As the first general officer killed in the Civil War, the death of Brig. Gen. Robert S. Garnett at Corrick’s Ford on July 13, 1861 has remained a subject of discussion for over 160 years. As veterans of the conflict aged, a controversy emerged not only over who fired the fatal shot, but also regarding…
Tag: newspapers
Organizing for War: Governor John Letcher’s July 13, 1861 Militia Proclamation
In mid-July 1861, just weeks after Virginia’s formal entry into the Confederate States of America, Governor John Letcher issued a sweeping proclamation calling for the mobilization of militia forces in response to a troop requisition from Confederate President Jefferson Davis. The proclamation, dated July 13, targeted specific regions of the Commonwealth: counties north of the…
Continue reading ➞ Organizing for War: Governor John Letcher’s July 13, 1861 Militia Proclamation
An Eyewitness Gives His Version of the Killing of Brig. Gen. Robert S. Garnett in the National Tribune
The following account of the death of Brig. Gen. Robert S. Garnett at Corrick's Ford on July 13, 1861 was written by Henry Clay Wheeler (1841-1924), Company E, 7th Indiana, who claimed to be among the party who fired at the general on that fateful day. It appeared in The National Tribune, a veterans' newspaper,…
A PROCLAMATION BY THE GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA
John Letcher, governor of Virginia, 1860–1864. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division The following proclamation by the Virginia governor, John Letcher (1813-1884), appeared in the Richmond Whig, Thursday, April 18, 1861, as well as other newspapers around the state in response to U.S. President Abraham Lincoln's calling for a volunteer army to suppress the…
Continue reading ➞ A PROCLAMATION BY THE GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA
“No Meat Hurt”: Letter from John C. Higginbotham
Portrait of John C. Higginbotham of Buchkannon. West Virginia & Regional History Center, Morgantown, WV Soon after Virginia voted to secede, John Carleton Higginbotham (1842-1864), an 18-year-old student at Lynchburg College, returned home to fight for the Confederacy. His father, William Thomas Higginbotham (1821-1892), was a prominent landowner in Upshur County and owned nearly 10…
Continue reading ➞ “No Meat Hurt”: Letter from John C. Higginbotham
New Issue of Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper
Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper was published in New York from 1855 to 1922 and produced many volumes of compiled illustrated histories of the American Civil War. Its correspondents and illustrators got close to the action, so close, in fact, that one of their freelance correspondents, James R. O'Neill, was killed during the Battle of Baxter…
Continue reading ➞ New Issue of Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper
Three New Issues of Harper’s Weekly Added
Harper’s Weekly, A Journal of Civilization was published in New York City from 1857 to 1916. Though imperfect, as most print media was in the late nineteenth century, Harper’s Weekly records the important events of America’s Civil War. It contains many wonderful illustrations that give modern readers a glimpse into that critical period’s military and…
Continue reading ➞ Three New Issues of Harper’s Weekly Added
New Issues of Harper’s Weekly Added
No April Fool's joke--We have added new high-quality scans of Harper’s Weekly news magazine from July and August 1861! Harper's Weekly, A Journal of Civilization was published in New York City from 1857 to 1916. Though imperfect, as most print media was in the late nineteenth century, Harper's Weekly is a record of the important…
New Issues of Frank Leslie’s and Harper’s Added
Fans of Civil War-Era newspapers rejoice - we have added new high-quality scans of Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper and Harper's Weekly from July 1861. Something about these old news magazines really catches my interest. Whether it is the dramatic reporting, or the beautiful but often imaginative illustrations, it's a window into the past. This month,…
Continue reading ➞ New Issues of Frank Leslie’s and Harper’s Added
Spirit of '61 