Tag Archives: Philadelphia

celebration preparation

Posted on March 1, 2026 by SUMPTER

In its February 19, 1876 issue Harper’s Weekly published some artist’s sketches from the grounds of the U.S. Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia as the May 10th opening approached: CENTENNIAL SKETCHES. We give on page 149 a few choice sketches from … Continue reading →

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donations appreciated … and needed

Posted on February 7, 2026 by SUMPTER

On the first day of 1776 John Morgan, the chief medical officer with the American army at Boston sent out a public letter thanking people in Massachusetts for donating hospital supplies to the army. He then went on to request … Continue reading →

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street murder

Posted on November 11, 2021 by SUMPTER

150 years ago last month a white man shot and killed a black man in public on Election Day in Philadelphia. In it’s October 28th Harper’s Weekly summarized the murder. In an editorial a week later the paper seemed to … Continue reading →

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lest we ignore

Posted on September 30, 2015 by SUMPTER

In a September 1865 sermon advocating negro suffrage Henry Ward Beecher reportedly said that the North could take care of all the freed slaves in the South, “but the so doing would be a violation of the fundamental law of … Continue reading →

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Philadelphia procession

Posted on April 23, 2015 by SUMPTER
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street car experiment

Posted on February 17, 2015 by admin

It looks like early in 1865 a Philadelphia company tried to voluntarily desegregate its street cars. Not enough white folks were buying it – or tickets. From the Richmond Daily Dispatch February 17, 1865: The negroes not to ride in … Continue reading →

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heavens almost “hung in black”

Posted on June 18, 2014 by SUMPTER

150 years ago this week President Lincoln with Mary and Todd visited the Great Central Fair in Philadelphia, one of many sanitary fairs held throughout the North. The president acknowledged that war is terrible, but he wasn’t wavering from his … Continue reading →

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Philadelphia Frenzy

Posted on June 18, 2013 by SUMPTER

As the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia moved northward, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania was the focal point for militia units from other Union states arriving to help shore up the Keystone state. The June 18, 1863 issue of The New York Times … Continue reading →

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Mac Heads North

Posted on November 13, 2012 by SUMPTER

Seneca County in upstate New York voted mostly for the Democratic party in 1862. In late September a group of men in the town of Seneca Falls named a political club after George B. McClellan, the commander of the Army … Continue reading →

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President Seward?

Posted on March 2, 2012 by SUMPTER

From The New-York Times March 1, 1862: Mr. Seward and the Next Presidency. Mr. SEWARD having been informed of the existence of a club in Philadelphia, the purpose of which was to nominate him for the next Presidency, sent the … Continue reading →

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