument or statement for which he is justly distinguished.

Gen. Meade’s final complaint against his former Lieutenant may be thus concisely and accurately summarized: Gen. Sickles was ordered, on the morning of the second
day, to relieve Geary and occupy his position. He knew the position, for Geary informed him of it. That position included Round Top, where Geary had a brigade posted. Geary advised Sickles of the character and importance of Round Top, yet Sickles did not occupy it nor take measures for its occupation.

About noon of that day the Commanding General personally told Sickles that his right was to be at Hancock’s left and his left on Round Top, which elevation the Commanding General pointed out to him. Despite the orders he received, Gen. Sickles placed his right three-quarters of a mile in advance of Hancock and his left a quarter mile in front of the base of Round Top.

Nothing but the advance of the Fifth Corps, a matter not within the knowledge or control of Sickles, saved Round Top from the enemy, who, by planting his artillery there, would have
COMMANDED THE WHOLE FIELD,
with consequences most disastrous to the Union army. This advancement of his lines by Gen. Sickles caused a loss upwards of 12,000 men in killed and wounded, besides practically destroying the Third, half destroying the Fifth, and heavily damaging the Second Corps.

In return for these sacrifices, the Union army gained nothing but a compulsory retreat to the true and prescribed position of the Third Corps.

The losses of this day, added to those of the first day, greatly impaired the spirit and efficiency of the army, and deprived its commander of that audacity in the offense that otherwise he might have possessed.

Little Round Top, not Round Top proper, is presumably the hill to which Gen. Meade refers as occupied by Geary and pointed out by himself to Sickles; yet the accuracy or looseness of the designation leaves uncertain the exact picture of the left that Gen. Meade had in his mind when writing the letter to Col. Benedict. He fails also to take into account the losses and damage inflicted on the enemy in the fight that ended in the forcing back of the Federal line to Cemetery Ridge and Little Round Top, or to apportion the decline of morale in his troops between the affairs of the first and second days.

Small criticisms these in the abstract, perhaps; but not such when Gen. Sickles is so pointedly charged with responsibility for the
LOSS AND DAMAGE
to the army and its commander.

Now for the defense made by Gen. Sickles on the appearance of the Benedict letter. He says, in effect and substance, that he never acquired other knowledge of Geary’s position than the general definition of it by Gen. Hancock in sending Geary to the left in the afternoon of the first day.

Geary’s troops were out of position and massed when he saw them, and Geary gave him no advice nor information on any subject. His order to relieve Geary came after Geary’s troops had moved over to the right, and following Hancock’s definition he took up the high ground to the right of Round Top, commanding the Emmitsburg and Taneytown roads.

After doing this and connecting with the Second Corps to his right he had not the troops with which to occupy Round Top, but aware of its character and importance
he asked Gen. Meade for troops to occupy it.

Gen. Sickles denies that Gen. Meade ever told him that his left was to be on Round Top, which he says is 2,200 yards from Hancock’s left, and would have necessitated the spreading of his small corps out into a skirmish-line to have occupied so wide a front. He adds that his line in such a case would have run through swale, morass, bowlders and tangle unfit for infantry and impracticable for artillery, and that half his artillery could not have found standing room, to say nothing of manuvering.

Before him would have been a commanding ridge at the service of the enemy, who would also have possessed the Emmitsburg and its intersecting roads leading in upon
the Union left.

Gen. Sickles will not permit Gen. Meade, through inadvertence or lapse of memory,
TO ACCUSE HIMSELF
of having assigned the Third Corps to a position that would, so Gen. Sickles contends, have tied his own hands and loosed those of the enemy.

Continuing his defense, Gen. Sickles says that he posted his command in exact conformity to the one, only order he received, from first to last, on the subject of his position. Birney’s Division took up the line that Hancock had ordered Geary to hold, its left at Round Top, its right thrown toward the Cemetery and connecting with Humphreys’s Division, posted between Hancock and Birney.

The picket-line was in the Emmitsburg road. He cites Gen. Meade’s testimony before the Congressional Committee on the Conduct of the War, in 1864, that Sickles
expressed dissatisfaction with the line assigned him; that he told Sickles to post his troops and take up ground as he deemed best within the limits of the general instructions, and that he had sent Gen. Hunt, the Chief of Artillery, to examine some positions that Sickles wished to occupy, and to give the latter the benefit of his judgment about them.

Not until after all this, declares Gen. Sickles, were his lines advanced, and when, after the attack by the enemy had began, the Commanding General joined him at the front and saw his new dispositions, that commander ordered no change nor proposed any.

With regard to the preservation of Round Top by the Fifth Corps, Gen. Sickles says that no troops came to safeguard it in response to his request made early in the morning. Worse than that, Buford’s cavalry was withdrawn during the morning, uncovering and endangering the whole Union left, and that his energetic representations on this subject were without result. He states that he sent in repeated reports of the preparations the enemy was discovered to be making for an attack upon the Federal left, but these were disregarded. When the attack came ho resisted it successfully for more than two hours without assistance.

Gen. Sickles considers Gen. Meade’s estimate of more than 12,000 killed and wounded on the second day as a gross exaggeration, even if the losses due to the far-off attack on the Federal right be included. He declares that the
THIRD CORPS WAS NOT DESTROYED
in fact or effect, but that its right wing was aggressive and successful to the very close of the action. He denies that the Union forces were driven back to the positions stated by Gen. Meade, and alleges that the advanced position of his corps was held, to the end of the fight, on the right by troops of that corps, and on the left by other troops. He charges the losses that did occur to the strength and persistence of the attack, and, in part, to the delay in coming to his support.

But he asserts the enemy’s loss to have been at least as great as that of the National forces, and holds, therefore, that Gen. Meade had no cause to complain of the result.

There is not room in this article to set out the evidence by which the issues raised by the Meade-Bonedict letter and the rejoinder by Gen. Sickles must be decided. A careful examination of it by the writer leads him to the conclusion that the first position of the Third Corps conformed intelligently and substantially to such orders and information as Gen. Sickles had received.

This disposes of the first charge of neglect or disobedience of orders. Whether the advancement of the line was a wise or unwise movement on the part of Gen. Sickles is a matter on which the present writer does not presume to offer judgment. The preponderance of competent military opinion seems to be against it. Yet the original position was unquestionably a bad one, as Gen. Sickles claims, and the advanced position certainly had the advantages he assigns to it, even if accompanied by disadvantages not appreciated at the time, nor since admitted by him.

Setting aside the technical question of the degree of military skill evinced by Gen. Sickles in moving to the new position instead of staying in the old one, the material question is whether the movement was justifiable at the time it was made and under the circumstances that preceded and attended it.

In 1864 Gen. Meade made the matter a mere and honest difference of judgment between himself and Gen. Sickles. To put the question in that way could afford the
latter no ground of complaint, and he did not, and does not, complain of it.

But in the Benedict letter this variance in judgment is enlarged into
CONTUMACIOUS DISOBEDIENCE
of orders, aggravated (if anything could aggravate such an offense) by enormous damage in its results. This withering accusation is the subject of the defense
made by the accused subordinate.

The accusation is unjust, though the character of Gen. Meade is a warranty that he believed it when he made it. It is in evidence that Gen. Sickles was dissatisfied with the position of his command, and communicated his objections to it, and his desire to move forward to the elevated ground in front, to the Commanding General; also, that Gen. Meade authorized him to post his command according to his discretion, within the limits of the general instructions, and, further, that he sent Gen. Hunt to inspect the proposed positions of Gen. Sickles and to advise and assist him in reference to them.

It is likewise in evidence that Gen. Hunt while desirous to avoid any direct responsibility, and to reserve for the Commanding General the opportunity of decision, was not, upon the whole, unfavorably impressed by the new positions preferred by Gen. Sickles. That he was impressed by the importance of the question whether the Third Corps should stay where it was or go forward is proved by his promise to Gen. Sickles to return at once to Gen. Meade and lay the matter before him.

Thereupon Gen. Sickles waited for the order to go or stay that he confidently expected as the result of Hunt’s visit and promise, but no order came. Convinced
that the enemy was massing in his front for an attack upon him, aware that his flank was uncovered, and believing that to remain in his then position would tie his hands while freeing those of the enemy, he advanced his lines, upon bis own responsibility, at what he conceived to be virtually the last moment of grace left to him before the storm of battle should, burst upon his command. Here, surely, was no disobedience, neglect, contumacy, usurpation of authority,or any other censurable or unmilitary conduct.

On the contrary, here was meritorious action, conducted with every attribute of personal and military-propriety. His generalship may have been grievously at fault, but the conduct of Gen. Sickles was certainly patriotic and soldierly in this affair. Seeing and understanding his situation as he did, he would have been morally culpable had he
NOT ADVANCED HIS LINES.

