1902 Diary Pastor Civil War Veteran Travels Through the South Carolina Inter-State Exposition Jacksonville Florida Savannah New Orleans African Americans

Item Details

A fascinating 150 page manuscript diary of the Reverend J.W. Rumple originally from Virginia but serving as a pastor in Brooklyn, New York at the time of the diary.  It is in 2 parts.  The first is from 1900 and details his trip to Moscow and other parts of Russia.  The second describes his journey through the south in 1902 going to Charleston, throughout Florida, Savannah, Mobile before spending many days in New Orleans.  He writes very detailed accounts of his travels and visits with friends.  Rumple was a Civil War soldier and often meets with other veterans and talks about their time in the war.  It is quite long and very detailed.  Here is a small sample from the diary:

We had vivid recollections of the stirring days of 62, 63, and 64 which we spent in and about Petersburg.  The hardships, the privations, the blood and slaughter of war and carnage.  We had an all days  run through the low flatlands of Virginia...

Spent the entire day at Exposition.  Visited all the state buildings all of which where unfinished except Maryland.  The Philadelphia building in which is housed the Old Liberty Bell was complete and fraught with much interest.  The Machinery Building the Art Gallery were very incomplete.  The Negro building was well equipped and very creditable to the race, one stem, the carving and utilizing of horns is worthy of special mention...the invention of a Mountain and Carriage for heavy guns by a young negro boy to see which we paid ten cents....the crowing feature of the whole exposition is the Woman's Building...

In the evening Dr Schaeffer called and spent the evening with us as we recalled and recounted many of our school day wanderings over the famous battlefields of Gettysburg...

The Negro unable to stand the intense smoke and heat crawled out on the iron balcony about the light and was shot dead immediately.  The keeper was now nearly crazed with suffering for the flames had mounted the very entrance of this room...he dragged his negro attendant on to the iron grates...

Visited the place in which the old slave market, the only monument which commemorates the new Spanish constitution of 1812 and the Confederate monument overlooking the plaza...Many of these Indians were captured among them Osceola their great chief...he charged that the white man had given one hand in friendship while in the other a serpent.  While in Fort Marion he planned his escape in a most adroit manner...