In Rear of Battle General Shaler's Unsuccessful Attempt
In spring 1864 the Army of Northern Virginia marched from Orange Court House toward the Wilderness. I, a subaltern in the Irish battalion, describe provost duty behind the fighting, the destruction at Trevillian Station, and encounters with Generals Lee Breckinridge and Stuart as Lee writes dispatches. The piece recalls ruined rails, burning depots, and the tense rumor mill as Grant and Lee prepare for a decisive midwar clash.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Washington Republican
Virginia
Rappahannock
Grant
Lee
Gettysburg
Northern Virginia
Orange Court House
Virginia Battalion of Infantry
Shaler
New York
Thomas Hamblin
Bridgeford
Charlottesville
Gordonsville
Richmond
Trevilliay Station
Richmond and
Horth Anna
Jeb Stuart
Breckinvridge
Breckinridge
Stuart
Generals Lee
Yellow Tavern
Virnis
Georgetown College
France
Virginia Military Institute
Dement
Maryland Battery
John , Hanna, Samuel &. Shriver
James M. Caperton
Institute
Veterans of the Civil War Battlefields Recall Virginia Fronts
The author recalls how divisions under General Breckenridge and Colonel Smith reformed troops for New Market style charges, noting veterans and young recruits who faced General Siegel and later General Hunter. He recalls Cold Harbor and the siege before Petersburg, seeking to give a sense of the last great pitched battles in Virginia.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Breckenridge
New Market
Smith
Academy
Siegel
David Hunter
Cold Harbor
Petersburg
Virginia
The Lime Kiln Club Stirs Detroit Free Press Debate
Elder Toots sleeps by a hot stove as misfortune prompts Brother Gardner to rail against misapplied charity. The talk centers on wages, saving, and whether charitable giving sustains idle habits, arguing the rich avoid waste while workers bear daily burdens and charity often preserves a parasitic class.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Toots
Gardner
Happiness at Home in the Indian Wigwam
A humorous contrast argues that happiness comes from simplicity. The piece praises the Indian wigwam as a serene home without luxury, noting the wife’s hard work, the lack of fashion demands, and the man’s easy daily life while highlighting traditional gender roles and frugal living.
Stage Caricatures of Victims on Theatre Stages
Philadelphia Times recounts vivid anecdotes of actors and audiences in major theatres caricaturing public figures. Tales span Jimmy Shaw, Gallagher, Badeau, Foote, Forrest, Tobin, Drew, Brougham, Wingate, Butler, Bergh, Hickman and others, with hangs on the courage of imitation and the security of mockery.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Boswell
Dr. Johnson
Samuel Foote
Quinn
Foote
Thomas A. Hall
General Smith
Edwin Forrest
Frank Chaufrau
Forrest
Myron Leffingwell
Clapp
Jake Cade
Lamb Tavern
Mr. Worrest
Wingate
Jack Dillon
Wilbur F. Storey
Chicago Times
Chicago
Storey
George Jones
Count Johannes
Harrigan Ane Sere
Jones
Papi
Claude Melnotte
Boston
Johannes
John 8. Clark
Pittsburg
Howard McMarter
Ken Manager Field
Boston Museum
Dick Deadeye
B. F. Butler
Deadeye
Butler
Charles Seelerg
The Shah and the Buddha Unmasked in India Circus
In Macon Georgia a tale recounts the Shah of Persia witnessing a purported Buddha's tricks. The vizier tests the claim with a lead pencil trick, the man collapses, and the king declares, thus nineteen Buddhas are unmasked as impostors.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Macon
Persia
Buddha
Shah
Dixie Footprints and the Possum Bond of Peace
In a Nashville World excerpt a provocative polemic contemplates race and unity through a crude Southern metaphor. It links politics to affection for the possum, recalling barefoot Southern childhood hunts and playful stamps of racial caricature, with mock scientific flair to expose enduring stereotypes.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Dixie
Reading of Shute Sign Sparks Legal Question Near Chickies Creek
A Lititz farmer sues two gunners after they shot at a gate board bearing the printed instruction Shute this gate when you go through. The case hinges on whether the sign meant shoot or shut and tests the intent of the writer. The incident highlights a dispute over ambiguous wording in rural property notices.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Lititz
Penn
Chickies Creek
Wedding Sneeze Dislocates Bride's Jaw at Ceremony
A humorous note records that during a wedding the bride sneezed violently and dislocated her jaw, preventing articulation of the solemn words. The wedding party then sought a surgeon to complete the ceremony.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Union Medicale
The Verdict. First Irishman in Court Dialogue
In a London Fun piece a corridor exchange unfolds as two Irishmen await verdicts. One asks what Tim received and hears a breathy reply for life. The other expresses disbelief and worry that Tim may not live long, hinting at dramatic stakes.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London
Tim
Loife
A Wail From Bill Nye On Election Hootenanny
Bill Nye voices tired amusement at the loud post election demonstrations by the Democratic party. He recalls torchlight processions and cannons, asks for more subdued cheers, and humorously pleads for quieter celebrations away from a Queen Anne residence where a vote tally is displayed.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Democratic Party
New York
Canada
Eighth
Myrtle Avenue
Queen Anne
Yankee Doodle Origin Revealed In Dutch Song Roots
Philadelphia Times traces Yankee Doodle to Holland with a harvest song about buttermilk and grain. The air moved to England and Cromwell satire, then to America as Lydia Fisher's Jig. Americans sang it during 1776, before adopting it as a familiar tune after Concord and Lexington.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Lydia Fisher
Holland
Old England
Philadelphia Times
Yanker Didel
Doodel Down
Didel
Dudel Lauter
Yanke Viver
Voover
Kingland
Cromwell
Continental Congress
Nankee Doodle
John Hancock
Concord
Lexington
Lord Percy
Boston
Roosters Brought for Subscriptions Anger Ayr Recorder
The Ayr Recorder notes readers sent in eight to ten year old roosters as payment for subscriptions. The rooster was boiled for days, then crowed from the pot, prompting the paper to declare a line must be drawn. Local readers warned against such barter and the humor underscores the impracticality.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ayr
Music Soiree Fainting Incident Turns Comedic
During a musical gathering a lady faints after a long piano solo. A quick thinking gentleman gives water to revive her, then asks for the next patient and empties the rest of the glass into the piano, provoking a humorous turn of events.