Two reasons appear in the Benedict letter of 1870 for Gen. Meade’s unfavorable change of opinion respecting the conduct of Gen. Sickles. The first is that Gen. Geary had then recently informed Gen. Meade that he had sent word to Sickles as to the position the latter was to occupy, including Round Top, and the importance of that elevation.

But Gen. Sickles states that he received no communication whatever from Geary; hence, Gen. Meade did him an unintentional wrong in building up a theory of purposeful neglect and disobedience upon Geary’s undelivered communication.

Secondly, Gen. Meade believed that Gen. Sickles had been active in the fomentation of an untruthful and malicious theory, the purport of which is that the advance of the Third Corps brought on an engagement which thwarted an intention and preparation by Gen. Meade to scuttle from the position at Gettysburg without a fight. Gen. Sickles, however, separates himself from those who did spitefully spread this calumny, knowing it to be false.

One cannot help wishing that an opportunity had been given to Gen. Sickles while Gen. Meade lived to vindicate himself from the latter’s unfounded suspicion
that the former was one of the slanderers who so grievously tormented the later years of the Federal commander at Gettysburg.

It was not possible, however, for Gen. Sickles to deny in the lifetime of Gen. Meade an accusation that did not come to his knowledge till after Gen. Meade’s death. They have alike, suffered in feelings and reputation from the perversion of highly meritorious and soldierly conduct into groundless occasion of reproach.

History will in the end set its obliterating seal upon the dual injustice, but the processes of history are painfully slow to those who suffer from injustice.

The advancement of the Third Corps line did not procure the glory of Gettysburg, nor dim it. The fight that followed, but was not caused by the advance, was a glorious one, illuminated as it was by the heroic courage and endurance of those who took part in it. Fought, as it was, in a position chosen, upon high motives, by a commander loyal to his chief and his duty, no shadow of reproach can fall upon it.

Lastly, it was a serviceable, not a useless fight; for it inflicted blows upon the enemy that contributed materially to the final success of the long-drawn and fiercely-waged conflict.

Much honor was justly won at Gettysburg by Meade, and by Sickles, and truth and justice could be but outraged by any attempt to uplift the one by pulling the other down.

Sickles advanced

An appendix in Jacob Hoke’s 1887 The Great Invasion of 1863 also discusses the controversy. It begins (page 570, image 578) with an Abraham Lincoln anecdote:

This appendix also includes part of the 1870 Meade letter to Colonel Benedict and part of an article Confederate General Lafayette McLaws wrote for the Philadelphia Weekly Press in 1886. McLaws sided with Meade. Jacob Hoke thought that at least one of the reasons General Sickles didn’t stay in the main Union line on July 2nd is because General Meade issued a qualified order for Sickles to occupy Little Round Top “provided it was practicable to occupy it.”

You can read all of General Meade’s 1870 letter to George Benedict at LatinAmericanStudies (page 350). In 1892 the Medal of Honor was awarded to George Grenville Benedict for his heroism on July 3, 1863 at Gettysburg. Businessman and author Jacob Hoke lived in Chambersburg, PA during the great invasion.

Colonel Benedict

Meade and other Union generals, September 1863

provided a Confederate take on controversy

Charles F. Benjamin, The National Tribune writer, transferred from the 38th New York Infantry to the 40th on June 5, 1863. According to the New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center, the 40th NY Infantry, ” As part of the 3d brigade, 1st division, 3d corps, Army of the Potomac, from May, 1863, the regiment proceeded from Chancellorsville to Gettysburg, where it again distinguished itself for bravery with a loss of 150 killed, wounded or missing.”

fighter, writer

40th NY monument at Gettysburg

great invasion stymied

From the Library of Congress: the August 24, 1893 issueof The National Tribune; The Gouverneur Kemble Warren statue on Little Round Top – you can see some modern (color) pictures and read more about the general at Stone Sentinels; Jacob Hoke’s 1887 book, which includes the non-Jespersen map, I did not notice a reference for the Sickles-Lincoln anecdote; General Meade and others at Culpeper, Va. in September 1863, includes Warren, Hunt, and Sykes; Lafayette McLaws; cheering Sickles at Gettysburg, July 1913, the general attended the 50th anniversary commemoration.

Hal Jespersen’s map of Day 2 at Gettysburg is from Wikimedia Commons and is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported. Also from Wikimedia Commons the the photo of George Benedict; also the 40th New York Infantry monument at Gettysburg – the photo is by Carptrash and is licensed under Creative Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported. The monument is situated just north of Devil’s Den. You can read a very good article about the 40th and the July 2nd battle at Emerging Civil War

[September 16, 2023}I changed the size of a couple images and noted that the picture of Sickles being cheered was at the 50th anniversary commemoration of the battle.

“Cheering Sickles,” Gettysburg, July 1913

Posted in 160 Years Ago, Gettysburg Campaign, Veterans | Tagged 40th New York Infantry Regiment, Battle of Gettysburg, Daniel Sickles, George Gordon Meade, George Grenville Benedict, Gouverneur Kemble Warren, Henry Jackson Hunt, Jacob Hoke, John White Geary, Lafayette McLaws | Leave a comment

muted celebration?

Posted on July 4, 2023 by SUMPTER

bucking bronco

Recently National Review compared and contrasted The United States and Britain: “Every nation needs a mythic anchor. Ours is our revolutionary self-founding. Britain is its longer, slower maturation.”

Eight years after the Civil War ended a Southern newspaper didn’t feel much like celebrating the American founding. From the July 4, 1873 issue of The Daily Phoenix:

COLUMBIA, S. C.
Friday Morning, July 4, 1873.

Fourth of July.
The recurrence of this anniversary once gladdened the hearts of men and boys throughout all this vast country. The celebration is now largely discontinued, and where it does take place at all, it is generally a tame or hypocritical affair. There is an irrepressible feeling that the significance of the day has been lost; that it is, in fact, no longer independence day. The glories of Banker Hill, of Eutaw, the Cowpens, Yorktown and all the other celebrated battle-fields of the revolution, are, nevertheless, cherished in the hearts of the people. But they will not make a mockery of celebrating them in the circumstances in which they now are. The heel of the oppressor must be lifted from their necks, before they can again take part in a day which they once delighted to honor. They leave it to those with whom profession is as good as practice, and who find political and personal advantage in keeping up the hollow ceremonial.

On the other hand, some Northerners were reportedly very excited about celebrating Independence Day. They started weeks ahead of time. From the July 12, 1873 issue of Harper’s Weekly:

HOME AND FOREIGN GOSSIP.
It is coming, rapidly coming nearer. We perceive it in the very air; the topic is on every tongue; the sound of its approach vibrates on the ear. Newspapers need not announce its dangerous propinquity; there is no occasion to herald its arrival from the house-tops. Weeks ago the very boys in the street whispered of its fast-coming footsteps, and now they noisily shout its name on willing and unwilling ears. Do not be alarmed, reader; it is not the cholera of which we speak—it is only the “Glorious Fourth!” About four weeks ago a sudden explosion at our feet announced that the lengthened Fourth of July had fairly commenced. Since that time, at early dawn, at noonday, and at night, we have been incessantly warned of that anniversary whose culmination is so near. The squibs and crackers and torpedoes, which have snapped and fizzed in our ears these past weeks, would have extinguished patriotism in any but an American heart. But every true-born son — and daughter, in these days of “equal rights” — of America is expected to open not only patient but delighted ears to the ceaseless noise and clatter with which we celebrate our nation’s Independence-day. Well, the sick and nervous and quiet-minded must endure. To them it seems strange that there is such delight in noise. But so it is. Boys are the same the world around, and by them no day is hailed with keener pleasure than is the Fourth of July. It matters not to them that it brings din and dust, smoke and rubbish, and they enjoy it to the uttermost in spite of burned fingers and scorched trowsers.

___________

The American Public Health Association assures us that thorough cleanliness, an abundant supply of pure water, skillful disinfection, temperate habits, wholesome diet, and pure air are the trusted means of health and security in all places,and for all classes of people, when exposed to the infection of cholera. This so much dreaded disease is now pretty thoroughly understood, and by timely and intelligent means may be prevented, or controlled and extinguished.

______________________ …

It seems that the Fourth of July was still a noisy and possibly dangerous celebration five years later – at least in some places.

