Rebel Letters Show Civil War Secret Mail System
A wartime excerpt reveals how the War Department exploited letters sent through underground routes on the Potomac and Baltimore fronts. Reconnaissance by female couriers and mail carriers allowed Confederates to broadcast sympathy, while Union spies and officials intercepted vast mail volumes to identify Southern supporters and disrupt their networks.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Washington
Sumter
Maryland
Potomac
South
Baltimore
Bull Run
Harper's Ferry
Che Tete Bay
Devic
Provisional Underground Mail
Belle Boyd
Confederacy
Richmond
Army Corps
Washinston
War Department
Secretary of War
Virgina
Linclan
Rayton
Conederacy
Judah P. Benjamin
Confederate States OF America
Confederate States
General Drayton
Jvpan P. Bexlanis
Lidy
W.G
Elzey
Mississippi
New York
Thomas
Laltimore
Why She Smiled
A middle aged man with baldness peers from a fur cap on a Detroit street corner and claims a woman in Blank's department store slipped him a holey half dollar as a souvenir. He laughs at the idea while a passerby challenges the tale, noting it is just a common coin with a hole.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
rDetroit Free Press
McPelter
Blank’s
Texas Sittings
Mrs. A describes next door neighbors as extremely stingy. Mrs. B recalls a mouse starving in their pantry, its skeleton seen as a sign of the stern household’s penury.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Texas
Medical rivals trade bragging over patient load
Two doctors boast about their nights with patients. The younger says he was woke up half a dozen times last night. The other suggests buying insect powder to deal with the nuisance.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Texas Siftings
Women of Turkey How They Employ Their Time
Constantinople letters describe Turkish women as socially active and family breadwinners in many classes while veiled and controlled by custom. The piece notes roles of housewives in villages and cities, the imam’s wife as local leader, and aristocratic wives seeking freedom but facing restrictions, with references to Circassian refugees and the Valide Sultana’s influence.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Constantinople
San Francisco Chronicle
Turkey
Bluebeard
Italy
Germany
Brusa
Seraglio
Losphorus
Imaima
James Baker
Sultana
Chigh
Eip
Love Letters Through History and Laughter
The piece muses on why love letters amuse courts and newspapers, tracing epistolary romance from primal days to modern times. It notes the playful scorn toward letters read aloud and the enduring freshness of affectionate foolishness across ages.
Electric Kisses and the March of Atmospheric Electricity
A New York Sun piece notes bracing weather increases atmospheric electricity in the city uppers, causing sparks on metal and even lip contact. It also mentions elevated rail ticket boxes sticking and a Minnesota printing press issue resolved by grounding the electrical charge.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Minnesota
Northwest
St. Paul
New York
Why She Sat Down on an Icy Sidewalk
A young woman slipped on an icy residence walk this morning. A playful dog rushed to help as a nearby young man asked if she fell. She responded that she indeed fell and rose with a flustered, humorous retort.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Alvany Journal
Peanut pricing sparks opera night banter in St Louis
After an opera outing, Mr Swain wonders aloud about 15 cents per pint for peanuts, while Miss Shawsgarden calls the charge outrageous in a witty exchange captured in the New York Sun style column.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York Sun
St. Louis Swain
Miss Shawsgarden
Mr. Swain
Spoiled Lemon Pie Dispute At Church Picnic
A fragment from Harper's Bazar recounts Mrs Hobson at a church picnic correcting Miss Smith about a lemon pie said to be spoiled. The dialogue notes the pie was freshly made that day and the conflict centers on the luncheon mishap.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Harper’s Bazar
Bowser's Fire Escapes Spark Domestic Comedy
Mrs. Bowser pushes for fire escapes as a joke or risky plan, while Mr. Bowser installs a rope harness hoping to prove its danger. A midnight test ends with a fall and a quarrel, then the couple separates before the apparatus is discarded and the topic fades.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Detroit Free Press
Allen
Mr. Bowser
Silver dollar teachs caution on luck in New York
A New York broker recalls finding a silver dollar on the elevated and relays how a day of luck led to purchases and pleasures costing nearly ten dollars. He warns readers not to pick up stray dollars, despite the thrill of treasure.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Marion Manville
New York
Romantic Letter Carrier Tale From a Chicago Route
A Chicago Herald piece recalls a Lake Park Avenue carrier who meets a pretty young woman near a grand home. She greets him with a smile and a sealed letter, then retreats home. on days without mail her mood shifts to disappointment. The article notes such intimate courtesies occur despite ambiguity about the sender.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chicago Herald
Lake Park Avenue
Eighteenth Street
Letters from the Carrier Endanger Yard of the Mansion
A spirited note discusses letters read by a carrier on the street near a parental mansion. It cites postal rules forbidding handing mail to strangers yet questions who would object. The piece wishes luck to the girl and to the writer, possibly a poor suitor seeking funds to woo and support her.
