The Civil War… 150 years ago today… May 25, 1861

May 25, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 
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We continue our weekly feature of reflecting upon the appropriate 150 year old issue of “Harper’s Weekly” from the perspective of a subscriber in 1861:

Today’s issue, dated May 25, 1861, has the entire front page taken up with a a very dramatic fire at Willard’s Hotel in the nation’s capital, showing the New York Fire Zouaves working feverishly to t out the blaze. One firemen is being held by his legs as he is suspended upside down with a fire hose!

Other prints inside deal more with the war, including: “Camp Cameron…” from Washington, D.C., a nice print of “Evening  Parade at Fort Pickens…” which provides a nice overview of the fort. Another print shows troops leaving from Dubuque, Iowa, aboard two of the large paddle wheeler boats which ply the Mississippi. The interior of the rotunda of the Capitol in Washington shows a Mass. regiment resting there, with support braces for the construction work going on evident. I understand the new dome is in the early stages of completion.

A full page print shows: “The  79th Regiment (Highlanders) ” of the New York Militia marching down the street in kilts! What a sight! And there is also an impressive full page print of “Camp Scott, York, Pennsylvania” showing many troops encamped there.

Yet another page has a map of the United States showing the strategic routes in the interior of the country. I always look forward to maps concerning the war as they provide a perspective which makes the battle strategies in the various parts of the country more understandable.

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Filed under: Civil War, Newspaper Collecting Ideas, The Hobby, Yankee
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“…one of the vilest scoundrels that ever lived…”

May 21, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 
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Samuel Medary was the publisher of the controversial newspaper “The Crisis” from Columbus, Ohio, a Civil War era newspaper from the North which was supportive of the Southern cause. Obviously it met with much opposition during its brief life, at one point raided by a hateful mob. When Medary died in1864 it was not surprising that his death would not be treated nicely by other Northern newspapers, but this report went to the extreme. Keep in mind that this appeared in the Jan. 25, 1865 issue of “The Crisis“, so the introductory paragraph would be expected:

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The Civil War… 150 years ago today… May 18, 1861

May 18, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 
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We continue our weekly feature of reflecting upon the appropriate 150 year old issue of “Harper’s Weekly” from the perspective of a subscriber in 1861:

The front page of the May 18, 1861 issue shows a ship of the Confederacy, the ‘Lady Davis, two guns…”, which is almost comical. It appears to be nothing more than an over-sized tug boat with two cannons mounted on the deck. Is this what their Navy is like? This war can’t last long.

Two other full page prints shows the great variety in uniforms among the Union forces, one of “Col. Ellsworth’s New York Zouaves” and the other “Col. Wm. Wilson & His Staff”. I also like the print of “The Battery  or Park Promenade at Charleston…during the Bombardment of Fort Sumter”, showing part of the town. There is also a print showing Fort Pickens in Pensacola harbor. It appears to look much like Fort Sumter further to the north. Two smaller prints show Camp Dennison near Lancaster, Pa. I wasn’t aware there was an installation there.

I’m intrigued by the print of “The Long Bridge Leading Across the Potomac from Washington to Virginia…”. The Potomac seems to be a very wide river, and I’ve never seen such a long bridge!

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The Traveler… Standard Oil dissolved… now that makes sense…

May 16, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 
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Today I traveled into The Christian Science Monitor dated May 16, 1911 and found that after being in court cases for over four and a half years, the Standard Oil case had been ruled on by the U. S. Supreme Court with the decision being for the dissolving of the company due to anti-trust practices.   This issue includes a photo of the Supreme Court justices and a text block with the charges against the company.

Another article in the issue dealt with need for new street lamps in Florence, New Jersey. The election for the gas commissioners and appropriation for the lamps were to be held in May, however, there was no board to conduct the election. How’s that for politics?

~ The Traveler

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Guess he was on a bad tour…

May 14, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 
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The front page of the “Columbian Centinel” of Boston, April 19, 1788, has a “Description–By a resident in the Island” of Jamaica. The writer must have taken much time & effort to be as unflattering as possible. It makes for some interesting reading:

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The Civil War… 150 years ago today… May 11, 1861

May 11, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 
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We continue our weekly feature of reflecting upon the appropriate 150 year old issue of “Harper’s Weekly” from the perspective of a subscriber in 1861:

Today’s May 11, 1861 edition has nice prints of two soldiers. In seeing other prints of those involved in the war, I’m struck by the variety of uniforms–or lack of them–among many. The only common apparel seems to be the hat, and even those show some variety as well. I would have suspected all Union soldiers would be dressed alike.

The recent action at Harper’s Ferry is portrayed in three prints, one showing a view of the town. I always enjoy seeing town views. Another print shows the town of Annapolis, Maryland, where the famed ship “Constitution” is docked, shown in the foreground.

The dramatic print in this issue is certainly the double page at the center, showing the “Destruction of the United States Navy Yard at Norfolk…By fire…” and also the “Destruction of the United States Ships at Norfolk…”. What a blaze! Two more prints show soldiers marching off to the war, one shows them marching right onto the ship ‘James Adger’. I wonder if they know what the are in for?