Harper’s Weekly July 13, 1878 page 548

still not the cholera

To get back to Columbia’s Daily Phoenix, the editors might not have celebrated Independence Day but they did observe it. A notice on the same page as the editorial explained there wouldn’t be a July 5th issue because the paper was taking the Fourth off. Also on the same page was a long correspondence from someone who had the chance to view the original Declaration of Independence:

THE FOURTH OF JULY.- A correspondent furnishes the following interesting account of the inception of the Declaration of Independence. It was written shortly after inspecting the original, in the Patent Office in Washington. We make free extracts, as appropriate to the “Day we Celebrate:”

I wandered round the edifice, when, in not a very conspicuous place, I stumbled upon the original Declaration of Independence. I could hardly believe my own eyes. It was very much faded, but I read and re-read it, and I traced every name. It is the most important document connected with the history of our country, and the history of the world. In reading the glorious document, I was immediately transported to Independence Hall, Philadelphia, and back to July 4, 1776, and to the men who signed it. I listened to the discussions that preceded it, and then I witnessed their fixing their names to that immortal paper. There were the representatives of thirteen colonies struggling for freedom.

The declaration was not a hasty production, but prepared with great care, and adopted after mature consideration, weighing every sentence, every word, and every sentiment. On the 11th of June, a committee, consisting of five, viz: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston, was appointed to prepare the declaration. In this committee, Virginia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and New York were represented. Jefferson, though one of the youngest of the committee, and one of the youngest members of the House, was chairman. What confidence they reposed in him, when we consider his age, and the splendid men who were on the committee with him. …

The document itself is a sublime wonder. It is not a class of “glittering genealogies,” but contains great and eternal principles, drawn from the gospel of freedom. The Bible is a declaration of independence; it is a divine declaration of independence; it is a divine declaration of human independence. Our fathers said: “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by the Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among them are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. All this is found in Paul’s memorable sermon on Mars Hill, where he declared that “God had made of one blood firm reliance on Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor. “Every man who signed it counted the cost and weighed the issues. Each knew that if they failed of securing their independence, they would be executed for high treason. Was there ever such a pledge – first, their lives; second, their fortunes; third, their sacred honor? Not common honor, not ordinary honor, but the most exalted, the purest honor. This was the crowning pledge – as if it were far in advance of either “life” or “fortune.” This is the grand, sublime climax. It was indeed the world’s wonder and the world’s model. There were fifty-six signers.

The first-that we are introduced to is John Hancock, the President of the Congress, the merchant prince of Boston – as pure a patriot as ever lived; one who said, “Burn Boston, and make John Hancock a beggar, if it is necessary to save the nation.” He did not write his name in a fine, lady’s hand, but in full, round, bold letters, and throwing down his pen, he said, “I think King George can read that without his spectacles.” …

large signature

The Declaration of Independence has been through a lot in two hundred and forty-seven years. According to the National Archives, much of the fading the correspondent noticed was due to its exhibition at the Patent Office: “While the Declaration hung on a wall with some shade from the south, the cumulative exposure to light in the space—especially for the 35 years of exhibition—was extreme.” During the 19th century the document was on display for over fifty years uncontrolled conditions. More damage occurred in the early 20th century, including a mysterious handprint in the lower left-hand corner. Nowadays the Declaration, Constitution, and Bill of Rights are all on display at the National Archives’ Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom.

Patent Office, c1846

The Detroit Times July 5, 1909

ready to celebrate

“equal rights” c1906

The quote from National review was on page 12 of its May 29, 2023 issue. The context was the coronation of Charles III. He’s considered the 62th English and/or British monarch going all the way back to the early 9th century – Ecgberht, King of Wessex.

[July 7, 2023] I should have mentioned that John Hancock’s statement about King George’s spectacles is now considered apocryphal – see Wikipedia.

From the Library of Congress: the 1779 cartoon showing America throwing King George III – but Lord North, the British prime minister from 1770-1782 written on the image – this is a British cartoon; the July 4, 1873 issue of Columbia, South Carolina’s The Daily Phoenix (page 2); F Street facade of the Patent Office; happy boy, c1901; well-armed girl; the images from the editorial page (image 8) of the July 9, 1909 edition of The Detroit Times – an editorial pointed out that child labor in factories could be at least as dangerous for boys and girls as Fourth of July firecrackers, page 1 reported 19 killed and 427 hurt in Fourth of July celebrations across the country, 10 were killed by toy pistols (that’s what it says), a Library of Congress blog provided documentation that showed the 1909 total number of killed and wounded to be much higher; Carol M. Highsmith’s 2010 photo of the fireworks store near Decatur, Alabama.

The 1873 Harper’s Weekly content is from Hathi Trust; the section reproduced above is on page 599. I found the images from the July 13, 1878 issue of Harper’s Weekly at the Internet Archive

The Detroit Times July 5, 1909

spirited ’76 (Detroit Times 7-5-1909)

near near Decatur, Alabama 2010

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Week, American Culture, American History, Postbellum Politics, Postbellum Society, Southern Society | Tagged American Public Health Association, cholera, Declaration of Independence, fireworks, Independence Day, John Hancock, Old Patent Office Building | Leave a comment

spreading the news

Posted on June 19, 2023 by SUMPTER

Gordon Granger

As the American Civil War ended, federal troops took control of Galveston, Texas. On June 19, 1865 General Gordon Granger used a military order to announce that more than two years earlier President Abraham freed the slaves in Texas and other rebel states. The Boston Daily Journal reported this in its July 7, 1865 evening edition:

FROM TEXAS: Gen. Granger issued an order at Galveston on the 19th ult. informing the people of Texas that by virtue of the emancipation proclamation all slaves are free, which involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts, and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.

June 19th orders

The General has also issued an order declaring all acts of the Governor and Legislature, since the ordinance of secession, illegitimate. All civil and military officers and agents of the so-called Confederate States government, or of the State of Texas, and all persons formerly connected with the Confederate States army, in Texas, are ordered to report at once for parole. Public property must be delivered to the officers of the United States. Guerillas, jayhawkers, horse thieves, etc., etc., are declared outlaws and enemies of the human race, and will be dealt with accordingly.

The telegraph lines of Texas are to be worked by the companies, subject to the supervision of Mr. L.B. Spellman, of the United States Military Telegraph.

Senator Johnson of Arkansas had surrendered to General Granger, and having been paroled by the latter, had returned to Marlin, where his family was residing. Mr. Johnson was one of the leading politicians of his State.

who knew?

A letter from Houston to the New Orleans Picayune says:

“A general sacking of government stores and division of the plunder occurred in all the towns along the homeward line of march of the disbanded rebel troops. In a few instances even private property was not respected, and occasional encounters between soldiers and civilians, together with accidents, resulting in loss of life, have been the consequence. Among the latter the most serious was the loss of fifteen lives and the destruction of nearly half of the town of Navasota by the explosion of a magazine, which they had entered for the purpose of getting powder. The cause of the calamity is variously ascribed to accident and design.”

Business is reviving in Galveston. Three steamers were running between Galveston and Houston, bringing down cotton. Mechanics, and particularly carpenters, were in demand. The Galveston Bulletin remarks:

“Hundreds of houses and squares of fence have disappeared since the war commenced, and hundreds have been reduced by the soldiery to a condition worse than horse stables, for all of which we are indebted ex-Gov. Lubbock, some infatuated Galvestonians and Gens. Hebert and Magruder – the former of which desiring to burn the town in order to keep it from falling into the hands of the Yankees, and the latter declaring that having conquered the place, he clrimed[sic] the privilege of doing with Galveston what he pleased.”

in the know

From the Library of Congress: the July 7, 1865 issue of the Boston Daily Journal (image 2) – the same page reports the ceremonies involved with laying the cornerstone of a national monument in Gettysburg, President Johnson sent a letter saying the Civil War also freed the poor whites in the South; Gordon Granger; Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation – it seems that General Granger’s order gave more detail to President Lincoln’s war measure by explaining that freedom included equal rights and equal property rights; a watch meeting on December 31, 1862; the Union Department of the Gulf’s map showing the rebel fortifications at Galveston.

From Wikimedia: the image of the June 19th orders and a couple other orders.

war then peace

Posted in Aftermath, American Culture, Postbellum Politics, Postbellum Society, Reconstruction, Slavery, Southern Society | Tagged Francis Richard Lubbock, Galveston, Gordon Granger, John Bankhead Magruder, Juneteenth, Louis Hébert, Navasota Texas, Robert Ward Johnson, United States Military Telegraph Corps | Leave a comment

buried?

Posted on May 30, 2023 by SUMPTER

Cincinnati, O.

150 years ago a Southern newspaper found something to like in a Northern observance of Decoration Day.

From The Daily Phoenix (Columbia, South Carolina) June 12, 1873:

KIND WORDS FOR OUR SOUTHERN DEAD.

Christian message?

