Category Archives: 150 Years Ago This Month

utilitarian argument?

From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in September 1864: Terrible Suffering of Federal Prisoners. The public mind is becoming very much disturbed at the terrible condition of the Federal prisoners now in the hands of the enemy. Among the … Continue reading

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Month, 150 Years Ago This Week, Civil War prisons, Northern Politics During War | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

certain drafts and taxes

Some Democratic campaign rhetoric painted a picture of endless drafts and high taxes if President Lincoln was re-elected. From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in September 1864: Not The Last Draft. It may not be uninteresting as a subject … Continue reading

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Month, Lincoln Administration, Northern Politics During War, Northern Society, The election of 1864 | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

“fight it out”

According to a reprinted story in a Southern newspaper, Indiana Governor Oliver P. Morton criticized the idea of an armistice in a speech to returning veterans during a year in which he was up for re-election. He claimed that the … Continue reading

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Month, Northern Politics During War, Northern Society, The election of 1864 | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

“new thinning out”

September 1864 was another draft month in the North. Here’s some sarcasm, first from a paper in central New York State and then from the Richmond Dispatch as it reported on Ohio Governor John Brough’s warning against draft resistance. From … Continue reading

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Month, Military Matters, Northern Politics During War, Northern Society | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

worn out

The Democrat National Convention opened in Chicago on August 29, 1864. 150 years ago this month a local Democrat publication found reasons to believe that the Lincoln administration was on the way out. From a Seneca County, New York newspaper … Continue reading

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Month, Lincoln Administration, Northern Politics During War, Northern Society, The election of 1864 | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

mechanics of war

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Month, Military Matters, Siege of Petersburg | Tagged | Leave a comment

a death at Elmira

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch September 8, 1864: … Mr. W. B. Egerton, a citizen of Petersburg, died in the Federal prison at Elmira, New York, on the 21st ultimo. Elmira started accepting Confederate prisoners on July 6, 1864. By … Continue reading

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Month, Civil War prisons, Northern Society | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

thanks for the work

On July 18, 1864 Confederate Treasury Secretary Christopher Memminger resigned and headed back home to South Carolina. 150 years ago this month some Virginia women presented him with a cane to thank him for the jobs he provided at the … Continue reading

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Month, Confederate States of America, Southern Society | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

a productive, destructive August

150 years ago this month the CSS Tallahassee, commanded by Zachary Taylor’s grandson John Taylor Wood, was disrupting Yankee commerce off the northern coast. Here’s a summary from the Navy: After she was commissioned and prepared for sea Tallahassee was … Continue reading

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Month, 150 Years Ago This Week, Naval Matters | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

armistice

A Democrat editorial thought the war was too costly to continue it just for the purpose of abolishing slavery and believed peace negotiations should be the main issue in the 1864 elections. From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in … Continue reading

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Month, Lincoln Administration, Northern Politics During War, Northern Society, The election of 1864 | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment