Author Archives: SUMPTER

those duplicitous abolitionists

Posted on December 14, 2013 by SUMPTER

Nowadays Voodoo economics is a well-known phrase to question your political opponent’s intellectual ability or honesty. 150 years ago a Southern editorial said abolitionists’ claims that they wanted to free slaves was “moonshine philanthropy” – abolitionists really just wanted to … Continue reading →

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crowned

Posted on December 13, 2013 by SUMPTER

Walt Whitman seemed fascinated by it. The Statue of Freedom’s top-most section was put into place in the early days of December 1863. Whitman’s “Genius of Liberty” was on top of the Capitol Dome. From the Richmond Daily Dispatch December … Continue reading →

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Bonds, Town Bonds

Posted on December 12, 2013 by SUMPTER

Men in Seneca Falls, New York might have been voting mostly Democratic in the early 1860’s, but citizens apparently didn’t mind issuing bonds to help pay bounties to encourage recruits for the military. People still wanted to save the Union … Continue reading →

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Chase report

Posted on December 11, 2013 by SUMPTER

The following is an editorial that assessed Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase’s annual report to Congress. The issuance of greenbacks has been a success and has not increased the money supply beyond the underlying value in the economy. … Continue reading →

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carpetcutters

Posted on December 10, 2013 by SUMPTER

As winter approached the South was short of blankets for its soldiers in the field. Here’s a way for the Confederate citizenry to help out. From the Richmond Daily Dispatch December 10, 1863: Blankets are much needed by our soldiers … Continue reading →

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pickets to prisoners

Posted on December 9, 2013 by SUMPTER

From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in December 1863: Taken Prisoners. Capt. Meade, of the 111th Regiment, with twenty-nine of his men, were taken prisoners during the recent retreat of Gen. Meade. They were sent out as pickets, and … Continue reading →

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reading room

Posted on December 8, 2013 by SUMPTER
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corrections?

Posted on December 6, 2013 by SUMPTER

Maybe John Hunt Morgan and his confederates didn’t escape through a sewer under the Ohio Penitentiary; it might have been an air chamber. Maybe the escapees didn’t head to Kentucky right after the break-out; they might have gone north first. … Continue reading →

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watering Washington

Posted on December 5, 2013 by SUMPTER

Here’s a photograph that was apparently taken 150 years ago today, “The day when water was first turned into the aqueduct”: And here’s some supporting evidence from The New-York Times December 6, 1863: NEWS FROM WASHINGTON. … OUR SPECIAL WASHINGTON … Continue reading →

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holy lawsuit …

Posted on December 4, 2013 by SUMPTER

… a distinct possibility Beware the dilapidated bridge. Inflation was hitting lumber prices in the Richmond area, but bridge owners were better off paying for repairs to avoid more costly lawsuits in the future. From the Richmond Daily Dispatch December … Continue reading →

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