Category Archives: Confederacy

December 1, 1862: Desolating the South

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Allen Gathman

[Okay, the Dispatch didn't mention him, but we know something they don't.] *********************************************** The Richmond Daily Dispatch notes the destruction caused by Union armies invading the South, but assures the readers that it will all be over soon, and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Confederacy, William Tecumseh Sherman | Leave a comment

November 28, 1862: Georgia says conscription unconstitutional

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Allen Gathman

[Cartoon showing the balloonist Leonidas helping draft evaders] While the draft was unpopular both in the North and the South, the south had a particular problem. It’s a bit difficult, when your country is founded on the rights of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Confederacy, Conscription, Georgia | Leave a comment

November 6, 1862: Shoe substitute in the South

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Allen Gathman

I’ve posted before about shortages in the South due to the blockade, especially of coffee, and the bizarre substitutes that Southerners were driven to. Apparently the Confederate army wasn’t well supplied with shoes, either, judging from this little tip from … Continue reading →

Posted in Blockade, Confederacy | Leave a comment

August 27, 1862: Counterfeit Confederate money

Posted on August 27, 2012 by Allen Gathman

The Richmond Daily Dispatch reports a counterfeiting “flutter”. Counterfeiting was a serious problem for the Confederacy, in part because the North, well supplied with printing shops, had no law against printing fake Confederate currency, and in fact may have quietly … Continue reading →

Posted in Confederacy, Money | Leave a comment

May 16, 1862: Butler bans Confederate money

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Allen Gathman

Confederate $100 bill. Butler ordered banks to stop using Confederate money in New Orleans. Must have caused some consternation to people with a lot of it, as it doesn’t appear there was any compensation for them. GENERAL ORDERS, HDQRS. DEPARTMENT … Continue reading →

Posted in Benjamin Butler, Confederacy, Louisiana, Money | Leave a comment

December 9, 1861: Moving from Richmond?

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Allen Gathman

Rumors were flying in early December about the possibility that the Confederate capital would move to Nashville. As it turns out, this might have been a bad idea — Nashville wouldn’t hold out long. Of course, had the Confederacy moved … Continue reading →

Posted in Confederacy | Leave a comment

December 4, 1861: Breckinridge expelled from the Senate

Posted on December 4, 2011 by Allen Gathman

A wartime postcard labeling Breckinridge “Traitor”. One of the first orders of business in the new Senate was to expel John Cabell Breckinridge as a traitor. Breckinridge, who had garnered 72 electoral votes in 1860, returned to the Senate after … Continue reading →

Posted in Confederacy, John C. Breckinridge | Leave a comment

November 20, 1861: (some of) Kentucky secedes

Posted on November 20, 2011 by Allen Gathman

A group of anti-Lincoln Kentuckians adopted an ordinance of secession. They took care to mention that the actual legislature of Kentucky was illegitimate. The Confederacy was willing to recognize Kentucky as a Confederate state and the 13th star in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Confederacy, Kentucky | Leave a comment

November 13, 1861: The reality of war

Posted on November 13, 2011 by Allen Gathman

WEEKLY MISSISSIPPIAN [JACKSON, MS] November 13, 1861 For the Mississippian. To Preserve Dead Bodies. Take 2 lbs. common salt, 2 lbs. alum, 1 lb. saltpetre; dissolve in 6 gallons water and keep the shrouding wet with the solution. I have … Continue reading →

Posted in Confederacy | Leave a comment

November 10, 1861: *urgk*… Coffee?

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Allen Gathman

Okay, I know that in New Orleans they used chicory root for coffee, but this is just ridiculous. This is evidence the blockade was definitely working. MEMPHIS DAILY APPEAL [MEMPHIS, TN], November 10, 1861 Coffee.—In these war times it is … Continue reading →

Posted in Coffee, Confederacy | Leave a comment