Dr. Lillienthal, the well known Jewish pastor of Cincinnati, on decoration day, was called on to deliver the oration of the occasion in view of the Federal dead. While thoroughly Union, the address is leavened by a truly kindly, and, as some would say, “Christian” feeling for our “dead Confederates,” and for the people of the South. Among other good things the doctor said:

“Not one of us all entertains the least intention of humiliating our Southern brethren. We love them, and have loved them even during tho bloody fratricidal war. We honor their chivalrous spirit, their indomitable courage. We admire the names of Lee, Stuart, Jackson, Johnston and others. Are they not flesh from our flesh, bone from our bone? We pity their widows and orphans, too, for they are our brethren, our American brethren. We do not wish to humble them. We say to them, with our Longfellow: ‘Let the dead past bury its dead.’ We say, with our good and wise Lincoln: ‘With malice to none, with charity for all,’ let us do right, as God understands it; and over the graves of our fallen brethren let us renew our filial allegiance to our common flag and our common country. We in the North wish to bury in eternal oblivion the past hatred, the past feud. Let those down in the South follow our example.”

Max Lilienthal alluded to this poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:

A PSALM OF LIFE.

WHAT THE HEART OF THE YOUNG MAN SAID TO THE PSALMIST.

Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world’s broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,—act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o’erhead!

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;—

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.

According to Willard W. Glazier’s 1886 Peculiarities of American Cities (at Project Gutenberg), Jews and Christians got along surprisingly well in Cincinnati:

The Jews also constitute a proportion of the inhabitants, respectable both as to numbers and character; and, what is worthy of remark, there is an unwonted harmony between Christians and Hebrews, so that an exchange of pulpits between them has been among the actual facts of the past. Dr. Max Lilienthal, one of the most eloquent and learned rabbis of the country, presides over one of the Jewish congregations, and has preached to Christian audiences; and Mr. Mayo, the Unitarian clergyman, has spoken by invitation in the synagogues. The Jews of the city are noted for their intelligence, public spirit and liberality, and are represented in the municipal government, and on the boards of public and charitable institutions. Quite as worthy of note is the fact that the Young Men’s Christian Association of Cincinnati is not influenced by that spirit of narrow bigotry which in certain other cities of the Union excludes Unitarians from fellowship.

Cincinnati is right across the Ohio River from Covington, Kentucky. During the Civil War Kentucky was a border state. In early September 1862 a Confederate army moved north from Lexington to threaten Cincinnati. The army never crossed the river. Cincinnati was successfully defended. You can read more about it in the September 20 and 27, 1862 issues of Harper’s Weekly at Son of the South

admirable names

Harper’s Weekly September 20, 1862

Queen City welcomes GAR (1898)

There were reports of another major fire in Boston on Decoration Day – May 30, 1873

The picture of Max Lilienthal is from Project Gutenberg in The Haskalah Movement in Russia by Jacob S. Raisin. According to Wikipedia, Mr. Lilienthal was born in Germany. In 1845 he arrived in New York City. “In 1855, he moved to Cincinnati to become an editor of The American Israelite and serve as rabbi of Congregation Bene Israel.” “Lilienthal was later an active supporter of the movement to abolish slavery in the United States, though a minority of American Jews, primarily those in the South, were themselves slaveholders and disagreed strongly with his position.”

Also from Project Gutenberg – The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The image of the defense of Cincinnati was published in the September 20, 1862 issue of Harper’s Weekly and is at Son of the South

From the Library of Congress: the c1866 photograph; the June 12, 1873 issue of The Daily Phoenix; rebel montage; 1898 souvenir from 32nd Grand Army of the Republic encampment (image 9); Carol M. Highsmith’s photograph of graves at Arlington National Cemetery.Neither of the war heroes I knew while growing up are buried at Arlington.

This past Sunday I was thinking about Memorial Day and found a good deal of information on the internet about two war heroes I knew while I was growing up. I knew one man after he served in World War II; the other man I knew before he went to Vietnam. Although both are dead now, they set a good example for me. They are remembered for their heroism, for the courage that puts others’ welfare ahead of their own earthly self-interest. I think they truly left “Footprints on the sands of time”. I’m grateful.

“our common flag” at Arlington National Cemetery

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Week, American Society, Postbellum Society | Tagged Cincinnati, Defense of Cincinnati, Grand Army of the Republic, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Max Lilienthal, Memorial (Decoration) Day | Leave a comment

murder at the peace conference

Posted on May 8, 2023 by SUMPTER

From the April 26, 1873 issue of Harper’s Weekly:

” entire self-abnegation”

The treacherous murder of General CANBY and the Rev. Dr. THOMAS by the Modoc Indians during a conference to which the general and the Peace Commissioners had been invited by “Captain JACK” is one of the most tragical events in the history of Indian wars. Captain JACK, secure in the natural fastness of the lava beds, had persistently rejected all peaceful overtures, and the Commissioners had come to the conclusion that the negotiations were a failure. On the 10th of April several Indians strolled into General CANBY’s camp, and were generously treated, receiving presents of clothing and provisions, When they left the Commissioners sent a message to Captain JACK, asking for a talk the next morning at a point about half a mile outside the picket line.

The next morning an Indian named “BOSTON CHARLEY” came into the camp, and told the Commission that Captain JACK and five other Indians would meet the Commission outside the lines. BOSTON CHARLEY and BOGUS CHARLEY, who had been in the camp all night, then mounted a horse and started for the lava bed. About an hour after their departure General CANBY, Mr. DYER, Dr. THOMAS, and Mr. A.B. MEACHAM, with FRANK RIDDLE and his squaw for interpreters, started for the place appointed. The party arrived at the appointed place, and were closely watched by the signal officer, Lieutenant ADAMS, from the signal-station on a hill overlooking the camp. About half an hour after the party had arrived a cry from the signal-station was heard, saying that the Indians had attacked the Peace Commission, and that another band of Indians had attacked Colonel MASON’s camp, on the east side of Tule Lake.

The troops immediately hastened to the scene of the conference, under command of Colonel GREEN. On the way Mr. DYER was met, who thought he was the only member of the party who had escaped; but soon afterward the interpreter RIDDLE and his squaw reached the lines. He gives the following account of the massacre:

aka Kintpuash

Mr. MEACHAM made a short speech to the Indians, followed by General CANBY, and then Dr. THOMAS. Then Captain JACK made a speech, asking for Hot Creek and Cottonwood, the places now occupied by FAIRCHILD and DORRIS, for a reservation. Mr. MEACHAM told JACK that it was not possible to give him what he asked. SCHONCHIN told Mr. MEACHAM to say no more; that he (MEACHAM) had said enough upon that subject; and while SCHONCHIN was speaking Captain JACK got up and walked behind the others, turned back, and exclaimed, “All ready.” He then drew his pistol and snapped a cap at General CANBY. He cocked his pistol again and fired. General CANBY fell dead, shot under the eye. SCHONCHIN then shot Mr. MEACHAM in the shoulder and head, but though severely wounded he was at last accounts still alive. Boston CHARLEY and another Indian shot and killed Dr. THOMAS. HOOKER JIM chased Mr. DYER for some distance, but DYER turned upon him with pistol in hand, and JIM ran.

The bodies of General CANBY and Dr. THOMAS were found nearly stripped of clothing. Pausing only an instant to cast a glance at the inanimate form of their beloved commander, the troops dashed on, and the two leading batteries were within a mile of the stronghold of the murderers when the bugle sounded a “halt.” Lieutenant EGAN and Major WRIGHT’s companies of Twelfth infantry were behind the artillery, and then came up the cavalry. General GILLEM and Colonel GREEN and staff were up with the men, but as soon as they found that the Indians had all got back to their stronghold the troops were ordered to fall back, and active operations were for the time deferred. It was supposed when the courier left the camp that an attack would be made on the Indians in the lava beds within twenty-four hours.

The attack on Colonel MASON’s camp, which fortunately failed of success, occurring at the same time of the massacre, shows the treachery of Captain Jack to have been deliberately planned. His object was doubtless to capture or kill the commanding officers of both posts as well as the Peace Commissioners.

On receiving intelligence of this terrible massacre, General SHERMAN at once gave orders by telegraph to General SCHOFIELD, commanding the Division of the Pacific, to advance all available troops against the Modoc Indians, administer the severest punishment, and take no prisoners. General SHERMAN has also issued the following order, announcing the death of General CANBY:

“HEAD-QUARTERS of the Army,
WASHINGTON, April 14,1873.

“GENERAL ORDER No. 3.-It again becomes the sad duty of the general to announce to the army the death of one of our most illustrious and most honored comrades. Brigadier-General Edward R. S. CANBY, commanding the Department of the Columbia, was on Friday last, April 11, shot dead by the chief, Jack, while he was endeavoring to mediate for the removal of the Modocs from their present rocky fastness on the northern border of California to a reservation where the tribe could be maintained and protected by the civil agents of the government.

