In this day and age, newspapers rarely print fiction. Of course, there is the occasional magical story written by a third grade class that appears every once a week in the Arts and Entertainment section of the paper, but for the most part, fictional stories of real substance are not published in newspapers anymore. This was not the case in the 1800's. Appearing in The Valley Star each week was...
In May 1861, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America decided by a near unanimous vote to endorse the Republican Administration. Consequently, the national church breached the fundamental law of Presbyterianism, by making themselves party to sectional agitations. These resolutions passed by the national church require its members to maintain their allegiance...
Kansas militia led by Jim Lane and Doc Jennison rode into Western Missouri in the Summer and Fall of 1861, claiming they intended to protect the railroads. Instead, they gained a reputation for vicious looting; they were essentially bandits. According to the Charleston Mercury on October 30, 1861, “Even the St. Louis Republican, a fierce Abolition sheet, is ashamed of the brutalities of the...
On September 15, 1961, Sue Carter wrote a letter to her dear cousin Mary A. Heirs. She addressed familial concern which drastically shaped her opinion of the war in general. Carter exclaimed that writing to her cousin is a most exquisite pleasure, yet the letter contained only heartache and anger over uncertainty and separation. Carter expressed her anger towards secession, that our once prosperous...
In an unsigned letter dated September 16, 1861, a Confederate soldier wrote to his family to tell of his first few weeks marching to war. His letter began with mundane details of the dates and names of towns his regiment marched through and speculations of when and where he would meet the enemy, but most of the letter is filled with religious tones and rhetoric.
The anonymous Confederate...
In August of 1861 the Civil War was beginning to show its true colors, bloody and drawn out battles of attrition revealed the war would be much longer and bloodier than anyone had expected. Failed offensives by both the North and South were publicized throughout the nation, and the newly established Confederate was burdened with building a country from scratch and governing a war. At this same...
On November 8, 1861, a group of East Tennessee Unionists led by William Blount Carter burned five bridges to hamper Confederate troop movements. Carter, a Presbyterian minister, had spoken with Lincoln about a plan to burn eleven key bridges between Alabama and Virginia. Many iron furnaces were located in Alabama, producing confederate cannon. Carter's hope was for Union troops to attack...
While residing in his hometown of Washington, DC, a Doctor Snyder was summoned by the Head Quarters City Guard to tend to the soldiers of the Army of the Potomac who were currently stationed in Virginia.However, in order to reach the Army in Virginia, where he was to spend four days, he had to first obtain a pass For Civilians from the Provost Marshal's Office in Washington.The pass was of great...
Many Indians disagreed to Secession, but not necessarily agree to abolition, either. Families owned slaves and continued to throughout the Civil War. Opoethleyohola, a Muscogee Creek Chief also known as Gouge, wished to remain neutral. Many other neutral Creeks followed him North of Indian Territory, which is now Oklahoma.
Colonel Douglas H. Cooper had been persuaded that 'Gouge'...
When S. N. Stallings signed up for service in the army of the Confederate States of America, he sought glory and excitement in the defense of his home and values. By 1861, Stallings' dreams had faded. Rather than fighting against invading hordes of Yankees, he was guarding prisoners of war at the courthouse in Barnwell County, South Carolina.
Worse, the Confederate government had little...