Sinking of the Cumberland and Hampton Roads Battle
A Philadelphia Press correspondent recounts the March 1862 battle at Norfolk and Newport News. Captain Webster recalls the Merrimac’s dramatic ram attack on the Cumberland and Congress, the sinking of the Cumberland, and the heroic rescue efforts, followed by the Monitor’s pivotal stand at Fortress Monroe that reformed naval architecture.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
James River
Chesapeake Bay
Philadelphia Press
Republic
Union
James
Richmond
Norfolk
Bay
Baltimore
New Republic
Webster
Newport News
Butler
New York
Cumberland
Congress
Anchorage
Minnesota
Fortress Monroe
Merrimac
Ericsson
Monroe
Worder
Monitor
Awauk
Worden
Hampton Roads
Craney Island
Washington
Don Alexander O Reilly and Louisiana’s Early Bounds
Exchange notes recount Don Alexander O Reilly a pivotal figure in Louisiana when under Spanish rule. From his 1768 start enforcing Spanish law to his grand title, oath quirks and turbulent career, the article traces his rise, clashes with locals, and later roles in Madrid Cadiz and Andalusia. It also nods to his Irish origins and European campaigns in Hochkirchen Bergen Minden and Chaves.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
la Salle
Mississippi
Louisiana
France
Biloxi
Iberville
Hudson Bay
Havana
Spain
United States
Don Alexander O'Reilly
Alna
Ireland
Don Alexander O’reilly
Benfayon
Order of
Provings
Louiana
Madrid
Cadiz
Andalusia
Algiers
Army of the Eastern
Chinchilla
Baltrasna
Upper Ten Society Boss McAllister Heads New York Elite
A Cincinnati Enquirer reader relays a view of New York high society led by Ward McAllister as social boss. He describes the Patriarchs ball and the Family Circle Dancing Class, their costs, and the power to decide who is admitted. The piece notes Southern influence through Burns dinners and a wealthy Knickerbocker family, and cites Mrs Paran Stevens as a possible head, though the question remains open. The Vanderbilts and Astors are mentioned as scrutinized connected figures within this social hierarchy.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Gath
Cincinnati Enquirer
Washington
New York
Ward McAllister
Sixth Avenue
Delmonico’s
Patriarchs
McAllister
F.C. D.C
Georgia
Western Hemisphere
Henry Ward Beecher
Joseph Choate
Admiral Farragut
George Washington
Napoleon Bonaparte
Robert Burns
Burns
Paran Stevens
Lowell
Mass
Revere House
Boston
Stevens
Fifth Avenue
Pagets
Marquis of
Anglesey
Auckland
Henry V
Waterloo
Paget
Russia
Roscoe Conkling
Mr. Evarts
Admiral Polo
Spain
Stoughton
Astors
Opening oysters fiasco ends with broken thumb and chaos
In Brooklyn, Mr Spoopendyke battles a stubborn oyster while his wife suggests crack him in the door. The clash over oyster opening escalates to knife slips, a shattered shell, and a wounded hand as they drag the stubborn bivalve to the front.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mr. Spoopendyke
Mrs. Spoopendyke
Spoopendyke
Society of Spoopendyke
Train Socialites on Milwaukee and St Paul Ride
On a Milwaukee and St Paul rail trip gone at thirty miles an hour a collision of trains prompted strangers to abandon reserve. A Manitoba woman sat on a corpulent man’s lap a Chicago girl leapt nine seats to sit on a preacher’s hat and a shy man shared a lunch basket with a bridal party. The journey sparked lasting acquaintances and softened home manners.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Laramie
Milwaukee & St. Paul
Manitoba
Chicago
la Crosse
Roscoe Conkling
Vanderbilt heirs praised for prudence and wealth
The passage describes William H. Vanderbilt guiding his family with modesty, Cornelius Vanderbilt inheriting 84 million, and William K. Vanderbilt receiving 1 million, reflecting the Commodore's stern, square head and the family’s emphasis on restraint to preserve respect and substance.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
William H. Vanderbilt
Commodore
William
Cornelius
Commodore Vanderbilt
William K
Parson’s Texas church excuse echoes old frontier tale
A long ago Texas anecdote recounts a campfire reveal by a Parson who admits he left Kentucky because he did not build a church, sparking mystery among a group of settlers. Separately a New York druggist recalls a man in need of opium, slipping away with laudanum and disguising payment, exposing a habitual theft trick.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Texas
Judge Blank
Arkansaw
Spandio
Parson
Kentucky