“That such a life should have been sacrificed in such a cause will ever be a source of regret to his relations and friends. Yet the general trusts that all good soldiers will be consoled in knowing that CANBY lost his life on duty, and in the execution of his office; for he had been especially chosen and appointed for this delicate and dangerous trust by reason of his well-known patience.and forbearance, his entire self-abnegation and fidelity to the expressed wishes of his government, and his large experience in dealing with the savage Indians of America. He had already completed the necessary military preparations to enforce obedience to the conclusions of the Peace Commissioners, after which he seems to have accompanied them to a last conference with the savage chiefs, in supposed friendly council, and there met his death by treachery outside of his military lines, but within view of the signal-station. At the same time one of the Peace Commissioners, was killed outright and another mortally wound and a third escaped unhurt. Thus perished one of the kindest and best gentlemen of this or any other country, whose social equaled his military virtues. To even sketch his army history would pass the limits of a general order,and I must here suffice to state that General CANBY began his military career as a cadet at West Point in the summer of 1835, graduating in 1839, since which time he has continually served, thirty-eight years, passing through all the grades to major general of volunteers and brigadier-general of the regular army. He served his early life with marked distinction in the Florida and Mexican wars, and the outbreak of the civil war found him on duty in New Mexico, where, after the defection of his seniors, he remained in command,and defended the country successfully against a formidable inroad from the direction of Texas; afterward, transferred to the East to a more active and important sphere, he exercised various high commands, and at the close of the civil war was in chief command of the Military Division of the West Mississippi, in which he had received a painful wound, but had the honor to capture Mobile, and compel the surrender of the rebel forces of the Southwest.

“Since the close of the war he has repeatedly been chosen for special command, by reason of his superior knowledge of law and civil government, his known fidelity to the wishes of the Executive, and his chivalrous devotion to his profession, in all of which his success was perfect. When fatigued by a long and laborious career in 1869, he voluntarily consented to take command of the Department of the Columbia, where he expected to enjoy the repose he so much coveted. This Modoc difficulty arising last winter, and it being extremely desirous to end it by peaceful means, it seemed almost providential that it should have occurred within the sphere of General CANBY’s command. He responded to the call of his government with alacrity, and has labored with a patience that deserved better success: but alas! the end is different from that which he and his best friends had hoped for, and he now lies a corpse in the wild mountains of California, while the lightning flashes his requiem to the furthermost corners of the civilized world. Though dead, the record of his fame is resplendent with noble deeds well done, and no name on our army register stands fairer or higher for the personal qualities that command the universal respect, honor, affection, and love of his countrymen. General CANBY leaves to his country a heart-broken widow, but no children. Every honor consistent with law and usage shall be paid to his remains, full notice of which will be given as soon as his family can be consulted and arrangements concluded. By order of General SHERMAN.
“W.D.WHIPPLE Adjutant-General.”

he won’t shudder

General CANBY was placed in control of all negotiations with the Indians on the special request of the Secretary of the Interior. The members of the Commission were directed to report to him, and to send no dispatches or recommendations without first submitting them to him. He was also invested with authority by the Secretary of the Interior, through the General of the Army, to change the Commissioners in his discretion. He acted on this so far as to add one member to the Commission. General CANBY at once assumed control, and since the 10th of March the War Department and the military have had charge of the negotiations. The general sympathized entirely with the previous attempts to bring the Modocs under peaceable subjection by fair and honorable treatment, and it was in the effort to carry out this humane policy that he met his death. General CANBY was a Kentuckian by birth. He had nearly reached the age of fifty-four, had passed through two great wars with honor and distinction, to fall at last by the treacherous hand of a besotted Indian.

General Canby was born in Kentucky and graduated from West Point in 1839. He served in the United States Army throughout his career. After the war he commanded several military districts in the reconstructing South. In its April 16, 1873 issue The Daily Phoenix from Columbia, South Carolina quoted a couple other southern newspapers that didn’t have too much personal sorrow at General Canby’s death, considering his actions when in “dominion” over the southern states:

what was he thinking?
or
remember Osceola

vengeance on the way

bad faith

___________________________________________

In its May 17, 1873 issue, Harper’s Weekly reproduced a headline from a newspaper in Athens, Georgia:

cause not lost?

You can read more about Captain Jack at Legends of America.

The Harper’s Weekly content is from Hathi Trust pages 339 and 411.

From the Library of Congress: the image of Captain Jack from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, v. 36, no. 928 (1873 July 12), p. 277; the portrait of General William Tecumseh Shermanthe article from the April 16, 1873 issue of The Daily Phoenix;

Posted in 150 Years Ago | Tagged Edward Richard Sprigg Canby, John McAllister Schofield, Kintpuash aka Captain Jack, Modoc people, Modoc War, Native Americans, William Denison Whipple, William Tecumseh Sherman | Leave a comment

four more

Posted on March 27, 2023 by SUMPTER

inauguration site

President Ulysses S. Grant was inaugurated for his second term on March 4, 1873.

From the March 22, 1873 issue of Harper’s Weekly:

THE SECOND INAUGURATION.

heading to oath of office

THE second inauguration of ULYSSES S. GRANT as President of the United States was an event never to be forgotten by those who were privileged to witness the ceremony. The morning of the 4th of March opened with a cloudless sky that gave promise of a sunny day, but the wind was cold and keen, and its fitful gusts carried a chill to the hearts of those who dared to face them. The principal streets of the national capital had been carefully cleaned, and the buildings, public and private, garnished and decorated for the occasion. All of the previous day and night the inbound trains and steamers brought their countless hosts of eager ones who would see the inauguration. The hotels and boarding-houses were all full, and many were unable to procure lodgings of even the most inferior kind. These contented themselves with walking the streets until the appointed hour had come. Of militia-men there was seemingly no end to the number. Every train of cars brought a detachment of soldiers, and so great was the demand upon the roads that many were belated, and some failed to reach the city until after the ceremony was over.

oath of office

The military procession to the Capitol was the most imposing ever witnessed on such an occasion. Pennsylvania Avenue on the line of march was elaborately decorated; every building was covered with flags, and from every window floated streamers and banners. Every window and balcony was occupied, and throngs of people filled the streets. At ten o’clock precisely the troops began to move, headed by Chief Marshal General BARRY. First in order, and naturally attracting most attention, was the corps of cadets from West Point. As regiment after regiment marched past the multitude cheered them vociferously to the end. Besides the military there were a number of civic societies in the line. The firemen of the District were also out in their best dress.

Harper’s Weekly March 22, 1873

The inaugural ceremony took place on the east front of the Capitol, where a temporary platform had been erected for the purpose. The open space below, where the troops were massed in solid column, was literally packed with people, while the eastern fronts of both Senate and House wings were black with a solid mass of spectators. Even the cornice upon the roof and about the dome was filled. At length the ceremonies began with the appearance of the President, who, immediately after the organization of the new Senate, came upon the portico and advanced to the front of the platform. Here, with uncovered head, the President took the oath of office at the hands of the Chief Justice for the second term. The crowd below sent up a deafening huzza at this moment, and the howitzer battery of the Naval School at the south end of the square, and the Light Artillery at the north end, boomed out a salute of twenty-one guns. The President then, standing conspicuously in the front of the dense crowd on the platform, and despite the sweeping winds and biting atmosphere, calmly read his inaugural address. Our artist’s graphic delineation of the scene on pages 224 and 225 will enable the reader to judge of its grandeur.

The inaugural over, the troops escorted the President to the White House, where a review took place, after which the soldiers returned to their respective quarters. The scene on the return march was even grander and more impressive than on the march to the Capitol. The crowd on the Avenue was even larger, and the enthusiasm unbounded. In the evening a magnificent display of fire-works on the Capitol grounds closed the out-door exercises of the celebration.

chilly, very chilly

Of course there was a grand ball at night, and this was the most complete and elegant affair of the kind within the memory of man. The building in which the dancers danced was specially constructed for the occasion, at a cost of $60,000. It was of wood, and was 350 feet long by 150 feet wide, with a clear floor space of 300 by 100 feet. The room was gayly decorated and brilliantly lighted.

At the south end of the hall there were small arches for the entrances of the invited guests, above them shields, and above all, draperies, which, with a star in gas jets in the centre, were intended to eclipse the “Grant and Wilson and Peace” first intended to occupy the vacant space. At the opposite end was the platform for the President, invited guests, and other favored ones. The platform was thirty-five feet wide by seventy feet long, and was handsomely draped. Across the front were high candelabra, to support plants in pots in lieu of gas-lights. On the sides were draperies of white; on the trusses and between, where the draperies did not interfere with the arched entrances, were flags draped in arches, headed by the shields of the different States. The trusses were painted to represent columns in chrome-colors.