Included also is a nice print of Camp Curtin in Harrisburg, Penna., showing troops in parade formation, and I am a bit surprised by the full page of 4 scenes of “Fortifications Thrown up to Protect the U.S. Arsenal at St. Louis, Missouri”. I wouldn’t have guessed war preparations were necessary in the West.

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First newspapers in Oklahoma…

May 9, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 
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The history of present-day Oklahoma is different from most states, as most of the district was set apart by Congress in 1834 for the occupation of five tribes of southern Indians who were taken there from 1820-1840. In 1889 part of the area was opened for white settlement, although  a considerable number moved into the territory before lawful entry, causing them to to be called “Sooners”. Oklahoma did not become a state until 1907, the third last of the continuous 48 to do so (New Mexico & Arizona were the last).

The first Oklahoma printing press came by way of Georgia & Tennessee where it published various Indian pamphlets. The first newspaper in Oklahoma was the “Cherokee Advocate” which began Se[pt. 26, 1844 at Tahlequah, printed in both English and Cherokee. It was preceded by one month by the “Cherokee Messenger” but it was more of a magazine than a newspaper, and it lasted for just 13 issues. The “Advocate” continued publishing–with some interruptions–for over 60 years.

The “Choctaw Telegraph” was issued at Doaksville in the Choctaw Nation near the end of 1848 but it did not last beyond a year. But it was then revived in 1870 and continued until 1907. Yet another newspaper was printed at Doaksville in May, 1850, called the “Choctaw Intelligencer“. Printed in both English & Choctaw it lasted for about a year. The other pre-Civil War newspaper was actually a high school publication called the “Cherokee Rosebud” and done by the students of Park Hill Female Seminary at Tahlequah. It began in 1848.

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The ultimate optimist…

May 7, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 
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I’ve always enjoyed reading the editorial on page 2 of the “Richmond Examiner” newspaper, as the bias shown by the writer was often strongly in favor of the Confederate cause. But in the issue of July 25, 1863 the editor stretched his optimist about as far as it could reach. With  the Confederate failure at Gettysburg and their advance into the North stopped, all might have seemed hopeless for the Confederate forces. But the editor tried to put a positive spin on the events by stating:

“…failed by a single accident, by a single mistake–that sad one at Gettysburg…But after all, the depression which its failure produced on the public mind was more than was warrantable. The result was not a defeat, it was not a loss; it was only not a victory, not one of the most brilliant triumphs ever recorded. It was little else than a disappointment of extraordinary expectations…”.

Please enjoy…

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The Civil War… 150 years ago today… May 4, 1861

May 4, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 
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We continue our weekly feature of reflecting upon the appropriate 150 year old issue of “Harper’s Weekly” from the perspective of a subscriber in 1861:

The front page of today’s May 4, 1861 issue portrays what seems to me an eerie sight. It is captioned: “The House-Tops In Charleston During the Bombardment of Sumter” and shows what appears to be hundreds of men and women watching the battle in the distance, smoke rising from the forts & what appears to be bomb blasts as well. It is as if they are watching fireworks on the 4th of July–but this is war!  Several of the women are shown doubled over in grief. It must have been a distressing event to witness.

The maps are always helpful in providing a geographic perspective of the war. A full page map shows: “…Part of Maryland and Virginia, Showing the Probable Theatre of the War”. It’s a great view of Chesapeake Bay, showing Baltimore to the north and Norfolk to the south, and including Washington, D.C. & other towns as well. I didn’t realize the nation’s capital was so close to the Bay.

Another full page shows: “The Great Meeting in Union Square, New York, to Support the Government” which includes both soldiers and citizens. Two other prints show the support for the war with the “Boston Regiments Embarking for Washington…” and a parade of “The Seventh Regiment, Marching Down Broadway to Embark for the War” with cheering fans along the way, even hanging from the windows and cheering from the rooftops–flags everywhere. It must have been a very special sight!

The drama & tragedy of war is certainly depicted in the print: “First Blood–The Sixth Mass. Regiment Fighting Their Way Through Baltimore”. It shows nearly hand-to-hand fighting, long rifles involved with killed & wounded on the ground. The daily reports can’t relay the violence a single print portrays.

Other prints are interesting as well showing the huge size of the “Stevens’ Bomb-Proof Floating Battery” (but made out of wood: how can it be bomb-proof?), “The Heroes of Fort Sumter” and soldiers preparing for war.

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The Traveler… election time of the year… Standard Oil anti-trust case…

May 2, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 
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As I began to venture into my travels, I remembered that we are also heading into a lot of the preliminary voting times. This led me to The Woman’s Journal which, as stated underneath the title, was the “Official Organ of the National American Woman Suffrage Association” founded by Lucy Stone and Henry B. Blackwell in 1870. The issue I selected was not for today’s date, but for May 27, 1911 when they announced that they would be hold their National Suffrage Convention in October. It was not until 1920 that women received the right to vote. Fifty years of persistence paid off!!

Also within the issue is an article pertaining to the recent ruling of the Standard Oil anti-trust case which dissolved Standard Oil. An interesting statement was.. “The Standard Oil trust, nominally dissolved, will no doubt recombine in a slightly different form and continue to do business at the old stand, and will raise the price of oil enough to cover its law expenses.” Shocking, right?!?!

~The Traveler

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