New York Sun
Fle
One-eyed men in Paterson study notes
Statistics show Paterson New Jersey has more one-eyed men per size than any city except Pittsburg. Nine tenths are iron and steel workers struck by metal chippings. Glass eye manufacturers maintain a thorough information system so that before the bandage is off the insured eye owner receives many circulars.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Paterson
N. J
United States
Pittsburg
Golden Arrow Tale Ends In Melting Pot
Philadelphia Press reports a striking relic tale about a gold arrowhead from Africa and a toothplate made from its mate. A Katlipson chief Taheti’s son preserved the arrow through wars and thefts across Barcelona Madrid Paris London and New York before ending up in a dentist’s shop and finally in a New York trunk with a cash payoff.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Spain
Barcelona
Madrid
Paris
New York
America
Zaheti
Clark
Africa
Tale of a Melted Arrowhead and Dusty Plate
A narrator recalls a strange tale about a remarkable history and a melted arrowhead saved briefly before being forgotten. The plate remains on the shelf covered in dust, its adventures fading from memory during a general cleaning.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Sam
Kaleidoscope as Design Tool Revealed in New York Store
A plain man buys a large kaleidoscope for 12 dollars at an optician's shop and is revealed to be a carpet designer using the instrument for pattern foundations and color suggestions. Experts note Germans mass produce kaleidoscopes, their value lies in design guidance for architecture, stained glass, and floor patterns.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York Sun
Sun
Optician
Germany
Paris
Father Castel
Castel
Man in hospital shows multiple chest wounds and air-breathing peculiarity
Salt Lake Tribune reports James Dwyer at St. Mark's Hospital with three chest bullet holes and a remaining armpit wound that lets air escape. He describes being shot in Bonanza City by Charley Flaxon, then overpowering him as bystanders stopped further violence.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Arrrow
Salt Lake Tribune
James Dwyer
Tribune
St. Mark’s Hospital
Dwyer
Bonanza City
Flaxon
Charley
Ell
Tornado Tom confronts editor over false scandal tale
The editor sits in a revolving chair as Tornado Tom storms in denying swindling an orphan of four dollars. The Terror boasts of killings from a log-roll in Kentucky to a head slaying in Omaha, blaming temper and miseducation, while the editor feigns calm and invites him to stay.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Salt Lake Tribune
Tornado Tom
Texas
Shorty Barnes
Bowery
New_York
Kentucky
Omaha
Indian trick for winter fishing and warmth on the river
In the big meadows a cautious illustration shows a Native American paddling a canoe loaded with firewood. A sand-filled center holds a blazing fire while he fishes the riffles, offering warmth and a steady catch as he glides past white anglers on the snowy bank.
Illiterate bookseller in Berlin gains fame for memory
An illiterate Berlin bookseller, unable to read or write, runs a large trade of well regarded books including science and contemporary literature. He relies on memorized catalog cards and the physical shape and size of books as his main guides, rarely erring in selections.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Berlin
A Patchwork Page of Verse and Local Doings
A collage of poems and humorous vignettes from New York Mercury and Chicago Tribune style columns plus reminiscences and a sunlit Creekside scene. Includes playful notes on epidemics in Harlem, a seaside night tune, and a comic tale from Detroit Prep Press about a Michigander and a funeral.
Also Mentioned on This Page
Longfellow
Morriso8
Yonder Hill
Morris
New York Society
Murray Hill
Stevenses
Ionable Society
Robert
Opposi
Knickerbocker
Prince Imperial
Sadam
Brooklyn Eagle
J. L. Clark
Filders Street
Senor Cavalin
Senor
Darky
Taheti
London
Katlir
Liverpool
California
Plumas National
John W. Chadwick
New York Mercury
Harlem
Sarah Orne Jewett
San Francisco
Denver Tribune
P. Foster
Pacific Isles
Puck
Sophocles
Edith Thomas
Sylvan
Chicago Tribune
Beatrice Brannigan
Brannigans
Mahoneys
Vivian Mahoney
Vivian
Chicago Historical Society
Acton von Boyle
Father Gander
Jones’ Mill
Llive
Wonderland
Doctor
Detroit Prep Press
Indianna
Jim
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