The President and cabinet arrived about half past eleven o’clock, and after a short stay in their reception-rooms the grand entrance was made in formal procession, the chairman of the Committee of Arrangements, Hon. H.R. SHEPHERD, and HALLET KILBOURN, Esq., chairman of the Ball Committee, doing the escort duty. Governor COOK entered with the President, and after the cabinet came the diplomatic corps. They moved through the centre of the room to the platform at the north end to the music of Hail to the Chief by the Naval Academy band. As many as 3000 persons engaged in the dance, most of whom were of the most distinguished families in the land. The supper was gotten up on a magnificent scale, and was said to be the most liberally provided ever furnished to the good people of Washington. An illustration of the ball-room scenes is given by our artist on page 221.

Inauguration balls have not always been honored with a specially erected building. It was not until General Taylor was inaugurated that, it having become evident there was no hall in Washington that could give satisfaction as a ball room on public occasions, a temporary building was constructed on Judiciary Square. Afterward the balls following the inaugurations of PIERCE, BUCHANAN, and LINCOLN were held in a similar building erected in the same square. At the second inauguration of LINCOLN the ball was in the “model-room” of the Patent-office. The chief feature of this ball, as now remembered, was the confusion which prevailed in the hat and cloak rooms when the ball was over, and everybody, apparently, wanted what nobody could give. The first inauguration ball of President GRANT was held in the north wing of the Treasury Building, and the accommodations there were too limited. The arrangements made for the last ball entirely prevented the inconvenience and crowding conspicuous on previous occasions.

Hail to the Chief

One of the places you can read the inaugural address is at Project Gutenberg:

ULYSSES S. GRANT, SECOND INAUGURAL ADDRESS
TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 1873

[Transcriber’s note: Frigid temperatures caused many of the events planned for the second inauguration to be abandoned. The thermometer did not rise much above zero all day, persuading many to avoid the ceremony on the East Portico of the Capitol. The oath of office was administered by Chief Justice Salmon Chase. A parade and a display of fireworks were featured later that day, as well as a ball in a temporary wooden structure on Judiciary Square. The wind blew continuously through the ballroom and many of the guests at the ball never removed their coats.]

Fellow-Citizens:

The New York Herald March 5, 1873 page 10

Under Providence I have been called a second time to act as Executive over this great nation. It has been my endeavor in the past to maintain all the laws, and, so far as lay in my power, to act for the best interests of the whole people. My best efforts will be given in the same direction in the future, aided, I trust, by my four years’ experience in the office.

When my first term of the office of Chief Executive began, the country had not recovered from the effects of a great internal revolution, and three of the former States of the Union had not been restored to their Federal relations.

new Vice-President in town

It seemed to me wise that no new questions should be raised so long as that condition of affairs existed. Therefore the past four years, so far as I could control events, have been consumed in the effort to restore harmony, public credit, commerce, and all the arts of peace and progress. It is my firm conviction that the civilized world is tending toward republicanism, or government by the people through their chosen representatives, and that our own great Republic is destined to be the guiding star to all others.

Under our Republic we support an army less than that of any European power of any standing and a navy less than that of either of at least five of them. There could be no extension of territory on the continent which would call for an increase of this force, but rather might such extension enable us to diminish it.

The theory of government changes with general progress. Now that the telegraph is made available for communicating thought, together with rapid transit by steam, all parts of a continent are made contiguous for all purposes of government, and communication between the extreme limits of the country made easier than it was throughout the old thirteen States at the beginning of our national existence.

The effects of the late civil strife have been to free the slave and make him a citizen. Yet he is not possessed of the civil rights which citizenship should carry with it. This is wrong, and should be corrected. To this correction I stand committed, so far as Executive influence can avail.

civil rights for all citizens

Social equality is not a subject to be legislated upon, nor shall I ask that anything be done to advance the social status of the colored man, except to give him a fair chance to develop what there is good in him, give him access to the schools, and when he travels let him feel assured that his conduct will regulate the treatment and fare he will receive.

The States lately at war with the General Government are now happily rehabilitated, and no Executive control is exercised in any one of them that would not be exercised in any other State under like circumstances.

In the first year of the past Administration the proposition came up for the admission of Santo Domingo as a Territory of the Union. It was not a question of my seeking, but was a proposition from the people of Santo Domingo, and which I entertained. I believe now, as I did then, that it was for the best interest of this country, for the people of Santo Domingo, and all concerned that the proposition should be received favorably. It was, however, rejected constitutionally, and therefore the subject was never brought up again by me.

In future, while I hold my present office, the subject of acquisition of territory must have the support of the people before I will recommend any proposition looking to such acquisition. I say here, however, that I do not share in the apprehension held by many as to the danger of governments becoming weakened and destroyed by reason of their extension of territory. Commerce, education, and rapid transit of thought and matter by telegraph and steam have changed all this. Rather do I believe that our Great Maker is preparing the world, in His own good time, to become one nation, speaking one language, and when armies and navies will be no longer required.

“Humane Indian Policy”

My efforts in the future will be directed to the restoration of good feeling between the different sections of our common country; to the restoration of our currency to a fixed value as compared with the world’s standard of values—gold—and, if possible, to a par with it; to the construction of cheap routes of transit throughout the land, to the end that the products of all may find a market and leave a living remuneration to the producer; to the maintenance of friendly relations with all our neighbors and with distant nations; to the reestablishment of our commerce and share in the carrying trade upon the ocean; to the encouragement of such manufacturing industries as can be economically pursued in this country, to the end that the exports of home products and industries may pay for our imports—the only sure method of returning to and permanently maintaining a specie basis; to the elevation of labor; and, by a humane course, to bring the aborigines of the country under the benign influences of education and civilization. It is either this or war of extermination: Wars of extermination, engaged in by people pursuing commerce and all industrial pursuits, are expensive even against the weakest people, and are demoralizing and wicked. Our superiority of strength and advantages of civilization should make us lenient toward the Indian. The wrong inflicted upon him should be taken into account and the balance placed to his credit. The moral view of the question should be considered and the question asked, Can not the Indian be made a useful and productive member of society by proper teaching and treatment? If the effort is made in good faith, we will stand better before the civilized nations of the earth and in our own consciences for having made it.

All these things are not to be accomplished by one individual, but they will receive my support and such recommendations to Congress as will in my judgment best serve to carry them into effect. I beg your support and encouragement.

It has been, and is, my earnest desire to correct abuses that have grown up in the civil service of the country. To secure this reformation rules regulating methods of appointment and promotions were established and have been tried. My efforts for such reformation shall be continued to the best of my judgment. The spirit of the rules adopted will be maintained.

reduced, traduced

I acknowledge before this assemblage, representing, as it does, every section of our country, the obligation I am under to my countrymen for the great honor they have conferred on me by returning me to the highest office within their gift, and the further obligation resting on me to render to them the best services within my power. This I promise, looking forward with the greatest anxiety to the day when I shall be released from responsibilities that at times are almost overwhelming, and from which I have scarcely had a respite since the eventful firing upon Fort Sumter, in April, 1861, to the present day. My services were then tendered and accepted under the first call for troops growing out of that event.

I did not ask for place or position, and was entirely without influence or the acquaintance of persons of influence, but was resolved to perform my part in a struggle threatening the very existence of the nation. I performed a conscientious duty, without asking promotion or command, and without a revengeful feeling toward any section or individual.

Notwithstanding this, throughout the war, and from my candidacy for my present office in 1868 to the close of the last Presidential campaign, I have been the subject of abuse and slander scarcely ever equaled in political history, which to-day I feel that I can afford to disregard in view of your verdict, which I gratefully accept as my vindication.

vindicated

President Grant appointed Henry D. Cooke first territorial governor of Washington D.C. His successor was the last territorial governor of the district.

The New York Herald’s take on the inauguration wasn’t as glowing as the Harper’s Weekly coverage. It’s headline called the president “uncourteous”. An English correspondent at the big event thought the crowd was smaller than a business day on Broadway. There wasn’t much cheering “to-day as the President passed by, and to what there was he never made the least response. Lord Chesterfield lays down the axiom that it is the duty of a gentleman to raise his hat in reply to a similar salutation, even though it be proffered by a beggar; but President Grant’s stovepipe might have been nailed to his head, and his face was as cheerful and expressive as the figurehead of an old frigate”.

President Grant might have been diminished in the eyes of some people because of the scandals that plagued his administration. Although the Crédit Mobilier scandal occurred before the Grant presidency, the story broke during the 1872 election campaign. In his diary entry for March 4, 1873 James Garfield mentioned he made a statement in the House regarding his role in Crédit Mobilier. Henry Wilson, Grant’s new vice-president, was also involved. Garfield’s diary confirms the cold: “About fifteen thousand people were present. Out of the bitter cold away from the crowd I reached home late in the afternoon. I retired early and slept long and hard.”

