Lincoln Under Fire Washington Defenses Hold Fort Stevens
In mid July 1864 General Early with about 12 000 Confederate troops advanced from the Shenandoah toward Washington. Union forces under Wallace Ricketts and Grant reinforced Fort Stevens as distribution of troops and naval transports arrived. Lincoln visited the scene with his wife and officials, amid sharpshooter fire and heavy skirmishing as the Confederate assault failed to take the capital and daybreak revealed scorched homes and ruined properties along the line of march.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Washington Post
Early
Shenandoah Valley
Maryland
Potomac
Frederick City
Léw Wallace
Ricketts
Sixth Corps
Wallace
Rockville
Washington
National
Halleck
Grant
Petersburg
City Point
Sixth Street
Seventh Street
Fort Stevens
H. G. Wright
Georgetown
Nineteenth Corps
Eighth Corps
New Orleans
Baltimore
M. C. Meigs
Squire Osborn
Brightwood
Ohio
Twenty-fifth
New York Cavalry
Stevens
Slocum
de Russey
McCook
Becona District of Columbia
Ninth Regiment
Veteran Reserve Corps
Cavalry Corps
G. Briggs
Wright
Brookville Pike
Bidwell
Old
Richmond
Lincoln
The
Fort Brevens
Anon
Frank Wheaton
Wheaton
General Wright
Rebels Warn Washington Forward March Threats
A Confederate letter from Pipty-Errsht h Virginia Infantry condemns the administration and vows another raid on Washington if the path is clear. It contends General Early lacked sufficient men and the defenses were too strong, with veteran corps within an hour’s march ready to oppose him, denying any hesitation to advance.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Virginia Infantry
General Early
Washington
Early
Chinese Barbarism in a Philadelphia Chinese Laundry Queue Ritual
A Philadelphia Times report describes in vivid prose a Chinese barbering scene near Arch Street where an old man shaves a man’s queue hair. The piece details superstitions about losing queue hairs, imagined punishments, mourning ribbons, and interethnic misunderstandings conveyed through broken English dialogue.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Times
Flower Kingdom
Desperados at the Border In Frontier Saloon Tales
A frontier reminiscence portrays Curley Bill and Sandy King as emblematic desperadoes roaming a Silver City bar room. The narrative contrasts braggarts and fighters among border characters, notes their brutal acts, escapes from lynching, and the rough justice of vigilantism along with reflections on civilized society’s view of these roaming shadows.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Otis
Silver City
N. M
Curley Bill
Te Kevo Bank
Southwest
Bill
Sandy King
New York
Grant County
New Mexico
Curley Bul
Russian Bill
Peerortteg
Trouver
Finight
Jewish Rip Van Winkle Choni ha Maagol
The tale recalls Choni ha Maagol, a rabbi who slept seventy years after asking how long a carob tree would bear fruit. Upon waking he finds his era changed, his descendants dead, and is met with disbelief. Ravah explains death can bless the friendless.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chonchi-Mangol
Zion
Choni
Chonl ha-Mangol
Choni ba-Mangol
Ravah
Arab Lady Perfumes Horsef Through Smoke Bath Tale
An account describes a woman entering a small fire pit scented ritual, creating a hot air bath with charcoal embers. She strips partially, positions her robes as a mantle, and inhales scented vapors as the volatile oils absorb into skin and voice, reportedly detectable up to 100 yards away in breeze.