The Last War Man Confesses to Curious Farmer
A farmer recalls a long dialogue about the late war. He insists he fought in the Civil War only, rejecting lies about other conflicts, and explains he was wounded fourteen times and never killed a horse or limb. The exchange ends with a ride away in a buggy.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
M. Quad
Detroit Free Press
Yanks
Rebs
Lam
How the Pretty Girl Acts When She Needs a Pair
In a Detroit Free Press scene a glove shopper, amid a string of choices and gossiping shop talk, struggles to decide between silk or kid gloves and various shades as she samples many boxes but finally opts to compare at another store. The dialogue captures social chatter and fashion pressure of the era.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Detroit Free Press
Luon
Fittem’s
Sign in store prompts women customers to sit on floor
A St Paul Globe item notes a shoe store sign claiming none but gentlemen are clerks and that ladies may feel at home buying goods. A clerk urged removing the sign explaining women read it and then sit on the floor while trying on shoes.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
St. Paul Globe
St. Paul
Eddie and Other Tales of Little Kindnesses
Short anecdotes from readers about children mispronouncing words, testing parental notions, and displaying gentle wit. Notes include Franky at church, a birthday cake remark about Bridgeport citron, a girl’s critique of church attire, a child’s hymn alteration, hens vs ladders, and a St Patrick’s Day procession observation.
A Suggestion from Shirley
Shirley, eight, in a rural community observes a colored man at the depot and asks in a whisper if the person will wash off. The note is signed Cc. A. B., Nashua New Hampshire, December 16.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Shirley
Cc. A. B. Nashua
N. H
Unknown kitten name from South Boston child
Eva, a 6 year old in South Boston, cannot determine the kitten's gender or name. Grandmother asks, but Eva replies they do not know whether the kitten is a boy or a girl yet. The scene includes a double clawed cat and a date tied to January 15.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Eva
South Boston
Childrens quaint thoughts reveal small faith and humor
In Lowell readers share lines from children ages three to four noting their whimsical questions about God, taxes, and everyday life. A three year old asks if the same God is at Lake Pleasant and why beans have basing threads. The collection highlights bright curiosities and gentle humor of young minds.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Lowell
Gracie Wallace
Lew
Mr. Davis
Papa
Hattile Symonds
Mr. Huntly
Mas. W. Powell
Mass
Sarp'n kittie's feef and a butter prayer memory
A child recalls two childhood vignettes told in a mother’s reminiscence. Millie, age four, chased a kitten with a shard of glass while auntie watched the frantic scene. In a second tale, five year old May pleads in prayer for butter during a Massachusetts winter, asking God to send it and to bless a minister’s blessing on her family’s journey to Rhode Island.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Millie
May
Massachusetts
Little May
Rhode Island
Prayer Fulfilled As Grandfather Sends Butter
A child and mother prayed for butter and the next morning a box from May's Massachusetts grandfather arrived containing 20 pounds of butter. The note said the butter was sent because May loved grandma's butter and trusted prayer would be answered. May danced with joy upon receiving the gift.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mamma
May
Grandpa
Massachusetts
Little May
Fragmented Verse Blossoms From Swickburne to Tid-Bits
A collage of vintage verse and song snippets spans Swickburne, Harper's, and Atlantic World. It weaves brief lines about love’s fleeting season, curls of hair, winter thoughts, moonlit landscapes, and a dramatic dawn of sorrow, linking poetic fragments through evocative imagery.
Amy’s Hat and the Maiden of Suspense Poem Pair
A lyric sketch contrasts a fickle maiden’s mood with a one year old infant beloved for suspense. Amy appears in a playful hat poem praising fashion artistry and a milliner's craft. The verses evoke nostalgia for calashes and Pilgrim era modish adornments.
Also Mentioned on This Page
Dixie
Virginia
Rose
Charley
Willy
Eddy
Ida Francio
Franzio
Adar
Tom
Bao Tuen
Lyceum Hall
Lea
Lincoln
Dean Witttan
Msi
Johny
Marylant
Willet
Bastiel
MeHenry
Sity
Battler
Con
Secion
Abe
Lst
Dore
Mik
Lore
Bartruone
Oscan
Burrah
Jel Davis
Federal Forest
Chork
Philadelphia
Toney
Watertown
Mias Secesh
Otto
Charley K
William Sellers
J. Howard McHenry
John Gitting
Old Brooks
Josh sSaith
Davis
M——d
Annie D. F
Women OF
Washington Post
Eden
Adam
Eve
Gilbert
Geo
Bowser
Mr. B
Ezekiel
Franky
Eddie
Waltham
Harry
BR. L. N. Sutton
Bridgeport
Citron
M. E
Providence
Episcopal Church
GLOBE
Hark
Herald Angels
Tum Globe Angels
Cambridge
W. Concord
St. Patrick
D. Leominster
Hazel
Lake Pleasant
Lynn
Leven
Swickburne
Harper's
Bricht
Thomas Bailey Aldrich
Atlantic
Neponset Marshes
Ephemeron
Annie Fields
Scribner's Magazine
S. A. Alexander
English Illustrated Magazine
Fate
Louise Phillips
Daughters of America
Prythee
Amy
Good Housekeeping
Pilgrim Church
Earth
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!