Author Archives: SUMPTER

a tender inquiry

Posted on September 14, 2013 by SUMPTER

From The New-York Times September 14, 1863: NEWS FROM WASHINGTON.; OUR SPECIAL WASHINGTON DISPATCHES. GEN. GILLMORE’S OPERATIONS. … WASHINGTON, Sunday, Sept. 13, 1863. It is understood here that Gen. GILLMORE has tenderly inquired of Government if he would be justified … Continue reading →

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cruel performance

Posted on September 11, 2013 by SUMPTER

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch September 11, 1863: Musical. –“When this cruel war is over” and “Annie of the Vale” are the titles of two ballads very handsomely published by Geo. Dunn & Co. The first piece is the sort … Continue reading →

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“Dead House”

Posted on September 10, 2013 by SUMPTER

I’m about a week late with this article from a Seneca County, New York newspaper in September 1863: We are pained to learn of the death of PETER W. BOCKOVEN, son of GEO. W. BOCKOVEN of this town, which occurred … Continue reading →

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mendicants no more

Posted on September 9, 2013 by SUMPTER

Here is an editorial praising the Invalid Corps (later the Veteran Reserve Corps) as a way for slightly disabled volunteers to earn their pension benefit and as a way to free up healthier soldiers for front line duty. From The … Continue reading →

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“whiskey-drinking odor about it”

Posted on September 7, 2013 by SUMPTER

150 years ago today The New-York Times praised Abraham Lincoln’s letter to James Conkling defending his Emancipation Proclamation and the use of black troops to fight the rebellion. Mr. Conkling read the letter to a pro-Union mass meeting in Springfield, … Continue reading →

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coffee break

Posted on September 6, 2013 by SUMPTER

A product label from 1863:

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four hundred pound supper

Posted on September 5, 2013 by SUMPTER

It might not be a coincidence that that the same issue of the Richmond Daily Dispatch that praised the Confederate armies also published a letter written by George Washington that expressed his concern with the seeming apathy of Americans not … Continue reading →

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“The Southern army is … the Southern people”

Posted on September 4, 2013 by SUMPTER

[I’m pretty sure I’ve heard it said that General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia became the Confederacy’s most important national institution. And, of course, I’m paraphrasing] From the Richmond Daily Dispatch September 4, 1863: The spirit of the army. –Every … Continue reading →

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Springfield speech

Posted on September 3, 2013 by SUMPTER

150 years ago today a “mass meeting of unconditional Union men” was held in Springfield, Illinois. President Lincoln had been invited to speak at his pre-presidency hometown but couldn’t leave Washington “because Rosecrans had finally begun his long-awaited campaign to … Continue reading →

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just a blip?

Posted on September 2, 2013 by SUMPTER

150 years ago this week Gothamites could read about the Union prison at Fort Delaware. One of correspondent “C.B.”‘s first impressions was of the stench of “ten thousand idle and dirty men.” The southern prisoners are seen as mostly listless, … Continue reading →

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