Author Archives: SUMPTER

“into the trenches! “

Posted on June 20, 2013 by SUMPTER

As the rebel army under General Lee moved north in June 1863, efforts were underway to bolster the defenses of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania’s state capital. New York sent short-term militia units. Here’s a bit about the experiences of Brooklyn’s 23rd Regiment … Continue reading →

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Philadelphia Frenzy

Posted on June 18, 2013 by SUMPTER

As the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia moved northward, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania was the focal point for militia units from other Union states arriving to help shore up the Keystone state. The June 18, 1863 issue of The New York Times … Continue reading →

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It must be an emergency …

Posted on June 17, 2013 by SUMPTER

… Governor wants to cut red-tape New York was not mentioned in President Lincoln’s call for 100,000 militia to help stave off the Confederate invasion, but somehow or another New York authorities got the word. In a repeat of the … Continue reading →

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“threatening to make inroads”

Posted on June 15, 2013 by SUMPTER

150 years ago today some Confederate troops entered Pennsylvania as part of the Army of Northern Virginia’s invasion of the Union. It has been written that the federal War Department was ignorant of the exact disposition of the rebel forces, … Continue reading →

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Peace: Politics and Perceptions

Posted on June 14, 2013 by SUMPTER

150 years ago there were more and more indications that at least a good chunk of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia was heading north of Mason-Dixon. A Democrat newspaper apparently thought it would be a good idea to postpone … Continue reading →

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“a rather dismal joke”

Posted on June 13, 2013 by SUMPTER

From The New-York Times June 13, 1863: IMAGINARY FEARS. — One of our neighbors affects great alarm over the “fearful danger of a centralization and consolidation of the Government.” Just at this moment this sounds like a rather dismal joke. … Continue reading →

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Hot times at Vicksburg

Posted on June 12, 2013 by SUMPTER

The main thing I remember about The How and Why Wonder Book of The Civil War was an image of the caves in Vicksburg that residents lived in to avoid and/or survive the federal shelling of 1863 (I haven’t fact-checked … Continue reading →

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“intolerance and bigotry”

Posted on June 11, 2013 by SUMPTER

The South … has never proscribed any man on account of his creed or race From the Richmond Daily Dispatch June 11, 1863: The Yankee Know Nothings. A suggestive item of Yankee news has been published in this paper, which … Continue reading →

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One of thousands

Posted on June 10, 2013 by SUMPTER

These two articles appear as one clipping in the Seneca Falls, NY Library notebook of Civil War clippings, and they do have a common theme – the federal efforts to take Vicksburg and Port Hudson, the last two Confederate strongholds … Continue reading →

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Not ’til there’s nothing left to sell

Posted on June 8, 2013 by SUMPTER

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch June 6, 1863: General Pemberton to the army. –The Mississippian, of Saturday morning, publishes a speech made by Gen. Pemberton, after repulses of the enemy. It is as follows: You have heard that I was … Continue reading →

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