The New York Herald March 5, 1873 page 3

James Garfield was there

American Mecca

From the Library of Congress: U.S. Capitol – the explanation on the back of the stereoscope likens to Niagara Falls; the procession through the Capitol, Illus. in: Frank Leslie’s illustrated newspaper, v. 36, 1873 March 15, p. 5; Chief Justice Chase administering the oath, Illus. in: Frank Leslie’s illustrated newspaper, v. 36, no. 911 (1873 March 15), p. 1; Grant with 1872 Republican platform; re-election poster; the material from the March 5, 1873 issue of The New York Herald; James Garfield’s diary entry for March 4, 1873;Grant and staff on Lookout Mountain, 1863

The cartoon of Grant as giant and as pygmy is from the April 2, 1870 issue of Punchinello at Project Gutenberg. Most of the Harper’s Weekly content is from Hathi Trust, except for the image of the crowd at the Capitol. You can see that at Internet Archive.

General Grant and staff on Lookout Mountain

Posted in 150 Years Ago, 150 Years Ago This Month, The Grant Administration | Tagged Crédit Mobilier scandal, Henry David Cooke, Henry Wilson, James Garfield, Salmon P. Chase, Ulysses S. Grant | Leave a comment

“guiding star”

Posted on February 22, 2023 by SUMPTER

From the March 1, 1873 issue of Harper’s Weekly:

winter wonder

WASHINGTON AT VALLEY FORGE.

[see Illustration on First Page.]

O Noble heart! that ne’er from duty swerved,
Nor thought of self through all the weary hours!
O noble life! that did for others live,
And for our nation gave its wondrous powers!
There were dark days, when clouds the sunshine hid,
And laid upon that heart a load of care;
But yet unshaken through the storm it stood,
Nor bowed itself save for new strength—in prayer!

And there were days of toil—of weary march
Through winter’s snow and sleet, when hearts,
though sad,
Pressed on, cheered by the voice of him who led—
The noblest chief that ever soldier had!
When destitution came upon them all,
And with it murmurs of their sore distress,
Ah! then he lent his strength their own to aid,
Nor failed in aught of brother’s tenderness.

O days long past! that held his glorious life!
We hold with joy the precious legacy
Of his great name! the name of Washington!
And by each tongue that name must honored be;
And as through clouds of sorrow and dismay
Men looked to him as to their guiding star,
So we within our hearts his memory hold,
Nor with disloyal breath its brightness mar!

According to the National Park Service, the suffering at Valley Forge was not quite as bad as the myth suggests:

“The myth often obscures the actual history of the event, however. It tells us that it was the experience of tremendous suffering from cold and starvation during the encampment that forged a spirit of extraordinary patriotism among Washington’s men. Hardship did occur at Valley Forge, but it was not a time of exceptional misery in the context of the situation. The encampment experience could be characterized as “suffering as usual,” for privation was the Continental soldier’s constant companion. Likewise, patriotism did not peak during the relatively short six-month period at Valley Forge. Widespread devotion to the cause was an early war phenomenon for the most part. Steadfast patriotism found a long-term home among only a few Americans, most notably the veterans who served for the duration.”

“The Prayer at Valley Forge”

“Baron Steuben at Valley Forge, 1778”

“Washington and Lafayette at Valley Forge”

___________________________________

More information from the National Park Service article:

“Through the duration the encampment, Washington inspired the soldiers through his own resilience and sense of duty. He persuaded Congress to reform the supply system and end the crippling shortages, and attracted experienced officers to the cause, including former Prussian officer Baron von Steuben, who was assigned the task of training the troops. Von Steuben taught the soldiers new military skills and to fight as a unified army. These reforms in supply systems and fighting tactics, along with reforms in military hygiene and army organization, became the foundation of the modern United States Army.” …

“George Washington”

“[D]isease was the true scourge of the camp,” especially during the warmer months of March, April, and May. …

“Because of its far-reaching consequences, the single most noteworthy achievement was the maturation of the Continental Army into a professional force under the tutelage of Friedrich Wilhelm Baron von Steuben. Baron von Steuben assessed the army and recognized that Washington’s men needed more training and discipline. At the same time he realized that American soldiers would not submit to harsh European-style regulation.

“Von Steuben did not try to introduce the entire system of drill, evolutions, maneuvers, discipline, tactics, and Prussian formation into the American army:

I should have been pelted had I attempted it, and should inevitably have failed. The genius of this nation is not in the least to be compared with that of the Prussians, Austrians, or French. You say to your soldier [in Europe], “Do this” and he doeth it; but [at Valley Forge] I am obliged to say, “This is the reason why you ought to do that,” and then he does it.
— Baron von Steuben to Baron de Gaudy, 1787-88

“Instead, von Steuben demonstrated to the men the positive results that would come from retraining. He provided hands-on lessons, and Washington’s independent-minded combat veterans were willing to learn new military skills when they saw immediate results. Von Steuben remarked on how quickly Washington’s men progressed in the retraining process, saying that it normally took two years to properly train a soldier. As spring wore on, whole brigades marched with newfound precision and crisply executed commands under the watchful eye of the baron.” …

“The symbolic importance that Americans have attached to Valley Forge since the 19th century both complicates and enriches its authentic history. The establishment of Valley Forge as a memorial provides a place where generations of Americans have had the opportunity to discover and admire the Continental Army’s sacrifices and achievements and to participate in commemoration of this history. The desire to commemorate began to shape the history of this place soon after the army marched out.”

“Washington’s headquarters at Valley Forge, Pa.” (1921)

From the Library of Congress: Washington’s prayer (c1866); Baron von Steuben (c1907); Washington and Lafayette at Valley Forge (c1907); Washington as Commander in Chief; Washington’s headquarters, 1921 photo; Washington at Valley Forge by E. Percy Moran, c1911; Franklin Simmons’ “Valley Forge” from Historical and Topographical Guide to Valley Forge by William Herbert Burke (1912)- according to flickr it’s located at the Washington Memorial Chapel on private property within the National Park.

The 1873 Harper’s Weekly content is from Hathi Trust, pages 169, 170

“Washington at Valley Forge”

“guiding star”

Posted in 150 Years Ago, American History | Tagged Franklin Bachelder Simmons, Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, George Washington, myth and history, Valley Forge, Washington's Birthday | Leave a comment

love wanted

Posted on February 14, 2023 by SUMPTER

From the February 1, 1873 issue of Harper’s Weekly:

MATCH-MAKING BY ADVERTISEMENT.

THERE is a paper in England devoted to the business of match-making by advertisement. It is called the Matrimonial News. In every number the reader may review some 350 candidates for marriage, and for one shilling an advertiser may describe his or her attractions, provided that the same be done in no more than forty words. Questions of difficulty or delicacy referring to courtship are answered gratuitously in these columns, privately for twelve stamps, personally for five shillings; a fee of five shillings is also required one month after any marriage brought about by this machinery. It is said that the business is bona fide, that confidence and secrecy are strictly observed, and, if the editor is to be believed, hundreds of marriages have resulted from his labors.

The modus operandi is this. The real name, address, and photograph of each candidate are deposited with the editor, the advertisement appears, and those who like correspond in the Matrimonial News, at first by numbers, like convicts: No. 6000 replies to Nos. 6007 and 6010, avowing that the particulars suit, and that he desires an exchange of photographs. This is done through the editor, who then, if both parties wish it, places them in direct private correspondence with each other, on condition of receiving a fee (amount not stated). Assuming that all this has occurred, it is probable that the first step taken is to ascertain that the personal appearance is equal to the photograph, and the second to cause their respective lawyers to inquire as to the fortune of the lady and the “ample private means” of the gentleman. For it is a most noteworthy fact, and one which extorts our admiration, that not only is fortune-hunting in these advertisements conspicuous by its absence, but that instances of extreme disinterestedness abound, so that men of “private fortune” or “ample means” expressly state that “money on the lady’s side is of no moment.” Out of nearly 200, not above twenty make it a necessary qualification.

forever yours?

The strangest part of the traffic presents itself the social position of the candidates. In one batch there are two noblemen, two colonels, a member of three learned societies, barristers, physicians, missionaries, squires with beautiful residences and good fortune, county magistrates, and numberless naval and military officers; a French lady of title, two English ditto, one having a jointure of £3000 per annum, two heiresses, whereof one is a ward in Chancery, entitled to large landed property on coming of age, some half a dozen of noble family or of ancient lineage; and above the rest in point of urgency is an application from a widow lady and her three daughters, all wanting husbands and having independent incomes. Surely this is, to say the least of it, very strange.

