Author Archives: SUMPTER

last rebel flag struck

On November 5, 1865 the CSS Shenandoah docked at Liverpool in England. 150 years ago today: Lieutenant James I. Waddell surrenders the CSS Shenandoah to British authorities. His is the final Confederate flag struck. After a few days in confinement, … Continue reading

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poll watchers

Men vote today as women watch Only going back 100 years for this one. On Election Day in 1915 women’s suffrage was on the ballot in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New York. It was voted down in all three states. ________________________________________________________________ … Continue reading

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the serious, the somber, the sullen …

the South. Interested in reading a 115 stanza poem about Abraham Lincoln? You can browse on over to Project Gutenberg and delve into The Atlantic Monthly, VOL. XVI.—OCTOBER, 1865.—NO. XCVI.. Although I did not read it all, one part of … Continue reading

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outside base ball

150 years ago today the Brooklyn Atlantic base ball club extended its undefeated season down in Philly with what appears to be small ball, lots of small ball. From The New-York Times October 31, 1865: THE GREAT BASE BALL MATCH.; … Continue reading

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American Union Commission report

In October 1865 the American Union Commission, “organized to aid in the restoration of the Union upon the basis of freedom, industry, education, and Christian morality,” published a report of its work helping destitute Southerners. It is a 33 page … Continue reading

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Alexander meets Andrew

After being paroled, ex-CSA Vice President Alexander H. Stephens had a rather leisurely trip back to confinement in his home state of Georgia. He had stops in Boston, New York, And Washington D.C. 150 years ago today met with US … Continue reading

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“hermetically sealed” no more?

Thanks to Seven Score and Ten, during the Civil War Sesquicentennial I learned about DeBow’s Review, a Southern economic and commercial journal that supported slavery. It advocated secession after Abraham Lincoln was elected president of the United States. 150 years … Continue reading

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freed from Fort Warren …

but confined to Georgia On March 21, 1861 new Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens delivered his well-known Cornerstone Speech in which he praised the Confederate Constitution and maintained that the new government was based on racial inequality: Our new … Continue reading

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don’t make ’em bite off too at once

150 years ago this week abolitionist George L. Stearns met with President Andrew Johnson to discuss Reconstruction in the South. Mr. Stearns wrote up his recollection of the meeting, had the president fact-check the summary, and then sent the document … Continue reading

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concord in Lexington

On October 2, 1865 Robert E. Lee was inaugurated as president of Washington College in Lexington, Virginia – and signed an amnesty oath pledging allegiance to the United States and all its laws, including those regarding the emancipation of slaves. … Continue reading

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