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Valley Spirit: July 9, 1862 Go To Page : 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |

The War News--The Very Latest from General McClellan's Army
(Column 1)

Summary: The entire front page is occupied with reports of the fighting near Richmond during the "Seven Days" engagement, with reports of Union losses of 15,000 to 20,000 men.

Army Surgeons
(Column 1)

Summary: A medical board arrived in Harrisburg to examine candidates for admission into the army as surgeons. The editors speculate that what happened was a familiar routine: many good doctors signed up but then refused to take the examination, as their knowledge of peripheral fields has faded. The editors predict that the only people who could pass the test were medical students without any practical experience. The editorial goes on to criticize the understaffing of the medical corps, especially in light of the unanticipated need generated by the number of men getting sick in the camps. The efforts of the voluntary Sanitary Commission have not been backed up by the government, the editors claim.

State Line
(Column 3)

Summary: Reprints part of a letter to the Valley Spirit, which attacks an article published in the Transcript regarding a local church. The letter gives a veiled threat to the editor of the Transcript, noting that if the editor ever visits State Line, Pennsylvania, where the letter was written, "he can have it fully demonstrated that the 'boys' are not only his superior morally, but physically."

State Convention
(Column 4)

Summary: Directs the reader's attention to a report elsewhere in the paper from the Democratic State Convention held in Harrisburg on July 4. The Spirit claims that this year's convention was unmarked by personal rivalry and exhibited the unity and patriotism of the Democrats.

Democratic State Convention
(Column 5)

Summary: A summary of the proceedings of the Democratic State Convention held in Harrisburg on July 4. F. W. Hughes of Schuykill County was elected president of the convention; vice presidents from every county and district were elected as well, including John Orr from Franklin County. Isaac Slenker of Union County was nominated as the candidate for the office of Auditor General, and James P. Barr of Allegheny County was nominated for Surveyor General. Resolutions adopted included: support for the federal government for the restoration of the Union and the Constitution; statement that the object of the war is only those goals, and none other; criticism of the extravagant expenditures of some federal departments; condemnation of the release of Southern slaves into Northern society and into competition with white laborers; statement that abolitionism and secessionism are equivalent; statement that abolitionism will prevent restoration of the union due to its purely sectional nature; criticism that the suspension of habeas corpus is dangerous; statement that the government is exclusively for white men and any effort to equalize blacks with whites is condemned; and a statement of support for the troops in the field.
(Names in announcement: John Orr)

Rebel Prisoners
(Column 1)

Summary: Another trainload of Confederate prisoners passed through Chambersburg on Sunday, and they seemed to the editors less distinguished than those who passed through previously.

Tall Timothy
(Column 1)

Summary: A new stock of timothy grass which reaches five feet tall can be found growing on the farm of Josiah Fickes in Lurgan Township.
(Names in announcement: Josiah Fickes)

Counterfeiters About
(Column 1)

Summary: Counterfeit notes of the Bank of Chambersburg are in circulation, though the editors claim that the parties circulating the notes have been determined. The notes are in $5 denominations, and are described as such: the vignette is larger than in the genuine; a sheaf of wheat is in front of the vignette; the title of the bank is scratchy and blurred; a male portrait, rather than a portrait of Franklin, is in the upper right corner; the signature is different and the paper is lighter.

A Franklin County Soldier
(Column 1)

Summary: A member of the 77th Reg't Penn. Reserves writes that he encountered a Franklin County resident, Capt. J. A. S. Mitchell, now in command of a company of troops from Indiana. Mitchell was a former law student in the office of the Hon. Wilson Reilly.
(Names in announcement: Capt. J. A. S. Mitchell, Wilson Reilly)

The Fourth
(Column 1)

Summary: This editorial condemns the drunken behavior of townspeople the night before the Fourth of July, and warns of dire consequences if the morals of the town are not improved.

Full Text of Article:

The Fourth passed off in this place with rather an unusual amount of enthusiasm, and rather an unusual amount of something else too that had as well been left out of the programme. We never knew as much rioting and drunkenness on one night as was put through on the night previous to the Fourth. In fact to such an extent was it carried that some of our divines, who are not apt to tread on the toes of our fashionable vice, were constrained to notice it in their sermons on the following Sabbath. Unless something is soon done for the morals of this community--and that speedily--a catastrophy [sic] like that which befell Sodom and Gomorrah may be looked for almost every day. Reform is demanded and let those who are most interested move in the matter--it wont take much looking around to find out where to begin.

Capt. Easton
(Column 1)

Summary: Capt. Hezekiah Easton, of the First Pennsylvania Artillery, was killed on Friday (presumably during the Seven Days battle) after fighting all day. He was shot in the bowels that evening with a Minnie ball and died several minutes later. Because the enemy took the ground where he fell, his body was not recovered. Easton's worth as a citizen and soldier was known by all, and he leaves a family of a wife and eight children in the town of Loudon.
(Names in announcement: Capt. Hezekiah Easton)

Meeting of George Washington Lodge
(Column 1)

Summary: At a meeting of the George Washington Masonic Lodge (No. 143, A. Y. M.), a resolution of commemoration was passed for their deceased member, Hezekiah Easton. The resolution was reported to the press by secretary John Mull.
(Names in announcement: Hezekiah Easton, John Mull)

300,000 Troops to be raised
(Column 2)

Summary: Reprint of a letter from Union governors to Lincoln, advising him of their willingness to raise more troops to replenish depleted units (Gov. Andrew of Massachusetts did not sign the letter). Lincoln's reply thanks them, asks for 300,000, and leaves a space for each state's quota.

Disgraceful
(Column 3)

Summary: This article attacks civilian political leaders who are criticizing the policies and tactics of General McClellan.

Origin of Article: Journal of Commerce

Married
(Column 6)

Summary: Andrew Detrich and Nancy B. Shatzer, both of St. Thomas Township, were married on July 1.
(Names in announcement: Rev. S. McHenry, Andrew DetrichEsq., Nancy B. Shatzer)

Great Meeting in New York--Protest Against Negro Agitation
(Column 1)

Summary: A meeting was held at the Cooper Institute for people who supported fighting the war only for restoration of the Union and who opposed "continued agitation of the negro question." Hon. Mr. Wickliffe of Kentucky and Hon. William Duer of New York spoke in favor of the position, and the few people who objected were shouted down by the crowd.

Origin of Article: Philadelphia Inquirer