On another point a few words of warning seem needed. Certain of the candidates desire to correspond with too many of the other sex at once. Thus a bachelor, No. 6371, “desires to correspond” with no fewer than nine ladies; an Italian, No. 6421, with six; a medical man, No. 6456, with seven. The daughter of a deceased officer wishes to hear from eight gentlemen, and Emmeline, who is the offender in chief, wishes to correspond with as many as fourteen. Such a course of proceeding is hardly fair, nor is it promising of future happiness, for if the marriage accomplished proves unsatisfactory, the nucleus of regret, if not of discontent, is already formed. “If I had only taken 5423 instead of 6320,” he or she will say, “so should I have been blessed, whereas now,” etc. It is hardly to be supposed that of 350 weekly advertisers all represent impostures, and we are assured (though we remain doubtful) that detection and exposure are the results of any attempt at a hoax. If our men and women are so driven by circumstances that they can find suitable companions by no other method than this, so be it. Many there may be who marry in haste and regret at leisure; but, according to Congreve, there is a worse fate possible. In his play of The Old Bachelor are the following lines:

“Thus grief still treads upon the heels of pleasure—
Married in haste we may repent at leisure;
Some by experience find those words misplaced—
At leisure married, they repent in haste.”

so far, so good

A book published 150 years ago might have helped the matrimonial advertisers. Webster’s Ready-Made Love Letters begins with an overview of the courtship process and wedding etiquette and then proceeds to some love letter templates. None of the templates are explicitly intended for newspaper singles ads, but the first letter might have been useful with some modifications:

LETTER I.

From a Gentleman to a Lady whom he has seen but once.

HYDE PARK, May 3, 18—

Miss:

Prompted by an impulse which I cannot control, and impelled onward by a passion which overwhelms every other consideration, I have dared to address you with the hope, faint, yet deathless, that Fortune, which sometimes seconds a desperate resolve, may thus far favor me.

I acknowledge that, previous to yesterday, my eyes had never beheld you; but no sooner did you flash across my path than I felt enchained, enraptured, and experienced an instantaneous and vivid impression to which I had hitherto been a stranger.

I could not remain easy a moment longer without ascertaining your name and address. To accomplish this, I had the boldness to follow your footsteps, and for this and subsequent acts of temerity, I seek your pardon, and implore you to overlook the offence for the sentiment which occasioned it.

That I should be charmed at first sight by so fair a presence cannot be inconsistent in itself, or a matter of surprise to you; doubtless this is not the first instance by many of your having led the senses captive on the instant. It may, however, be the first time of your having been addressed under similar circumstances; so that, while others hesitate outside the barrier, I have entered the lists, and set my lance in rest.

For this display of eagerness and impetuosity, let me ask your forgiveness, and at the same time remind you that it is not altogether incompatible with real regard, which some suppose should be of slow and gradual growth.

I venture to assert, however, that in every case where two hearts are concerned, affection has had its birth in some instantaneous impression or sudden impulse. Esteem, respect, and regard, which accompany the tender passion, follow afterwards. The heart is first impressed with a hasty sketch, and the outline is at a later date filled in.

I trust, therefore, Miss, that although this communication emanates from one to whom you are unknown you will not conceive it to be wholly undeserving of notice; but that you may be induced to hold out some hope, however slight, and to favor me with a few words of reply, from which I may extract hope to animate me, and encouragement to persevere.

I have the honor to be, Miss,
Your devoted servant,

TO Miss —

Harper’s Weekly February 15, 1873

wholesale market

According to Wikipedia, William Congreve wrote some other well-known lines, including: “Musick has charms to soothe a savage breast” and “Heav’n has no rage, like love to hatred turn’d, Nor hell a fury, like a woman scorned.”

There is information out that the Matrimonial News opened offices in a few American cities. At Newspapers.com you can read another article about the service, this time from the the November 9, 1878 issue of The Valley Falls New Era.

The 1873 Harper’s Weekly content is from Hathi Trust, pages 102, 103, 129

From the Library of Congress: Forever yours between 1800 and 1900; Harmony before Matrimony (1805), I thought I saw a cat fight. but apparently not – “A young woman and a fashionably dressed young man singing a duet. The woman plays a harp while looking over her shoulder at the music book, “Duets de L’Amour”, which the man holds. On the table between the two is an open copy of Ovid’s “Art of Love.” Two cats play on sheets of music; two goldfish swim in a bowl; two roses grow in a vase. Other images reflect the concept of couples and love.”; Webster’s Ready-Made Love Letters; Civil War envelope

Posted in 150 Years Ago | Tagged Matrimonial News, singles ads, Valentine's Day, William Congreve | Leave a comment

You can see the rest of the newspaper and read more about the game at the Library of Congress. The Library also has more general information about the Globe:

I noticed on page 3 of the Thanksgiving Globe that “Negroes are no longer considered slow in foot ball.”

Happy Thanksgiving!

According to Wikipedia, John Ancrum Winslow was “a descendant of Mayflower passenger Mary Chilton and her husband John Winslow, who was a brother of Pilgrim father Edward Winslow.” Also, during the Mexican War Winslow shared a shipboard cabin with Raphael Semmes, the Alabama’s commander.

Other sites with articles about the naval battle include Warfare History Network and the Encyclopedia of Alabama. The Alabama shipwreck was discovered in 1984.

The 1873 Harper’s Weekly content is from Hathi Trust; the section reproduced above is on page 917. From the Library of Congress: sheet music; a Winslow report and battle map

[September 16, 2023}I changed the size of a couple images and noted that the picture of Sickles being cheered was at the 50th anniversary commemoration of the battle.

THE FOURTH OF JULY.- A correspondent furnishes the following interesting account of the inception of the Declaration of Independence. It was written shortly after inspecting the original, in the Patent Office in Washington. We make free extracts, as appropriate to the “Day we Celebrate:”

The quote from National review was on page 12 of its May 29, 2023 issue. The context was the coronation of Charles III. He’s considered the 62th English and/or British monarch going all the way back to the early 9th century – Ecgberht, King of Wessex.

[July 7, 2023] I should have mentioned that John Hancock’s statement about King George’s spectacles is now considered apocryphal – see Wikipedia.

The 1873 Harper’s Weekly content is from Hathi Trust; the section reproduced above is on page 599. I found the images from the July 13, 1878 issue of Harper’s Weekly at the Internet Archive

From Wikimedia: the image of the June 19th orders and a couple other orders.

A PSALM OF LIFE.

WHAT THE HEART OF THE YOUNG MAN SAID TO THE PSALMIST.

Tell me not, in mournful numbers, Life is but an empty dream! For the soul is dead that slumbers, And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal; Dust thou art, to dust returnest, Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, Is our destined end or way; But to act, that each to-morrow Find us farther than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting, And our hearts, though stout and brave, Still, like muffled drums, are beating Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world’s broad field of battle, In the bivouac of Life, Be not like dumb, driven cattle! Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant! Let the dead Past bury its dead! Act,—act in the living Present! Heart within, and God o’erhead!

Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time;—

Footprints, that perhaps another, Sailing o’er life’s solemn main, A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing, With a heart for any fate; Still achieving, still pursuing, Learn to labor and to wait.

According to Willard W. Glazier’s 1886 Peculiarities of American Cities (at Project Gutenberg), Jews and Christians got along surprisingly well in Cincinnati:

There were reports of another major fire in Boston on Decoration Day – May 30, 1873

Also from Project Gutenberg – The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The image of the defense of Cincinnati was published in the September 20, 1862 issue of Harper’s Weekly and is at Son of the South

“HEAD-QUARTERS of the Army, WASHINGTON, April 14,1873.

The Harper’s Weekly content is from Hathi Trust pages 339 and 411.

From the Library of Congress: the image of Captain Jack from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, v. 36, no. 928 (1873 July 12), p. 277; the portrait of General William Tecumseh Shermanthe article from the April 16, 1873 issue of The Daily Phoenix;

President Grant appointed Henry D. Cooke first territorial governor of Washington D.C. His successor was the last territorial governor of the district.

The cartoon of Grant as giant and as pygmy is from the April 2, 1870 issue of Punchinello at Project Gutenberg. Most of the Harper’s Weekly content is from Hathi Trust, except for the image of the crowd at the Capitol. You can see that at Internet Archive.

The 1873 Harper’s Weekly content is from Hathi Trust, pages 169, 170

“Thus grief still treads upon the heels of pleasure— Married in haste we may repent at leisure; Some by experience find those words misplaced— At leisure married, they repent in haste.”

According to Wikipedia, William Congreve wrote some other well-known lines, including: “Musick has charms to soothe a savage breast” and “Heav’n has no rage, like love to hatred turn’d, Nor hell a fury, like a woman scorned.”

There is information out that the Matrimonial News opened offices in a few American cities. At Newspapers.com you can read another article about the service, this time from the the November 9, 1878 issue of The Valley Falls New Era.

The 1873 Harper’s Weekly content is from Hathi Trust, pages 102, 103, 129

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Daily News - 150 Years Ago

General Civil War Sites

Other Resources

WordPress

Topical Paradise

Categories

Subscribe by Feed

Subscribe by Email