Verne's Life Portrait and Literary Rise
French storyteller Jules Verne, around 60, described with white hair and beard, shifts from agile figure to comfortable build. Once aimed for the bar, he pursued literature, writing Journey Round the World in Forty Days at age 80 after trials at the exchange, gaining worldwide fame. He spends summers at sea then returns to Amicus for winter work, gathering fresh ideas.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Jules Verne
Kerahan le Tetu
Paris
Amicus
Earth
Florida Frontiersman and the Bow Gun Legend
An old Florida veteran recalls frontier life as white settlers spread thin and rifles shaped daily work. A raid by roving Seminoles burnt his farm, killed his wife and two children, and left him scarred yet defiant, vowing the bow gun intact despite tragedy.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Florida
Nany
Hin
Memorial for inventor of illuminating gas proposed in London Times
The London Times backs a memorial to William Murdock, famed for developing illuminating gas. The tribute aims to honor his pioneering work in gas illumination and its impact on modern lighting.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
The
London Times
Wiliam Murdock
Murdock’s Fish Skin Experiments Spark London Scandal
A man named Murdock, researching fish-skin substitutes for isinglass, rents pricey lodgings in London. He brings home fish in a basket and flays them on his drawing-room table, hanging skins on velvet sofas and silk curtains until his landlady ejects him and he pays damages. A memorial committee under Sir William Stemen plans a statue on the Thames embankment and to buy Murdock’s Handsworth house to turn into a gas museum with a library and reading rooms for Birmingham workers.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London
West End
Murdock
William Stemen
Thames Embankment
Handsworth
Birmingham
Bare Armed Beauties in Society Debates Go As She Pleases
Chicago papers debate whether women may display bare arms, weighing health and propriety. The piece targets society ladies, approving personal choice while noting fashion tyranny should not force unbecoming displays. It critiques extremes in arms and legs, ballet costuming, and bathing dress expectations, urging restraint and self judgment.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chicago
Graphic
Fanny Davenport
Mary Anderson
Janiuschek
Clara Morris
Riding an Ostrich Race Opens as Bird Sets New Record
In a Cincinnati Enquirer tale, Karroo Boy the ostrich races a horse named McLaren’s mount over a two-mile course. The ostrich wins, despite the horse breaking a leg early. judges credit him with a one-mile post time of 1.1644 as the record. The owner loses his flier’s bet but gains fame for a wild ride.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Hugh McLared
Hugh
Cape Town
Karroo
Doctra
Mazeppa
McLaren
Little Pebble Sparks Ripples in Austria Revolt Tale
Pall Mall Gazette recounts a humorous exchange between an official and Avram area peasants showing how rumours about taxes spread. The dialogue illustrates how baseless stories contribute to unrest, as peasants demand to see written tax papers and question tax criteria. Similar tales have fueled major revolutions.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Pall Mall Gazette
Avram
Austria
Society of Shut Ins Introduces Readers to Each Other
In this country a little known group called the Shut Ins brings confined individuals together by letter. Members stay home due to chronic illness yet read and write, forming friendships and brightening days through correspondence. Some even venture out of town to visit fellow letter friends after improvement.
The Smothered Editor and the Bare Bones of Fact
A young writer recalls his ascent to New York journalism, chasing inspiration and sentiment. After his exalted park bench reverie and a failed patriotic pitch, editors dismiss his pieces as unsuitable. He learns to abandon poetry for terse reportage and embraces the bare bones of fact.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Feliceman
Press
New York
Devonshire Bulls
Farmer’s Club
Here's Your Pants The Perils of a Sleeping Car Encounter
A San Francisco Wasp reader recounts a shameless night aboard a dark sleeping car. A timid woman slips from her shawl and involuntarily grabs a stranger's pants, wrongly presenting them as hers. The ensuing panic includes a pocket knife clatter and a mistaken thief accusation as fellow passengers stir.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
San Francisco
Flere
A Suspicious Passenger and the Sleeping Car Scandal
A half hysterical woman drew jealous eyes as passengers crowded to watch a culprit. The speaker protested innocence while a stout fellow-passenger found a missing gold piece in his vest, exposing the affair. The narrator vows never again to ride after dark or trust waking companions who fling garments on the floor.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Palace
Sam
Odd Readers at a New York Reading Room