One Sweetly Solemn Thought
In Brooklyn Eagle a humorous quip from Mrs House keeper reflects on the afterlife. She says she sorrows at meeting all the servants who left her, joking that heaven will host them all since it is a better place. Her husband asks why she thinks so and she explains with a lighthearted line.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
George Ketchum
Selwyn's Theatre
Boston
Ketchum
Boston Traveller
Th Traveller
Selwyn
Mr. Shewell
Arch Street Theatre
John
Frank Drew
Dromies
William Wheatley
Auntipbell
John Howson
Huwson
John Brougham
Tom and Jerry
Bob van Riper
van Riper
Bob
Brougham
Barney McAuley
Wood's
Cincinnati
Bluebeard
Professor Wingate
Burdette
Brooklyn Eagle
Carbondale
England
Davy
Ali
Jack Jones
Lolkes
Hirven
Wielliczka
Bochnia
Austrian Galicia
Buffalo Express
Sun day Gaiety in a Boston Boarding House
A playful tale from a Boston boarding house features a clever girl who avoids Sabbath morning chatter about meals. When asked about beans fish balls and brown bread she simply answers Sun day, signaling a lighthearted escape from routine.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Boston
Down in a Coal Mine Shaft For a First Timers Thrilling Descent
A New York Sun report from Carbondale on visiting a coal mine shaft describes the perilous ascent and descent, the claustrophobic galleries, and the near-ritual fear of fire damp and falls. Details of miners lives, dangers, and the legendary penitent fire lighter illuminate daily underground toil.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Wessle
Davy
Davy Richards
Aloor
Wurrik
Advice to Young Men and the Power of Kindness
An elderly writer recalls a notebook page urging restraint and patience. He urges a son to value love over books, to choose gentleness over anger, and to delay bitter words. He shares how delaying harsh letters or editorials prevents harm and brings lasting happiness.
The Height of Meanness and Cat Names in History
A London Truth readers feature jokes on petty miserliness and social pretensions. The piece mocks careless behavior from misused bottles to peevish complaints and a minor scandal with aringing moral tone. It then explains why many call a cat puss tracing back to ancient Egypt and lunar symbolism.
Croker's Diary of Recollections Humorous Exchange
The Pittsburg Telegraph recalls a sharp exchange between Dr. Johnson and Dr. Adam Smith over a letter about Hume death, with Smith recounting Johnson's insult and the heated retort. The item then notes December brings winter, sleigh rides, pretty girls, kisses, bands, oyster stews, colds, mumps, and plenty of items for the season.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Croker
Johnson
Adam Smith
Hume
Smith
Pittsburg
A Patchwork of Verse from Long Ago
A collage of light verse and anecdotes from a 19th century miscellany. It blends lyric snippets, humorous observations, and brief literary notices ranging from poetry by Tam o’ Shanter to Christmas prose, with playful quips about prices, stage display, and domestic life. The pieces reference a Detroit Free Press item and various publications like Chambers’ Journal and St. Nicholas, reflecting a period flavor.
Cabinet of Love Letters and Lost Keepsakes
A crypt like cabinet holds a past romance with rose wreaths, gloves, a paper weight portrait, and faded letters. The speaker debates memory and forgetfulness, noting verses and keepsakes as relics of a former love now consigned to dust. A humorous aside contrasts passing the hat with passing the plate as cycles of giving evolve in a Texan setting.
Also Mentioned on This Page
Spottsylvania
the Wilderness
Hanover Junction
Char
the Lime-Kiln Club
Detroit Free Press
Continental
Chestnut Street
Jimmy Shaw
Jim Gallagher
Gallagher
Shaw
John E. Owens
Baltimore
Owens
Maryland
Thespis
Savaygnan
Savannah Grays
Badeau
Mr.Talmage
Carl Seburg
Jay Gould
Ben Butler
Mark Bates
General Mecellan
Tompkins
Louis L. James
Dauncey Maskell
Laura Joyce
Maskell
Mr. James
James
George Fox
Bowery
William Horace Lingard
Washington
General Grant
Lingard
W. H. Jasgard
G. W. Hickman
Beau
Nashville World
Bill Nye
New York Sun
America
London Truth
St. Bernard
Charper
Egypt
Kitty
Richard Grant White
Dee-Pot
Cleveland
Chambers
Sam
Lubin
Marjorie
Benecath
Harvard Lampoon
Cadman
Luce
Burlington Free Press
Treturn
Helen Gray Cone
Christmas St. Nicholas
Greenaway
Stile
Japan
Paris
Amy
Chronos
H. B
Texas Siftings
Yerger
Whangdoodie Baxter
Austin Avenue
Colle Lions
Deaco Webster
Deacon Webster
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