Category Archives: Aftermath

Hallowed for how long?

Posted on May 30, 2025 by SUMPTER

150 years ago May 30th fell on a Sunday, so it appears that many communities observed Memorial Day on either the 29th or the 30th. According to an editorial from Portland, Maine, many people were surprised that ten years after … Continue reading →

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It’s over –

Posted on January 24, 2025 by SUMPTER

– Reconstruction in Alabama Overall, the 1874 United States elections were a boon to the Democratic Party, especially in the House of Representatives where Republicans lost 92 seats and the Democrats gained a dominant majority: “The Panic of 1873, a … Continue reading →

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Dedicated

Posted on October 15, 2024 by SUMPTER

After Abraham Lincoln was assassinated his body was buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois. 150 years ago today a large monument at the Lincoln grave site was dedicated. In its October 24, 1874 issue Harper’s Weekly described the … Continue reading →

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no foolin’

Posted on April 12, 2024 by SUMPTER

Libby Prison was one of the places in Richmond. Virginia where the Confederate government housed Yankee prisoners. Last year I was surprised while glancing through a newspaper at the Library of Congress. I noticed what seemed to be an advertisement … Continue reading →

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a good word

Posted on January 22, 2024 by SUMPTER

for a bête noire There was a report 150 years ago last month that the ex-Vice President of the Confederacy admired the incumbent U.S. President, U.S. Grant. From the December 25, 1873 issue of The Valley Virginian (page 1): Alexander … Continue reading →

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new governor

Posted on January 1, 2024 by SUMPTER

It was a new year with a new governor for Virginia. 150 years ago a Richmond newspaper looked back with appreciation on the exiting governor – even though he was a northerner – and looked forward to the incoming governor … Continue reading →

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gradual recovery

Posted on November 30, 2023 by SUMPTER

President Ulysses S. Grant’s fifth presidential Thanksgiving proclamation per Pilgrim Hall Museum: BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – A PROCLAMATION The approaching close of another year brings with it the occasion for renewed thanksgiving and acknowledgment … Continue reading →

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spreading the news

Posted on June 19, 2023 by SUMPTER

As the American Civil War ended, federal troops took control of Galveston, Texas. On June 19, 1865 General Gordon Granger used a military order to announce that more than two years earlier President Abraham freed the slaves in Texas and … Continue reading →

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more or less traditionary

Posted on November 28, 2022 by SUMPTER

It was becoming a tradition. 150 years ago, for the tenth year in a row, the United States president proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving for a Thursday at the end of November. THANKSGIVING DAY 1872 BY THE PRESIDENT OF … Continue reading →

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General Meade, R.I.P.

Posted on November 6, 2022 by SUMPTER

The day after his Commander in Chief was re-elected United States President, General George Meade died at his Philadelphia home. From The Chicago Daily Tribune November 8, 1872: IN MEMORIAM. Honors to the Late General Meade. Washington, Nov. 7.—General Sherman … Continue reading →

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