Author Archives: SUMPTER

General Scott’s Monster

Posted on April 20, 2013 by SUMPTER

It had been about a year and a half since retired general Winfield Scott left Washington and headed for New York by train. 150 years ago today he presided over a grand Union meeting at Madison Square in New York … Continue reading →

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arms control

Posted on April 19, 2013 by SUMPTER

Back on April 9th Seven Score and Ten published an interesting article by Frederick Douglass that encouraged black men to enlist in the Union army. Here’s part of it. From the Douglass’ Monthly April 1863: WHY SHOULD A COLORED MAN … Continue reading →

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Absent Without a Vote

Posted on April 18, 2013 by SUMPTER

I guess it really is going to be a long war. Here’s an editorial by a Republican-leaning paper urging the New York state government to do whatever it took to let soldiers “vote by proxy” for the 1864 elections. From … Continue reading →

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The greenbacks are coming!

Posted on April 17, 2013 by SUMPTER

Last year I wondered how a local newspaper could know very accurately how much money was being sent home by Union volunteers. Apparently much of the money was funneled through a soldier’s captain, and the captain told the press. From … Continue reading →

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“cancel my signature”

Posted on April 16, 2013 by SUMPTER

From The Papers And Writings Of Abraham Lincoln, Volume Six: ON COLONIZATION ARRANGEMENTS REPUDIATION OF AN AGREEMENT WITH BERNARD KOCK APRIL 16, 1863. A. LINCOLN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, … Continue reading →

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Killed in the Jungle

Posted on April 15, 2013 by SUMPTER

There were several engagements as Union general Nathaniel Banks led his army in a round-about way through the bayous of Louisiana to eventually get at Port Hudson on the Mississippi. I’m confused about the dates. And I was even more … Continue reading →

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“poor Barney McGraw”

Posted on April 13, 2013 by SUMPTER

Union General Nathaniel Banks mission was to capture Port Hudson, Louisiana. His army was opposed by Confederates led by Richard Taylor. On the way to Port Hudson via Alexandria, Banks and his army won a victory at the Battle of … Continue reading →

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Corporal Corpulent?

Posted on April 12, 2013 by SUMPTER

From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in April 1863: A Young Corporal. The Rochester Union says that a private letter from an officer in the 20th Reg. N.Y.S.V., to a friend in that city states that a Corporal in … Continue reading →

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granular analysis

Posted on April 11, 2013 by SUMPTER

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

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Our barns should be bulging

Posted on April 10, 2013 by SUMPTER

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

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