Online Collection |
|
(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved.
Contact us for information about using this image.
label levels: |
|
|
By the 22nd of April, 1861, when this report was published, the first blood had been shed in the Civil War. The siege of Fort Sumter, South Carolina, had been bloodless (although two men were accidentally killed when a cannon misfired at the surrender ceremony). The first men to die of hostile action were from the 6th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry on April 19th in Baltimore. The regiment was on its way to protect Washington, DC. To continue its journey, it had to detrain and march from the city's northern station to its southern station. On its way through the city an angry mob of southern sympathizers threw rocks and bricks and fired into the ranks of the troops, killing four and wounding seventeen. The troops fired back, killing 12 and wounding several more.
This report totals the men enrolled in the militia of the northern states. The militia was a venerable organization of volunteer soldiers. Although it did offer a ready force of men, their training and organization often left much to be desired. But the needs of the war would soon require much more and President Abraham Lincoln would several times resort to conscription and other methods to raise an army.
top of page
|
"Sundry Items"- military figures for states
publisher Greenfield Gazette and Courier |
date Apr 22, 1861 |
location Greenfield, Massachusetts |
height 4.0" |
width 2.5" |
process/materials printed paper, ink |
accession # #L02.123 |
Send an e-Postcard of this object
|