A New York Tribune survey details regulars and transient visitors at the Astor Library reading room. It sketches eccentric readers: a French literature crooner, a snuff-box scholar studying Spanish drama, a math aficionado muttering Ha hem, an art lover with Laghrirami texts, a nervous collector of Egyptian volumes, and a garlic-scented German reader who taps Beethoven rhythms as he follows Goethe. The piece notes librarians’ amused reactions to these quirks and the overall lively atmosphere.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
United States
Tiddo
New York Tribune
Astor Library
Siger
Don Luis de Gongora
Laghirami
Goethe
Don’t Scold the Boys: Encourage Self-Reliance and Confidence
An Indianapolis Herald editorial argues parents over scolding boys stifles growth. It urges letting boys tackle tough tasks to build grit and independence, warns against overprotection, and advises stepping back to grant real experience for future success.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Winchester
Lnd
Deaths Head at the Navy Department Corridor
In a doorway at Secretary Chandler's Navy Department, a stone carving shows a skull about three inches across. Marble veining forms fantastic shapes while other figures resemble a dog’s tail and a dancing bear. Messengers note and seek out these carvings during moments of idle time.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chandler
Navy Department
the Navy
Pepacnecus
Curious Saxony Servant Laws Include Butter And Coffee Per Month
The text describes Saxony rules for mistresses and maids detailing: one pound butter and one coffee monthly or cash equivalent. 142 cents per night if bedding is provided. 70 cents monthly for washing. five percent credit on purchases. one month’s residence required after leaving. and a compulsory recommendation book noting the maid’s character and reasons for leaving.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Saxony
Love-Lorn Hermit Daughters Guarded In Mountain Hut
Abraham Kreiser’s two daughters, aged about 60, have lived for thirty eight years in a log hut near Indian Town Pennsylvania, apart from people. They speak in singsong drawls to each other, sleep with axes by their beds, and fear nothing from trains to bears. Both were disappointed in love years ago.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Abraham Kreiser
Indiantown
Penn
Timely Warning and Odd Local Notes From Texas Siftings
A Texas Siftings excerpt notes a grim line about public lands given to railroads and a rail baggage issue. It closes with a small Austin boy prank involving apples and a comic exchange about buckshot and a mother.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Texas Siftings
Austin
Mia
Morning Journal Snippets and Humorous Vignettes
A collage of quips and verses from a 19th century paper includes a riddle about a hairpin in a pocket, a punny organ grinder anecdote, a light verse about a baby’s tenderness, a reflective poem on aging and death, and a humorous tale of Mrs. McVapid and a starch request that ends with a cheeky consequence for Tommy.
A Laureate's Log in London Punch
A dated verse sequence in London Punch reflects a shipboard poet at sea day by day. The speaker narrates moods from Monday to Sunday, mentioning Carrie and Currie, sea life, tea, longing, and return to the bay with light irreverent humor.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London
Carrie
Grand Nevada Millionaire Plans Costly Grand Party
A Nevada millionaire, amid a puzzling moment, orders a grand party for 4000 guests. He asks his butler James to arrange press coverage for two newspaper columns and to price the editor and space, with penalties for poor coverage. The exchange reveals a lavish, self-promoting scheme and a satirical poke at media manipulation.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Nevada
James
Fashionable color names and a public health note
A quirky Sacramento street note mocks fashionable phrases and new dye names like toper's nose and chicken dog, calls Obsidian Skinner’s death near due to work among the poor, and mentions a circulating paper urging his labors be stopped.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Hop Chung
Sacramento
Toper
Obsidian Skinner
Confessing Ahead of Time at Frog Hollow Savings Bank
A bank cashier frets as the directors enter with a mock compromise offer after a private letter to burglars. They praise his management and present an old-headed cane, leaving him shocked at the misreading of the bank's perilous state.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York Morning Journal
Frog Hollow Savings Bank
Steele
Anu
Scott
Also Mentioned on This Page
Richard Butts
William Bells
H. McChisney
Virginia
Montgomery Blair
Byron
Nuarm
Uncle Abe
Philadelphia Times
Tenth Street
Arch
Philadelphia
Lie
China
Curley
Curley Hill
Landlor
Keno Bank
Tam
Bitter Creek
Acter
Rip van Winkle
Snyder
Rose Coghlan
Agnes
Booth
Cincinnati Enquirer
New York Graphic
Festus
Cal Paper
Printing House Square
Franklin
Milderrick
Atred
Sfeas
Morning Journal
Janes Whitcomb Riley
Hother
Tommy
Currie
Bay
Wasp’s “Society
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