“The irrepressible conflict has rent the Democratic party asunder, and it has ceased to exist as a national organization.” – Chicago (IL) Democrat, May 1, 1860 When the Democratic National Convention opened on April 23, 1860 in Charleston, South Carolina, the delegates’ objectives were to set the platform and select candidates for the 1860 election. […]
14
Jul
10
Election of 1860 – Democratic Convention in Charleston
Posted by sailerd Published in Antebellum (1840-1861), Historic Periodicalsno comment
12
Jul
10
The Charles Rawn Journals (1830-1865)
Posted by sailerd Published in 19th Century (1840-1880), Letters & DiariesCharles Rawn, a lawyer who lived in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, wrote over 11,000 daily entries between 1830 and 1865. The entire journal is now online thanks to the efforts of Pennsylvania University State Professor Michael Barton and the Historical Society of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Rawn, who was born in Georgetown in July 1802, moved to Harrisburg […]
7
Jul
10
Captain James Colwell
Posted by sailerd Published in Civil War (1861-1865), Historic Periodicals, Letters & DiariesJames Smith Colwell, who worked as a lawyer in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, was one of the men who answered President Abraham Lincoln’s call for 75,000 volunteers after Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. Colwell joined the Carlisle Fencibles, a local volunteer company under the command of Robert Henderson, as a first lieutenant. […]
2
Jul
10
Albert Hazlett – Trial in Carlisle, October 1859
Posted by sailerd Published in Antebellum (1840-1861), Historic Periodicals, Recent ScholarshipAlbert Hazlett was among several of John Brown’s raiders who were not with their leader on the morning of October 18, 1859 when US Marines attacked the engine house at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Instead, Hazlett and Osborne Anderson watched the short battle from afar. The two men had left Harpers Ferry undetected late on October […]
28
Jun
10
Christiana Riot – September 11, 1851
Posted by sailerd Published in Antebellum (1840-1861), Historic Periodicals, ImagesThe Christiana Riot took place on September 11, 1851 when Maryland slaveowner Edward Gorsuch and several of his relatives attempted to capture fugitive slaves at William Parker’s house in Christiana, Pennsylvania. Gorsuch was killed and several members of his party were wounded in the fight, but Parker and the fugitive slaves escaped to Canada. House […]
25
Jun
10
Dickinson College President Jesse Peck – “A Practical Joke”
Posted by sailerd Published in Antebellum (1840-1861), Historic PeriodicalsWhen Dickinson College President Jesse Peck arrived in Staunton, Virginia, for a conference in the spring of 1849, local authorities detained him as a result of a prank by Dickinson students. As the Richmond (VA) Examiner reported: “some reprobate student…wrote a letter to the Physician of the Hospital [in Staunton], giving him a description of […]
21
Jun
10
Frederick Douglass – Visit to Carlisle in 1872
Posted by sailerd Published in Historic Periodicals, Reconstruction (1865-1880)Frederick Douglass gave a speech in Carlisle, Pennsylvania on March 2, 1872 about his work relating to Santo Domingo. In 1871 President Ulysses S. Grant had appointed Douglass to the Commission of Inquiry for the annexation of Santo Domingo the United States of America. Douglass delivered his speech at Rheem’s Hall, which was located behind […]
18
Jun
10
Battle of Jenkins’ Ferry (April 30, 1864)
Posted by sailerd Published in Civil War (1861-1865), Images, MapsThe Battle of Jenkins’ Ferry took place in Grant county, Arkansas on April 30, 1864 as Confederate forces attempted to Union General Frederick Steele’s forces retreated across the Saline River. While Confederates attacked several times, they could not stop Steele’s men from crossing the river with their supplies. Andrew F. Sperry, who served with the […]
16
Jun
10
General Sherman’s March to the Sea (November – December 1864)
Posted by sailerd Published in Civil War (1861-1865), Images, Letters & Diaries, MapsGeneral William T. Sherman’s March to the Sea, also known as the Savannah Campaign, began on November 15 when Sherman’s forces left Atlanta, Georgia. The Confederate defeat at Savannah on December 21, 1864 marked the end of the campaign. Teachers can find an overview of this campaign in Professor Anne Bailey’s entry on the New […]
15
Jun
10
Battle of Harpers Ferry – September 12–15, 1862
Posted by sailerd Published in Civil War (1861-1865), Historic Periodicals, Images, MapsIn October 1909 Union veteran Edward Ripley argued that the Union’s defeat at the Battle of Harpers Ferry (September 15-17, 1862) was a “tragedy:” “It is not too exaggerated a term to use where 12,000 brave and patriotic Americans, only too willing to serve their country, were bound hand and foot by an incompetent commander […]
