Category Archives: 150 Years Ago This Week

News from 150 years ago

capital gratitude

Posted on May 28, 2014 by SUMPTER

150 years ago this week VMI cadets were in Richmond, where the were thanked for their valor in helping the Confederates win the Battle of New Market. Governor “Extra Billy” Smith also presented them with a new flag. From the … Continue reading →

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

“salutary retaliation” plank

Posted on May 27, 2014 by SUMPTER

150 years ago this week anti-Lincoln Republicans convened in Cleveland to set up an alternative party to contest the 1864 presidential election. Here Frederick Douglass set out his expectations for the fledgling party’s platform. Understandably (Mr. Douglass pushed for the … Continue reading →

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

Christian Commission

Posted on May 26, 2014 by SUMPTER

we brought up with us nearly three thousand letters, written for disabled soldiers by the delegates of the commission. The New York Times column at left features a matter-of -fact telegram dated May 26, 1864 from Secretary of War Stanton … Continue reading →

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Week, Military Matters, Overland Campaign, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

deconstructing Bobby Lee

Posted on May 23, 2014 by SUMPTER

From The New-York Times May 23, 1864: The Chivalry of the Rebel Gen. Lee. “When monkeys are gods, what must the people be?” ROBERT E. LEE, Commander of the rebel army, is deemed the paragon of Southern chivalry. The rebels … Continue reading →

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Week, Confederate States of America, Military Matters, Northern Society, Overland Campaign | Tagged , | Leave a comment

“we have been pretty severely thrashed”

Posted on May 21, 2014 by SUMPTER

SENECA and his fellow soldiers in the 1st New York Veteran Cavalry took part in the May 15, 1864 Union defeat at New Market. From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in 1864: From the Veteran Cavalry. NUMBER V. CAMP … Continue reading →

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

F Grade

Posted on May 19, 2014 by SUMPTER

A Democrat recap of the first stages of the spring campaign in 1864 wasn’t too impressed with the new Lieutenant General. From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in May 1864: The Fight for Richmond. The advance of our armies … Continue reading →

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

“false and spurious”

Posted on May 17, 2014 by SUMPTER

President Lincoln wasn’t going to shut down a paper for printing exaggerated stories about the in-laws, but he acted promptly when a couple journals published a fabricated presidential call for 400,000 more soldiers and a Day of Thanksgiving. The date … Continue reading →

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Week, Lincoln Administration, Northern Politics During War, Northern Society | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

headbanger

Posted on May 15, 2014 by SUMPTER

Grant is beating his head against a wall. 150 years ago today Walter Herron Taylor, an aide to General Robert E. Lee, got off a letter to his beloved Bettie. From Lee’s Adjutant: The Wartime Letters of Colonel Walter Herron … Continue reading →

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Week, Confederate States of America, Military Matters, Overland Campaign | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Euromarket

Posted on May 14, 2014 by SUMPTER

The Albany Argus claimed that the Lincoln Administration was under-reporting Union casualties for the “European market.” Meanwhile, a more pro-Administration publication was still concerned about some type of European intervention in the war, especially with France and Maximilian in Mexico. … Continue reading →

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Week, Lincoln Administration, Military Matters, Northern Society, Overland Campaign | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

“breathless anxiety”

Posted on May 13, 2014 by SUMPTER

Seneca Falls newspapers during the war seem to have been weeklies. Here’s a recap of the first week of the Overland campaign. The New-York Times seemed almost euphoric as the great battles commenced; this Democrat paper took a more negative … Continue reading →

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Month, 150 Years Ago This Week, Military Matters, Overland Campaign | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment