19th Century

The remains of a Civil War Union Solider were found in Franklin, Tennessee by work crews digging a sewer line. Here is the full article: FRANKLIN, Tenn. — Construction crews digging a sewer line made a historic discovery in Franklin on Thursday. While digging near a Burger King restaurant at the corner of Columbia Pike … more →

Well, the internship that I was going to start at the Wyoming Territorial Prison Museum fell through unfortunately, but I am going to write about it anyway. Located in Laramie, Wyoming, the Wyoming Territorial Prison was the result of the need for a penitentiary for convicted felons after Wyoming became a territory of the United … more →

While browsing the internet the other day, I ran into a very interesting collection put together by The Library of Congress of some of the oldest known daguerreotypes in the United States. Some of the images include buildings in Washington DC while others are portraits of people and occupations. The website has an abundance of … more →

Lincoln seems to be in the news a lot this week. Today CNN is reporting that a new photograph of Lincoln has emerged that is believed to be the last taken before his assassination in 1865. It was discovered in a photo album belonging to General Ulysses S. Grant’s great-great grandson, Ulysses S. Grant VI. … more →

I found a really interesting news article on CNN about a message left to President Lincoln on the inside of his pocketwatch by a watchmaker who was repairing it at the time Fort Sumter was attacked. Here is the article: A long-hidden message has been discovered inside Abraham Lincoln’s pocket watch, the Smithsonian’s Museum of … more →

As a student of history, I unfortunately do not have a lot of time to devote to reading fiction books of my choice. If I am reading generally it is either a specifically assigned book or text for a class or a book pertaining to something relavent to my studies (such as Der Dienst by … more →

I have to admit that I have an unhealthy obsession with 19th century architecture and houses in general which means that whenever I come across photos taken in the 19th century of a house from that period, I get quite excited. I’m not entirely sure how I managed to stumble upon this website, but I … more →

I found something quite amusing from an 1865 Boston newspaper: A man about 43 years of age giving the name Joshua Coppersmith has been arrested for attempting to extort funds from ignorant and superstitious people by exhibiting a device which he says will convey the human voice any distance over metallic wires. He calls the … more →

Today marks the 200th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s birth. He was born on February 12, 1809 in a one-room cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. If you are interested there is some interesting information regarding some photos recently of Lincoln’s second inauguration. I’ve written about it before.

For the same US history course that I mentioned I am taking this semester in my last post, I just finished reading a book called His Promised Land. The book is the autobiography of John P. Parker, an African-American born into slavery who eventually bought his freedom for $1,800. Based out of Ripley, Ohio, he … more →